--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They'd taken everything. Everything, and…" description: "\"“They'd taken everything. Everything, and people simply had let them. People had meekly surrendered the world to them in hopes those CEOs would finally..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/s-j-kincaid-2-41593_greed_they-d-taken-everything-everything-and-p_443035.jpg" --- # They'd taken everything. Everything, and people simply had… ![“They'd taken everything. Everything, and people simply had let them. People had meekly surrendered the world to them in hopes those CEOs would finally have enough, finally have reason to leave them be. But Tom knew better.” quote by S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/s-j-kincaid-2-41593_greed_they-d-taken-everything-everything-and-p_443035.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/s-j-kincaid-2-41593_greed_they-d-taken-everything-everything-and-p_443035.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/990/s-j-kincaid-2-41593_greed_they-d-taken-everything-everything-and-p_443035.jpg) > ““They'd taken everything. Everything, and people simply had let them. People had meekly surrendered the world to them in hopes those CEOs would finally have enough, finally have reason to leave them be. But Tom knew better.”” [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People surrender power to leaders, hoping they will act responsibly, but complacency enables abuse. **In simple terms:** People let leaders control everything, expecting them to be fair. Key Takeaway Beware passive acceptance of authority. Themes power complacency responsibility leadership Mood cautious critical reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - community organizing - personal vigilance Key Concepts social contract authority dynamics ethical responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How do you challenge authority when it seems unchecked? - What risks arise from blind trust in leaders? A Different Perspective Power can be reclaimed through collective action, not just individual insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ceos Finally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceos-finally-3881687/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopes Ceos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopes-ceos-3881689/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Leave Tom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-tom-3881688/) [Meekly Surrendered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meekly-surrendered-3881686/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Surrendered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrendered/) ## Related quotes > [“When the ego is not, you are for the first time encountering your being. That being is void. 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Nothing is surrendered, nothing is dropped; just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/surrender-means-seeing-that-i-am-not-separate-just-seeing-that-i-am/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Nations that went down fighting rose again, but those who surrendered tamely were finished.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/nations-that-went-down-fighting-rose-again-but-those-who-surrendered/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“Life didn’t go how I had planned, but I couldn’t have planned a better life. 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I'm not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/i-ve-surrendered-that-to-god-i-m-not-in-a-battle-with-what-everybody/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [Probably also due to the political situation getting just worse and more extreme, but also this distance and this sadness of this feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-kashua/probably-also-due-to-the-political-situation-getting-just-worse-and/) [Sayed Kashua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-kashua/) > [“Do not say I didn't loved you Do not say that I didn't give you, My love, body and soul. I gave my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/do-not-say-i-didn-t-loved-you-do-not-say-that-i-didn-t-give-you-my/) [José N. 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In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-man-had-his-way-the-plan-of-redemption-would-be-an-endless-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm sweetly broken, wholly surrendered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-riddle/i-m-sweetly-broken-wholly-surrendered/) [Jeremy Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-riddle/) ## More by S. J. Kincaid > [“What’s a treaty? It’s a piece of paper. An agreement means nothing in itself. It’s the power to force others to comply with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/what-s-a-treaty-it-s-a-piece-of-paper-an-agreement-means-nothing-in/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“That missleproof glass might as well have been electrified fence and barbed wire. No one could fashion a prison so perfect, so complete, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/that-missleproof-glass-might-as-well-have-been-electrified-fence-and/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“No wonder the sky had to be blotted out by advertisements. The stars drowned with lights. If everyone could see beyond Coalition horizons, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/no-wonder-the-sky-had-to-be-blotted-out-by-advertisements-the-stars/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“This war ends, then so do the taxpayer-funded contracts, the drumbeats in the media, the nice Combatant faces, and the patriotic cause to lull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/this-war-ends-then-so-do-the-taxpayer-funded-contracts-the-drumbeats/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“Sei straordinaria" disse piano. È molto egoista da parte mia riuscire solo a pensare che ti voglio solo per me?" Mi misi a balbettare.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/sei-straordinaria-disse-piano-molto-egoista-da-parte-mia-riuscire/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“There’s not a person in history who achieved greatness without choking back some pride, without ever smiling at someone they despised, without playing along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/there-s-not-a-person-in-history-who-achieved-greatness-without/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“Not just in America. When I left my primary school, my father said, 'Son, you are now a man,' then he gave me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/not-just-in-america-when-i-left-my-primary-school-my-father-said-son/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“<> disse piano. <<È molto egoista da parte mia riuscire solo a pensare che ti voglio per me?>> Mi misi a balbettare. <> Curvò la bocca in uno strano sorriso. E poi mi baciò.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/disse-piano-molto-egoista-da-parte-mia-riuscire-solo-a-pensare-che-ti/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) > [“Wyatt avoided the petty gunfights and headed to a saloon and rigged up a bunch of Molotov cocktails. Her firebombs against members of Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid-2/wyatt-avoided-the-petty-gunfights-and-headed-to-a-saloon-and-rigged/) [S. J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) [Explore all 10 S. J. Kincaid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid-2/) ## More Greed quotes > [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. 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When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“The fact that they viewed their wealth as a result of their own hands, without any honor other than lip service being given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-goff/the-fact-that-they-viewed-their-wealth-as-a-result-of-their-own-hands/) [Lee Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-goff/) > [“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/be-fearful-when-others-are-greedy-and-be-greedy-when-others-are/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-a-similar-way-the-art-of-war-pinpoints-anger-and-greed-as/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [''And one day when all is gone and mankind is lost, all he leaves is the desert.'' 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They are ignorance and its minions, including greed, hatred, anger, pride, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-newland/wisdom-teaches-us-that-our-real-enemies-are-never-other-living-beings/) [Guy Newland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-newland/) > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [“Thankfulness acknowledges that we can’t own anything, but we can experience everything. And just knowing that makes me thankful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/thankfulness-acknowledges-that-we-can-t-own-anything-but-we-can/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Con men look for human frailty to exploit. This is most often greed. Trump found a different vice: anger. The emotional are always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-meyer/con-men-look-for-human-frailty-to-exploit-this-is-most-often-greed/) [Pamela Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-meyer/) [Browse all 2,232 Greed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They'd taken everything. Everything, and people simply had let them. People had meekly surrendered the world to them in hopes those CEOs would finally have enough, finally have reason to leave them be. But Tom knew better.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "S. J. 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