--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a show in America where all these…" description: "\"There's a show in America where all these people compete with ferrets, and they don't even do anything. They basically just hold them up, and if they d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/544/robin-williams-682_america_there-s-a-show-in-america-where-all-thes_2305763.jpg" --- # There's a show in America where all these people compete… ![“There's a show in America where all these people compete with ferrets, and they don't even do anything. They basically just hold them up, and if they don't bite you, they might win.” quote by Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/544/robin-williams-682_america_there-s-a-show-in-america-where-all-thes_2305763.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/544/robin-williams-682_america_there-s-a-show-in-america-where-all-thes_2305763.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/544/robin-williams-682_america_there-s-a-show-in-america-where-all-thes_2305763.jpg) > “There's a show in America where all these people compete with ferrets, and they don't even do anything. They basically just hold them up, and if they don't bite you, they might win.” [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often compete in absurd ways for attention, highlighting the emptiness of some entertainment. **In simple terms:** Absurd competitions reveal shallow entertainment. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful engagement over trivial contests. Themes entertainment absurdity competition meaninglessness Mood playful critical Type comedic observational When to use this quote - reality TV - viral challenges - online memes Key Concepts culture critique media satire social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What makes a competition meaningful? - When does humor become destructive? A Different Perspective Not all competition is harmful; some can be harmless fun. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything/) [Basically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basically/) [Bite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bite/) [Bite Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bite-win-2313406/) [Compete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compete/) [Compete Ferrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compete-ferrets-5461389/) [Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/even/) [Ferrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ferrets/) [Ferrets Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ferrets-don-5461390/) [Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Compete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-compete-431671/) [Show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/show/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [Win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/win/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [We got to win. Win no matter what. Trip, kick somebody, fight, bite. Whatever. Win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-rose/we-got-to-win-win-no-matter-what-trip-kick-somebody-fight-bite/) [Derrick Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-rose/) > [“Successful people compete against themselves, not against other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/successful-people-compete-against-themselves-not-against-other-people/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [The government is supposed to provide a level playing field where people can compete fairly. It's not supposed to cut deals with one company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-government-is-supposed-to-provide-a-level-playing-field-where/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [ We were totally opposite - me coming from the West Coast and a junior college, and him \[ Christopher Reeve\] from the hard-core Ivy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/we-were-totally-opposite-me-coming-from-the-west-coast-and-a-junior/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm not into any show that makes people compete when they lose weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-m-not-into-any-show-that-makes-people-compete-when-they-lose-weight/) [Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/) > [People compete. Sometimes it gets heated, sometimes it doesn't. That's for when you're on the field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-williams/people-compete-sometimes-it-gets-heated-sometimes-it-doesn-t-that-s/) [Trent Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-williams/) > [For some people, success is a zero sum game. They think that if they push other people out of the way, fewer people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/for-some-people-success-is-a-zero-sum-game-they-think-that-if-they/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [Haste makes waste, so I rarely hurry. But if a ferret were about to dart up my dress, I'd run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheshire-cat/haste-makes-waste-so-i-rarely-hurry-but-if-a-ferret-were-about-to/) [Cheshire Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheshire-cat/) > [Cole - I just thought of a new game. Jaz - What's that? Cole - Splat the Specter. Jaz - Rules? Cole - You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rardin/cole-i-just-thought-of-a-new-game-jaz-what-s-that-cole-splat-the/) [Jennifer Rardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rardin/) > [“The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my dear paws! Oh my fur and whiskers! She’ll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets! Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/the-duchess-the-duchess-oh-my-dear-paws-oh-my-fur-and-whiskers-she-ll/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [I don't appreciate people who celebrate their dog's birthdays with "dog parties," and then invite their friends who don't even have dogs. I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-don-t-appreciate-people-who-celebrate-their-dog-s-birthdays-with/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [Leo smiled and stroked her hair. 'We'll both be fine, Marks. We've just begun our journey...and there's so much we have yet to do.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/leo-smiled-and-stroked-her-hair-we-ll-both-be-fine-marks-we-ve-just/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [OH NO YOU DON’T, LADDIE!” Harry spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/oh-no-you-don-t-laddie-harry-spun-around-professor-moody-was-limping/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [He's like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mclaren/he-s-like-a-demented-ferret-up-a-wee-drainpipe/) [Bill McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mclaren/) > [Wherever you may seek solitude, men will ferret you out and compel you to belong to their desperate company of oddfellows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wherever-you-may-seek-solitude-men-will-ferret-you-out-and-compel-you/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Robin Williams > [On stage you're free. You can say and do things that if you said and did any place else, you'd be arrested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/on-stage-you-re-free-you-can-say-and-do-things-that-if-you-said-and/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Humor is a great defense, and an offense too. Usually the recipient isn't too happy about it, but the people around are laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/humor-is-a-great-defense-and-an-offense-too-usually-the-recipient-isn/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [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/) > [Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/spring-is-nature-s-way-of-saying-let-s-party/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I had sex with a prostitute when I was 21, I was so bad, she gave me a refund.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-had-sex-with-a-prostitute-when-i-was-21-i-was-so-bad-she-gave-me-a/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [We were talking briefly about cocaine... yeah. Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent, give me more of that!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/we-were-talking-briefly-about-cocaine-yeah-anything-that-makes-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [In America they really do mythologise people when they die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/in-america-they-really-do-mythologise-people-when-they-die/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-always-thought-the-idea-of-education-was-to-learn-to-think-for/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I was a serious method actor until I visited this site.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-was-a-serious-method-actor-until-i-visited-this-site/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I'm history! No, I'm mythology! Nah, I don't care what I am, I'm free!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/i-m-history-no-i-m-mythology-nah-i-don-t-care-what-i-am-i-m-free/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [But only in their dreams can men be truly free. It was always thus and always thus will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/but-only-in-their-dreams-can-men-be-truly-free-it-was-always-thus-and/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the White House.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/people-say-satire-is-dead-it-s-not-dead-it-s-alive-and-living-in-the/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [For me, comedy starts as a spew, a kind of explosion, and then you sculpt it from there, if at all. It comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/for-me-comedy-starts-as-a-spew-a-kind-of-explosion-and-then-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Carpe per diem - seize the check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/carpe-per-diem-seize-the-check/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [Cable is not bound because people pay for it. It's literally a choice, that's the operative word. If you don't like the language, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/cable-is-not-bound-because-people-pay-for-it-it-s-literally-a-choice/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) [Explore all 413 Robin Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a show in America where all these people compete with ferrets, and they don't even do anything. 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