--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Things are often exactly what they…" description: "\"“Things are often exactly what they seem---horrifying or distasteful, even repugnant and disgusting.”\" — Norman Giddan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg" --- # Things are often exactly what they seem---horrifying or… ![“Things are often exactly what they seem---horrifying or distasteful, even repugnant and disgusting.” quote by Norman Giddan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg) > ““Things are often exactly what they seem---horrifying or distasteful, even repugnant and disgusting.”” [Norman Giddan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-giddan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Some things are truly horrifying or repulsive, beyond mere appearance. **In simple terms:** Certain realities are genuinely disgusting or terrifying. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront truly disturbing truths. Themes horror repulsion truth revelation psychology Mood critical provocative analytical Type Cannibalism:0 Distasteful:1 Horrifying:1 Murder-mystery:0 Transsexual:0 Horrifying Distasteful:0 Exactly Horrifying:0 Distasteful Repugnant:0 When to use this quote - crime investigation - media critique - personal boundaries - ethical discussions Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology crime social commentary Questions to Reflect On - Why do we focus on the grotesque? - What does this reveal about societal fears? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on shock can distract from deeper analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cannibalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannibalism/) [Distasteful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distasteful/) [Distasteful Repugnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distasteful-repugnant-1478442/) [Exactly Horrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactly-horrifying-1478441/) [Horrifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrifying/) [Horrifying Distasteful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrifying-distasteful-1478440/) [Murder-mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder-mystery/) [Transsexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transsexual/) ## Related quotes > [“The dog sniffed at the bonfire like a ship with a wet nose docking at a foreign port." -Mgru”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moles/the-dog-sniffed-at-the-bonfire-like-a-ship-with-a-wet-nose-docking-at/) [Stephen Moles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-moles/) > [The characters I've played that people have noticed included a cross-dresser and a transsexual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-moennig/the-characters-i-ve-played-that-people-have-noticed-included-a-cross/) [Katherine Moennig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-moennig/) > [Society doesn't portray transsexual people in a very positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-jane-grace/society-doesn-t-portray-transsexual-people-in-a-very-positive-light/) [Laura Jane Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-jane-grace/) > [Three, community built on androgynous identity will mean the end of transsexuality as we know it. Either the transsexual will be able to expand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/three-community-built-on-androgynous-identity-will-mean-the-end-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [I don't know that I had context for being trans until I moved to Rochester, New York, to pursue my dream of acting, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-ross/i-don-t-know-that-i-had-context-for-being-trans-until-i-moved-to/) [Angelica Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-ross/) > [I am rather disturbed by the fact that so many people—who are neither medical professionals nor trans themselves—would want to hear all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-serano/i-am-rather-disturbed-by-the-fact-that-so-many-people-who-are-neither/) [Julia Serano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-serano/) > [I knew a transsexual guy whose only ambition is to eat, drink, and be Mary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-knew-a-transsexual-guy-whose-only-ambition-is-to-eat-drink-and-be/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“Chus Martinez is a transsexual collective phantom. Anybody can be Chus Martinez!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chus-martinez/chus-martinez-is-a-transsexual-collective-phantom-anybody-can-be-chus/) [Chus Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chus-martinez/) > [Sexual performance problems, such as impotence and frigidity, are 70 to 90 percent changeable. But a homosexual who wants to be a heterosexual -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/sexual-performance-problems-such-as-impotence-and-frigidity-are-70-to/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [If people really want to know whether I am a woman or transsexual, I take it as a compliment. It means I'm doing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conchita-wurst/if-people-really-want-to-know-whether-i-am-a-woman-or-transsexual-i/) [Conchita Wurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conchita-wurst/) > [Saying to someone 'I'm a transsexual' is the most empowering thing I've ever felt in my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-jane-grace/saying-to-someone-i-m-a-transsexual-is-the-most-empowering-thing-i-ve/) [Laura Jane Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-jane-grace/) > [I am not a boy, not a girl, I am not gay, not straight, I am not a drag queen, not a transsexual -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-curtis/i-am-not-a-boy-not-a-girl-i-am-not-gay-not-straight-i-am-not-a-drag/) [Jackie Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-curtis/) > [We grew up creating this whole world view for ourselves because it's not there in the culture. What am I? And I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/we-grew-up-creating-this-whole-world-view-for-ourselves-because-it-s/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) > [“I didn't want to be someone pretending to be a woman; I wanted to know what it was like to be a sexual woman...