Ghetto Quote by P. J. O'Rourke
![“Finally, one night we were smoking pot [with Michael O'Donoghue] and talking about the people that are invariably in high school, whether you go to prep school or public school or ghetto school or rich suburban school. And actually, it spun off from a Kurt Vonnegut quote.” quote by P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a43/p-j-o-rourke-184_ghetto_finally-one-night-we-were-smoking-pot-wi_324321.jpg)
“Finally, one night we were smoking pot [with Michael O'Donoghue] and talking about the people that are invariably in high school, whether you go to prep school or public school or ghetto school or rich suburban school. And actually, it spun off from a Kurt Vonnegut quote.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Rolling Stone, 1992
The speaker reflects on how high school experiences are universal across socioeconomic backgrounds, sparked by a Kurt Vonnegut remark.
In simple terms: High school life is similar for everyone, no matter the school type.
Key Takeaway
Recognize shared human experiences.
Themes
education
class
culture
humor
Mood
reflective
wry
observational
Type
quote
anecdote
commentary
When to use this quote
- school reunions
- teaching
- writing
- social commentary
Key Concepts
sociology
identity
commonality
Questions to Reflect On
- How do shared school memories shape our worldview?
- What aspects of school life differ most across classes?
A Different Perspective
May overlook deeper systemic differences between schools.
![“[Kurt] Vonnegut once said, if you ever want to know who somebody is... Like you look at Richard Nixon, or Adolf Hitler, or Ralph Nader, or anybody who seems like a difficult person to understand, and is therefore not part of the pattern of human behavior. Think about who they were in high school…” quote by P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/900/p-j-o-rourke-184_behavior_kurt-vonnegut-once-said-if-you-ever-want_97504.jpg)
![“What occurs to people when they read Kurt [Vonnegut] is that things are much more up for grabs than they thought they were. The world is a slightly different place just because they read a damn book. Imagine that.” quote by Mark Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b7b/mark-vonnegut-10170_book_what-occurs-to-people-when-they-read-kur_731454.jpg)
![“I think that his [Kurt Vonnegut's] appeal, though, will always be chiefly to adolescents. His sense of the world matches that of young people, who feel deeply life's absurdity.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2ad/michael-dirda-3414_absurdity_i-think-that-his-kurt-vonnegut-s-appeal_652900.jpg)
![“[...] as Kurt Vonnegut pointed out [...] the literary novel has become extraordinarily privatistic of late. It's as if the big issues (Does God exist? from whence springs decency? what sort of species is Homo Sapiens?) were either settled or not worth discusssing, and serious writers should…” quote by James Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ea7/james-morrow-40721_books_as-kurt-vonnegut-pointed-out-the-literar_175007.jpg)
