--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had to experience how someone beside me…" description: "\"I had to experience how someone beside me suddenly falls over and is dead and the bullet has hit him squarely. I had to experience that quite directly...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/otto-dix-38645_pacifist_i-had-to-experience-how-someone-beside-m_1203142.png" --- # I had to experience how someone beside me suddenly falls… ![“I had to experience how someone beside me suddenly falls over and is dead and the bullet has hit him squarely. I had to experience that quite directly. I wanted it. I'm therefore not a pacifist at all - or am I?” quote by Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/otto-dix-38645_pacifist_i-had-to-experience-how-someone-beside-m_1203142.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/otto-dix-38645_pacifist_i-had-to-experience-how-someone-beside-m_1203142.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/otto-dix-38645_pacifist_i-had-to-experience-how-someone-beside-m_1203142.png) > “I had to experience how someone beside me suddenly falls over and is dead and the bullet has hit him squarely. I had to experience that quite directly. I wanted it. I'm therefore not a pacifist at all - or am I?” [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He seeks direct, violent experience to reject pacifism, questioning his own stance. **In simple terms:** He wants to feel war to deny being a pacifist. Key Takeaway Examine personal convictions. Themes war pacifism self‑contradiction Mood conflicted intense Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - combat exposure - ethical debates - psychological testing - identity crisis Key Concepts moral conflict personal experience Questions to Reflect On - What drives the need for extreme experience? - Can one reject pacifism without violence? A Different Perspective Violence may not resolve moral doubts and can cause trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bullet Hit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullet-hit-235174/) [Dead Bullet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-bullet-1112009/) [Experience Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-suddenly-1927287/) [Pacifist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifist/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Pacifist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-pacifist-3616433/) ## Related quotes > [With experience, you suddenly realise you know how to do things or that you've done something like this before. And I think as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-coles/with-experience-you-suddenly-realise-you-know-how-to-do-things-or/) [Joanna Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-coles/) > [Drop dead. A bullet to my head. Your words are like a gun in hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sum-41/drop-dead-a-bullet-to-my-head-your-words-are-like-a-gun-in-hand/) [Sum 41](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sum-41/) > [I enjoyed being in 'The Ten Commandments.' That was a great experience - to suddenly become one of those holy people. I was holier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvonne-de-carlo/i-enjoyed-being-in-the-ten-commandments-that-was-a-great-experience/) [Yvonne De Carlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvonne-de-carlo/) > [“Before leaving Hammersmith, Dekker and Simpson had discussed what type of bullet should be used. ‘It all depends,’ Dekker had said, ‘on whether you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-barrington/before-leaving-hammersmith-dekker-and-simpson-had-discussed-what-type/) [James Barrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-barrington/) > [“The bullet hit Lady right between her eyes, in the middle of her white star, exactly where we hoped it would. She bolted so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-bullet-hit-lady-right-between-her-eyes-in-the-middle-of-her-white/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [The man running toward me is not a man, he is a boy. A shaggy-haired boy with a crease between his eyebrows. Will. Dull-eyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/the-man-running-toward-me-is-not-a-man-he-is-a-boy-a-shaggy-haired/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“A 22-caliber bullet can travel as fast as 1,022 mph. I learned that at Quantico. However, the bullet that hit him probably traveled at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-barel/a-22-caliber-bullet-can-travel-as-fast-as-1-022-mph-i-learned-that-at/) [Francis Barel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-barel/) > [It's an odd feeling, knowing someone is trying to kill you. On the front line, you learn quickly that if you're in the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/it-s-an-odd-feeling-knowing-someone-is-trying-to-kill-you-on-the/) [Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/) > [I've been out there 3 days and I got shot at 3 times, Felt like every bullet hit me when they flew out each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-herb/i-ve-been-out-there-3-days-and-i-got-shot-at-3-times-felt-like-every/) [Lil Herb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-herb/) > [The killer looked up as the bullet hit him. He looked as if he were puzzled by some strange occurence, being too freshly dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-killer-looked-up-as-the-bullet-hit-him-he-looked-as-if-he-were/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) > [ \[A pacifist is\] the last and least excusable on the list of the enemies of society. