--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People love a real tragedy when they…" description: "\"“People love a real tragedy when they think it cannot happen to them.”\" — Roxane Gay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png" --- # People love a real tragedy when they think it cannot… ![“People love a real tragedy when they think it cannot happen to them.” quote by Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png) > ““People love a real tragedy when they think it cannot happen to them.”” [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are drawn to tragedies they believe cannot affect them. **In simple terms:** Tragedy feels distant when we think it won't happen to us. Key Takeaway Recognize personal vulnerability. Themes vulnerability empathy humanity Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - media consumption - personal reflection - storytelling Key Concepts psychology social perception Questions to Reflect On - Do you assume tragedies are others' problems? - How does personal relevance change impact? A Different Perspective May generalize experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-real/) [People Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-love/) [Real Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-tragedy-868460/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Tragedy Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-think-261933/) ## Related quotes > [“I have the soul of a private jet owner, and the life of a public transportation rider. It's a real tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-have-the-soul-of-a-private-jet-owner-and-the-life-of-a-public/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [In the presence of real tragedy you feel neither pain nor joy nor hatred, only a sense of enormous space and time suspended, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/in-the-presence-of-real-tragedy-you-feel-neither-pain-nor-joy-nor/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“Real tragedy is never resolved. It goes on hopelessly forever. Conventional tragedy is too easy. The hero dies and we feel a purging of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/real-tragedy-is-never-resolved-it-goes-on-hopelessly-forever/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I have changed my definition of tragedy. I now think tragedy is not foul deeds done to a person (usually noble in some manner)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/i-have-changed-my-definition-of-tragedy-i-now-think-tragedy-is-not/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [I'm drawn to a lot of tragedies, and I love a Greek tragedy.But I would think - I start thinking realistically about it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-mendes/i-m-drawn-to-a-lot-of-tragedies-and-i-love-a-greek-tragedy-but-i/) [Eva Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-mendes/) > [It is never a bad time to tell your family you love them; don't think of it as prompted by a tragedy, think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-never-a-bad-time-to-tell-your-family-you-love-them-don-t-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The ways in which people are damaged are the ways in which they're strong. It's what makes people interesting - what they've overcome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-polley/the-ways-in-which-people-are-damaged-are-the-ways-in-which-they-re/) [Sarah Polley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-polley/) > [The calls that I have received from President Bush and Vice President Cheney, the fact that there are other people that are suffering every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-olson/the-calls-that-i-have-received-from-president-bush-and-vice-president/) [Ted Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-olson/) > [Undoubtedly the war with Iraq was a tragedy. I think it was also a crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/undoubtedly-the-war-with-iraq-was-a-tragedy-i-think-it-was-also-a/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [By the time I was in my early-twenties and was living there on the Lower East Side, I was so surrounded by tragedy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-drooker/by-the-time-i-was-in-my-early-twenties-and-was-living-there-on-the/) [Eric Drooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-drooker/) > [I don't want to be constantly associated with tragedy. I think I'd like to be associated with the idea of 'hope'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-chuvalo/i-don-t-want-to-be-constantly-associated-with-tragedy-i-think-i-d/) [George Chuvalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-chuvalo/) > [“The real tragedy is not whether lib or con will win but that one of them will”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-tragedy-is-not-whether-lib-or-con-will-win-but-that-one-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-real-tragedy-of-life-is-when-men-are-afraid-of-the-light/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“Dying is not the real tragedy. Forgetting is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-sotto/dying-is-not-the-real-tragedy-forgetting-is/) [Samantha Sotto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-sotto/) > [The real Tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort-he never stretches to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-real-tragedy-is-the-tragedy-of-the-man-who-never-in-his-life/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## More by Roxane Gay > [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/feminism-is-i-hope-a-way-to-a-better-future-for-everyone-who-inhabits/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Fiction offers escape but it also interrogates the world we live in, whether the past, present or future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/fiction-offers-escape-but-it-also-interrogates-the-world-we-live-in/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I've noticed while cooking, how ingredients in their individual and naked state and be a bit repulsive but necessary, kind of like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ve-noticed-while-cooking-how-ingredients-in-their-individual-and/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I shouted, “This is not right,” knowing my words were useless. 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I worry that little will come of these discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-has-been-and-there-will-continue-to-be-vigorous-discussions/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-at-its-best-and-truest-can-offer-solace-and-salvation-for/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-knew-i-was-in-love-with-the-hunger-games-when-i-did-not-want-to-get/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/just-because-you-survive-something-does-not-mean-you-are-strong/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Celebrities understand the economy of thinness, and most of them are willing to participate in that economy, taking to social media, where they pose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/celebrities-understand-the-economy-of-thinness-and-most-of-them-are/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) [Explore all 503 Roxane Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## More Tragedy quotes > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Divorce isn't such a tragedy. A tragedy's staying in an unhappy marriage, teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/divorce-isn-t-such-a-tragedy-a-tragedy-s-staying-in-an-unhappy/) [Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/) > [“That's tragic, also unfortunate, and often illegal. More importantly, it's also unnecessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-eastham/that-s-tragic-also-unfortunate-and-often-illegal-more-importantly-it/) [Chad Eastham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-eastham/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-require-character-anybody-can/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU When I hold a rose, I see the soft, velvety petals and smile, because tucked between those precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/the-difference-between-me-and-you-when-i-hold-a-rose-i-see-the-soft/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare...neither knew chocolate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-boynton/the-greatest-tragedies-were-written-by-the-greeks-and-shakespeare/) [Sandra Boynton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-boynton/) > [“In theater, that's the whole thing about Greek tragedy. You take the audience through the—like, the realest shit, the tearing out the eyes or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riley-redgate/in-theater-that-s-the-whole-thing-about-greek-tragedy-you-take-the/) [Riley Redgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riley-redgate/) > [Out of tragedy, people often unite in pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-biden/out-of-tragedy-people-often-unite-in-pain/) [Ashley Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-biden/) > [In tragedy every moment is eternity; in comedy, eternity is a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/in-tragedy-every-moment-is-eternity-in-comedy-eternity-is-a-moment/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [“This is the tragedy of almost every civilization—that its soul is in its faith, and seldom survives philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/this-is-the-tragedy-of-almost-every-civilization-that-its-soul-is-in/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away its grief. I believe we could well follow the pattern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/instead-of-weeping-when-a-tragedy-occurs-in-a-songbird-s-life-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 3,091 Tragedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People love a real tragedy when they think it cannot happen to them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roxane Gay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-think-it-cannot-happen-to-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Tragedy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-think-it-cannot-happen-to-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d94/roxane-gay-520_tragedy_people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-thi_2732136.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People love a real tragedy when they think it cannot happen to them.” — Roxane Gay", "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": "Roxane Gay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“People love a real tragedy when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-think-it-cannot-happen-to-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/people-love-a-real-tragedy-when-they-think-it-cannot-happen-to-them/#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 } } ] } ```