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-angelina-birch/i-didn-t-want-to-be-someone-pretending-to-be-a-woman-i-wanted-to-know/) [Jessica Angelina Birch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-angelina-birch/) > [Is individual gender suffering relieved at the price of role conformity and the perpetuation of role stereotypes on a social level? In changing sex,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-raymond/is-individual-gender-suffering-relieved-at-the-price-of-role/) [Janice Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-raymond/) ## More Cannibalism quotes > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Normally I would have been the first to go in search of cannibal monks, particularly as I had heard of a similar tradition at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/normally-i-would-have-been-the-first-to-go-in-search-of-cannibal/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“This is said to civilized men who are to venture into countries where sacred cows are fed, while children are left to starve -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-is-said-to-civilized-men-who-are-to-venture-into-countries-where/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“Uncorked materialism is new cannibalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/uncorked-materialism-is-new-cannibalism/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Imagine fifty thousand men trapped on a desert island, deprived of food and water and sex but somehow kept alive for fifty thousand years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/imagine-fifty-thousand-men-trapped-on-a-desert-island-deprived-of/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [You have to take the long view. First, when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, man has already progressed to the point where a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-f-stone/you-have-to-take-the-long-view-first-when-moses-came-down-from-mt/) [I. F. Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-f-stone/) > [“The future promises us all our very own Truman Shows and when every man and woman is a star the spectacle becomes auto- cannibalizing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-future-promises-us-all-our-very-own-truman-shows-and-when-every/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“The most holy cannibalism you can perform is to eat the flesh and blood of sagacity, and by sharing it with other wisdom thirsty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-most-holy-cannibalism-you-can-perform-is-to-eat-the-flesh-and/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I'm against eating a human being alive - I don't do it. Somebody might make cannibalism jokes and laugh it off like it's nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/i-m-against-eating-a-human-being-alive-i-don-t-do-it-somebody-might/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [“Everything in this room is eatable. Even I am eatable. But that, my dear children, is cannibalism, and is frowned upon in most societies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-clegg/everything-in-this-room-is-eatable-even-i-am-eatable-but-that-my-dear/) [Ashley Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-clegg/) > [“Stories of cannibalism among castaways were so common that British sailors considered the practice of choosing and sacrificing a victim to be an established…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hillenbrand/stories-of-cannibalism-among-castaways-were-so-common-that-british/) [Laura Hillenbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hillenbrand/) > [Humanity today is not safe in the presence of humanity. The old cannibalism has given way to anonymous action in which the killer and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/humanity-today-is-not-safe-in-the-presence-of-humanity-the-old/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [But when the good people do know, as they certainly do, that three million persons (at the least estimate) were starved to death in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/but-when-the-good-people-do-know-as-they-certainly-do-that-three/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [“The availability of domesticated animal species played an important role in the prohibition of cannibalism and the development of religions of love and mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-harris/the-availability-of-domesticated-animal-species-played-an-important/) [Marvin Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-harris/) [Browse all 135 Cannibalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cannibalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Things are often exactly what they seem---horrifying or distasteful, even repugnant and disgusting.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Giddan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-giddan/things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem-horrifying-or-distasteful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannibalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-giddan/things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem-horrifying-or-distasteful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bf/norman-giddan-266917_cannibalism_things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem_1736358.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Things are often exactly what they seem---horrifying or distasteful, even repugnant and disgusting.” — Norman Giddan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Norman Giddan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-giddan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Things are often exactly what they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-giddan/things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem-horrifying-or-distasteful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-giddan/things-are-often-exactly-what-they-seem-horrifying-or-distasteful/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```