--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must kill the savage to save the man." description: "\"We must kill the savage to save the man.\" — Richard Henry Pratt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/richard-henry-pratt-88183_he-man_we-must-kill-the-savage-to-save-the-man_1241064.png" --- # We must kill the savage to save the man. ![“We must kill the savage to save the man.” quote by Richard Henry Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/richard-henry-pratt-88183_he-man_we-must-kill-the-savage-to-save-the-man_1241064.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/richard-henry-pratt-88183_he-man_we-must-kill-the-savage-to-save-the-man_1241064.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/richard-henry-pratt-88183_he-man_we-must-kill-the-savage-to-save-the-man_1241064.png) > “We must kill the savage to save the man.” [Richard Henry Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-henry-pratt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that “civilizing” indigenous people requires eradicating their native culture. **In simple terms:** Eradicate native culture to “save” people. Key Takeaway Reject cultural destruction. Themes colonialism cultural genocide assimilation Mood somber critical Type historical ethical When to use this quote - education policy - government legislation - historical analysis Key Concepts civilizing mission cultural superiority Questions to Reflect On - What are the costs of cultural erasure? - How can societies heal from forced assimilation? A Different Perspective Such views cause lasting trauma and loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [He man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he-man/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Kill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill/) [Kill Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-savage-3874335/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savage/) [Savage Save](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savage-save-3874336/) [Savages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savages/) [Save Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/save-man-589367/) ## Related quotes > [I did not join the resistance movement to kill people, to kill the nation. Look at me now. Am I a savage person? My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pol-pot/i-did-not-join-the-resistance-movement-to-kill-people-to-kill-the/) [Pol Pot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pol-pot/) > [Savage, despicable evil. That's what we were fighting in Iraq. That's why a lot of people, myself included, called the enemy 'savages.' There really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/savage-despicable-evil-that-s-what-we-were-fighting-in-iraq-that-s/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [“No European who has tasted savage life can afterwards bear to live in our societies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/no-european-who-has-tasted-savage-life-can-afterwards-bear-to-live-in/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The young man who has not wept is a savage, and the older man who will not laugh is a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-young-man-who-has-not-wept-is-a-savage-and-the-older-man-who-will/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Tears gratify a savage nature, they do not melt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/tears-gratify-a-savage-nature-they-do-not-melt-it/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [Las Vegas is the savage heart of the American Dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/las-vegas-is-the-savage-heart-of-the-american-dream/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The domestication (the culture) of man does not go deep--where it does go deep it at once becomes degeneration (type: the Christian). The 'savage'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-domestication-the-culture-of-man-does-not-go-deep-where-it-does/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [When man is not properly trained, he is the most savage animal on the face of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-man-is-not-properly-trained-he-is-the-most-savage-animal-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [There are many people who feel that it is useless and futile to continue talking about peace and non-violence against a government whose only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/there-are-many-people-who-feel-that-it-is-useless-and-futile-to/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [Belief without evidence is the very hallmark of the savage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/belief-without-evidence-is-the-very-hallmark-of-the-savage/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [The most savage people are also the ugliest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-somerville/the-most-savage-people-are-also-the-ugliest/) [Mary Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-somerville/) > [Life in the savage appears different from the life that dwells in you, different in its expression, but it is all one Life. Anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/life-in-the-savage-appears-different-from-the-life-that-dwells-in-you/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Even now, and you can look at me, am I a savage person? My conscience is clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pol-pot/even-now-and-you-can-look-at-me-am-i-a-savage-person-my-conscience-is/) [Pol Pot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pol-pot/) > [Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/man-isn-t-a-noble-savage-he-s-an-ignoble-savage-he-is-irrational/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/musick-has-charms-to-sooth-a-savage-breast/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) ## More by Richard Henry Pratt > [The clash of ideas is not weakness. 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