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-pacifist-is-the-last-and-least-excusable-on-the-list-of-the-enemies/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I am not a terrorist, but neither am I a pacifist. I am simply a regular guy from the Palestinian street advocating only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marwan-barghouti/i-am-not-a-terrorist-but-neither-am-i-a-pacifist-i-am-simply-a/) [Marwan Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marwan-barghouti/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## More by Otto Dix > [You know, if one paints someone's portrait, one should not know him if possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/you-know-if-one-paints-someone-s-portrait-one-should-not-know-him-if/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [Stop bothering me with your pathetic politics - I'd rather go to the whorehouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/stop-bothering-me-with-your-pathetic-politics-i-d-rather-go-to-the/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [I will either be famous or infamous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/i-will-either-be-famous-or-infamous/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [As a young man you don't notice at all that you were, after all, badly affected. For years afterwards, at least ten years, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/as-a-young-man-you-don-t-notice-at-all-that-you-were-after-all-badly/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [I have to experience all the ghastly, bottomless depths for life for myself; it's for that reason that I went to war, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/i-have-to-experience-all-the-ghastly-bottomless-depths-for-life-for/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [People were already beginning to forget, what horrible suffering the war had brought them. I did not want to cause fear and panic, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/people-were-already-beginning-to-forget-what-horrible-suffering-the/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [Not that painting would have been a release. The reason for doing it is the desire to create. I've got to do it! I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/not-that-painting-would-have-been-a-release-the-reason-for-doing-it/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [All art is exorcism. I paint dreams and visions too; the dreams and visions of my time. Painting is the effort to produce order;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/all-art-is-exorcism-i-paint-dreams-and-visions-too-the-dreams-and/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [Everybody thinks they know what art should be. But very few of them have the sense that is necessary to experience painting, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/everybody-thinks-they-know-what-art-should-be-but-very-few-of-them/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) > [I'm not that obsessed with making representations of ugliness. Everything I've seen is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-dix/i-m-not-that-obsessed-with-making-representations-of-ugliness/) [Otto Dix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) [Explore all 11 Otto Dix quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-dix/) ## More Pacifist quotes > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [I am not a terrorist, but neither am I a pacifist. I am simply a regular guy from the Palestinian street advocating only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marwan-barghouti/i-am-not-a-terrorist-but-neither-am-i-a-pacifist-i-am-simply-a/) [Marwan Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marwan-barghouti/) > [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [ \[A pacifist is\] the last and least excusable on the list of the enemies of society. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-pacifist-is-the-last-and-least-excusable-on-the-list-of-the-enemies/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“When it comes to fighting evil, the left is almost pacifist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/when-it-comes-to-fighting-evil-the-left-is-almost-pacifist/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [I always have a high regard for the individual and have an insuperable distaste for violence and clubmanship. All these motives made me into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-always-have-a-high-regard-for-the-individual-and-have-an/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We're not really pacifists, we're nonviolent soldiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/we-re-not-really-pacifists-we-re-nonviolent-soldiers/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [Wicksell's old-fashioned liberalism is reminiscent of John Maynard Keynes' attitude toward conscription during World War I. Keynes opposed conscription, but he was not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mancur-olson/wicksell-s-old-fashioned-liberalism-is-reminiscent-of-john-maynard/) [Mancur Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mancur-olson/) > [When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy. When Obama wanted to bomb Syria, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/when-people-want-to-inspire-you-to-turn-against-some-group-of-people/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I'm a pacifist by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-correa/i-m-a-pacifist-by-nature/) [Rafael Correa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-correa/) > [I think that religions must seek peace and love and therefore be pacifist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/i-think-that-religions-must-seek-peace-and-love-and-therefore-be/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [Jesus himself, and most of the message of the Gospels, is a message of service to the poor, a critique of the rich and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/jesus-himself-and-most-of-the-message-of-the-gospels-is-a-message-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Each of us, even the lowliest and most insignificant among us, was uprooted from his innermost existence by the almost constant volcanic upheavals visited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/each-of-us-even-the-lowliest-and-most-insignificant-among-us-was/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [I'm not a pacifist. I do believe that, unfortunately, war is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/i-m-not-a-pacifist-i-do-believe-that-unfortunately-war-is-necessary/) [Mike Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hoffman/) > [“Someone once told me a joke," he said. "I'd like to be a pacifist, but people keep getting in the way.' I made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edeet-ravel/someone-once-told-me-a-joke-he-said-i-d-like-to-be-a-pacifist-but/) [Edeet Ravel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edeet-ravel/) [Browse all 194 Pacifist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had to experience how someone beside me suddenly falls over and is dead and the bullet has hit him squarely. I had to experience that quite directly. I wanted it. 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