--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It matters, it always matters, to name…" description: "\"It matters, it always matters, to name rubbish as rubbish; that to do otherwise is to legitimize it.\" — Salman Rushdie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/salman-rushdie-153_matter_it-matters-it-always-matters-to-name-rub_482831.jpg" --- # It matters, it always matters, to name rubbish as rubbish… ![“It matters, it always matters, to name rubbish as rubbish; that to do otherwise is to legitimize it.” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/salman-rushdie-153_matter_it-matters-it-always-matters-to-name-rub_482831.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/salman-rushdie-153_matter_it-matters-it-always-matters-to-name-rub_482831.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cae/salman-rushdie-153_matter_it-matters-it-always-matters-to-name-rub_482831.jpg) > “It matters, it always matters, to name rubbish as rubbish; that to do otherwise is to legitimize it.” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that labeling falsehoods as false is essential; otherwise they gain legitimacy. **In simple terms:** Name false things as false to prevent their acceptance. Key Takeaway Call out misinformation directly. Themes truth language critical thinking Mood analytical cautionary Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - media analysis - education - public discourse Key Concepts semantic labeling cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does naming affect perception? - What are risks of labeling? A Different Perspective Might be seen as dismissive of nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [It matters, it always matters, to name rubbish as rubbish ... to do otherwise is to legitimize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-matters-it-always-matters-to-name-rubbish-as-rubbish-to-do/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Waste of time is the leading feature of our present education. Not only are we taught a mass of rubbish, but what is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kropotkin/waste-of-time-is-the-leading-feature-of-our-present-education-not/) [Peter Kropotkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kropotkin/) > [If you want rubbish, you will get rubbish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-kapoor/if-you-want-rubbish-you-will-get-rubbish/) [Rishi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-kapoor/) > [So, I think China desperately needs to legitimize some form of opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-i-think-china-desperately-needs-to-legitimize-some-form-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm rubbish - I'm really not good at my beauty regimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-chung/i-m-rubbish-i-m-really-not-good-at-my-beauty-regimes/) [Alexa Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-chung/) > [Some people say, therefore, that violence and war are inevitable. I say rubbish: Our brains are fully capable of controlling instinctive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-people-say-therefore-that-violence-and-war-are-inevitable-i-say/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I get given loads of rubbish. So, I have two Alanis Morissette records which I hide when anyone with taste calls around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-molko/i-get-given-loads-of-rubbish-so-i-have-two-alanis-morissette-records/) [Brian Molko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-molko/) > [For example, Americans seem reluctant to take on Shakespeare because you don't think you're very good at it - which is rubbish. You're missing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/for-example-americans-seem-reluctant-to-take-on-shakespeare-because/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [My dad, bless him, was a musician. 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Worthless matter, such as the religions, philosophies, literatures, arts and sciences of the tribes infesting the regions lying due south from Boreaplas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/rubbish-n-worthless-matter-such-as-the-religions-philosophies/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Matter quotes > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. 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Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [I think everyone will agree that it doesn't matter how we get to an international tournament. We are going to do whatever it takes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcginn/i-think-everyone-will-agree-that-it-doesn-t-matter-how-we-get-to-an/) [John McGinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcginn/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. 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