--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Decent folk had to let indecent folk do…" description: "\"“Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that was the paradox of decency.”\" — Piers Anthony" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg" --- # Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that… ![“Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that was the paradox of decency.” quote by Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg) > ““Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that was the paradox of decency.”” [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Decency sometimes requires tolerating immoral actions, highlighting a moral paradox. **In simple terms:** Good people must let bad people act. Key Takeaway Balance tolerance with integrity. Themes ethics paradox society Mood critical thought‑provoking Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - community standards - legal systems Key Concepts moral philosophy social contract Questions to Reflect On - When does tolerance become complicity? - How can societies protect decency? A Different Perspective Blind tolerance can enable harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) ## Related quotes > [“Would you let go? It’s indecent, you touching me like this.” “In-dee-sent?” “Indecent. Shameful. Would you please let go? It is my foot, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/would-you-let-go-it-s-indecent-you-touching-me-like-this-in-dee-sent/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [It takes one time to show someone how you feel about them...it's called indecent exposure or whatever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/it-takes-one-time-to-show-someone-how-you-feel-about-them-it-s-called/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [Many people use the words 'death defying' or 'death wishing' when they talk about wire-walking. Many people have asked me: 'So do you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/many-people-use-the-words-death-defying-or-death-wishing-when-they/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper words are used to convey it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanni-boccaccio/nothing-is-so-indecent-that-it-cannot-be-said-to-another-person-if/) [Giovanni Boccaccio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanni-boccaccio/) > [“In the very essence of poetry there is something indecent; A thing brought forth that we didn't know we had in us, So we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/czeslaw-milosz/in-the-very-essence-of-poetry-there-is-something-indecent-a-thing/) [Czeslaw Milosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/czeslaw-milosz/) > [Congress has repeatedly passed laws and otherwise raised a ruckus about indecent language on the broadcast airwaves used for radio and television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hundt/congress-has-repeatedly-passed-laws-and-otherwise-raised-a-ruckus/) [Reed Hundt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hundt/) > [In a certain state it is indecent to live longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-a-certain-state-it-is-indecent-to-live-longer/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I don't see how an article of clothing can be indecent. A person, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-don-t-see-how-an-article-of-clothing-can-be-indecent-a-person-yes/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Wherever I see some mystique, be it virtue or family, faith or fatherland, there I must commit some indecent act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/wherever-i-see-some-mystique-be-it-virtue-or-family-faith-or/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [“Decent is the last way I want you," she said, skimming her fingers over my stomach, my lower stomach. My lower lower stomach, AKA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/decent-is-the-last-way-i-want-you-she-said-skimming-her-fingers-over/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [I will keep that a secret as it was so indecent I doubt she was in her normal state of mind when she made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-will-keep-that-a-secret-as-it-was-so-indecent-i-doubt-she-was-in/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [“She can't wear that dress! It's indecent. Her ass is hangin' out." ... "Son, take my advice, you gotta get this girl in hand.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/she-can-t-wear-that-dress-it-s-indecent-her-ass-is-hangin-out-son/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [No one should tolerate indecent behaviour; it's an absolute no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-shroff/no-one-should-tolerate-indecent-behaviour-it-s-an-absolute-no/) [Jackie Shroff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-shroff/) > [There are certain times I don't want my picture taken. If my wife's stepping out of a car and it looks like it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-darin/there-are-certain-times-i-don-t-want-my-picture-taken-if-my-wife-s/) [Bobby Darin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-darin/) > [“Our age knows better… What was formerly merely sickly now becomes indecent—it is indecent to be a Christian today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/our-age-knows-better-what-was-formerly-merely-sickly-now-becomes/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Piers Anthony > [“At first I was exhilarated by my freedom from the responsibility of the kingship. This lasted about seven minutes. I was also depressed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/at-first-i-was-exhilarated-by-my-freedom-from-the-responsibility-of/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [I did not know at first that it would be a series; I discovered after the first novel that I had more to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/i-did-not-know-at-first-that-it-would-be-a-series-i-discovered-after/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [For our stories are not yet finished, and perhaps will never be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/for-our-stories-are-not-yet-finished-and-perhaps-will-never-be/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [I hope to read a Harry Potter novel soon, to see what it's all about. I admit to being annoyed that many good light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/i-hope-to-read-a-harry-potter-novel-soon-to-see-what-it-s-all-about-i/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [“I have, as may be apparent, not much respect for editors as a class.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/i-have-as-may-be-apparent-not-much-respect-for-editors-as-a-class/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Obviously it could be, because it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/obviously-it-could-be-because-it-was/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Princess Rose should indeed be a TV movie, assuming something doesn't go wrong. I don't know how good a movie it will be, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/princess-rose-should-indeed-be-a-tv-movie-assuming-something-doesn-t/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Have a working spouse, because you won't earn a living from writing - not at first, if ever. My wife worked for years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/have-a-working-spouse-because-you-won-t-earn-a-living-from-writing/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that's courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/being-terrified-but-going-ahead-and-doing-what-must-be-done-that-s/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Happy children do not seem to grow up to be writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/happy-children-do-not-seem-to-grow-up-to-be-writers/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [I maintain an ongoing survey of Internet Publishing and self publishing, so that it is now possible for any writer with a book to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/i-maintain-an-ongoing-survey-of-internet-publishing-and-self/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [One thing you who had secure or happy childhoods should understand about those of us who did not. We who control our feelings, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/one-thing-you-who-had-secure-or-happy-childhoods-should-understand/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [Barbarian --A Code of Conduct honored by all true barbarian warriors, requiring excellent coordination with weapons, closeness to nature, awkwardness with women, common sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/barbarian-a-code-of-conduct-honored-by-all-true-barbarian-warriors/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [But one must go where one's road leads, even when it's a distressing road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/but-one-must-go-where-one-s-road-leads-even-when-it-s-a-distressing/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) > [“What is life, except an ongoing instinct for survival? Nature uses that instinct to make us perform; otherwise we would all relax, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/what-is-life-except-an-ongoing-instinct-for-survival-nature-uses-that/) [Piers Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) [Explore all 82 Piers Anthony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/) ## More Decency quotes > [Come on, that was no foul! It may be a violation of all the basic rules of human decency, but its not a foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-walton/come-on-that-was-no-foul-it-may-be-a-violation-of-all-the-basic-rules/) [Bill Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-walton/) > [Listen, young people, I understand narcissism - clearly. But at least I have the decency to hate myself. And that's what's missing from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/listen-young-people-i-understand-narcissism-clearly-but-at-least-i/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Faye, if you got eaten by another shark, would you please at least have the decency to say so? My time is kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-lothlorien/faye-if-you-got-eaten-by-another-shark-would-you-please-at-least-have/) Elle Lothlorien > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I gather a repulsive nobody writing in a paper no one of any decency would be seen dead with has written something loathesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-gather-a-repulsive-nobody-writing-in-a-paper-no-one-of-any-decency/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“The quality of your life ultimately depends on the quality of your relationships . . . which are basically a reflection of your sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/the-quality-of-your-life-ultimately-depends-on-the-quality-of-your/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“No woman deserves to be treated as little more than your toy. If you feel she is nothing more than a cheap hooker, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/no-woman-deserves-to-be-treated-as-little-more-than-your-toy-if-you/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [“Almost everything you think is sacred, good and decent, is a lie and an all-out assault against truth and decency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/almost-everything-you-think-is-sacred-good-and-decent-is-a-lie-and-an/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I am not a member of the chamber of commerce for show business, believe me, but there are some really good people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-fuller/i-am-not-a-member-of-the-chamber-of-commerce-for-show-business/) [Kurt Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-fuller/) > [Out of all the fighters that I have developed, clothed, financed, Gerrie Coetzee is the only one who had the decency to say 'thanks'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-king/out-of-all-the-fighters-that-i-have-developed-clothed-financed-gerrie/) [Don King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-king/) > [If I see that something is wrong, I don't care who says it. Whether it's a Republican or Democrat, the left or the right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-aragones/if-i-see-that-something-is-wrong-i-don-t-care-who-says-it-whether-it/) [Sergio Aragones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-aragones/) > [I love our shared island, our shared Ireland and its core decency. I love it for its imagination and its celebration of the endless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-higgins/i-love-our-shared-island-our-shared-ireland-and-its-core-decency-i/) [Michael D. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-higgins/) [Browse all 559 Decency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that was the paradox of decency.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Piers Anthony" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do-their-thing-that-was-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Decency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do-their-thing-that-was-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b32/piers-anthony-8252_decency_decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do_2906680.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Decent folk had to let indecent folk do their thing; that was the paradox of decency.” — Piers Anthony", "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": "Piers Anthony", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-anthony/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Decent folk had to let indecent...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do-their-thing-that-was-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-anthony/decent-folk-had-to-let-indecent-folk-do-their-thing-that-was-the/#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 } } ] } ```