--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason I don't want to say anything…" description: "\"The reason I don't want to say anything about it is it has a strange power to take over the conversation. Just like it's doing with us. I was asked to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg" --- # The reason I don't want to say anything about it is it has… ![“The reason I don't want to say anything about it is it has a strange power to take over the conversation. Just like it's doing with us. I was asked to participate in a documentary about Richard Prince, and be the voice of someone who was appropriated, and I declined. The reason I did is I don't…” quote by Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg) > “The reason I don't want to say anything about it is it has a strange power to take over the conversation. Just like it's doing with us. I was asked to participate in a documentary about Richard Prince, and be the voice of someone who was appropriated, and I declined. The reason I did is I don't want it to be the subject of the discussion of my work.” [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) ## 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 avoids discussing a topic because it dominates conversation and shifts focus away from their own work. **In simple terms:** Avoid topics that hijack dialogue about your work. Key Takeaway Guard your narrative focus. Themes communication control artistic integrity Mood cautious reflective Type advice personal When to use this quote - documentary interviews - artistic collaborations - public speaking Key Concepts power dynamics self‑presentation Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep conversation on your own terms? - When is it worth conceding control? A Different Perspective May limit openness and critical engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/) Sheila Kamerman > [“My books are a subject of much discussion. They pour from shelves onto tables, chairs and the floor, and Chaz observes that I haven’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/my-books-are-a-subject-of-much-discussion-they-pour-from-shelves-onto/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [After each performance of an Austin Shakespeare production, audiences are invited to stay for a ten-minute discussion of the work. And this tradition continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-britting/after-each-performance-of-an-austin-shakespeare-production-audiences/) [Jeff Britting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-britting/) > [I didn't want to say anything. I liked Star Wars when I was ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/i-didn-t-want-to-say-anything-i-liked-star-wars-when-i-was-ten/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [What's done is done. You've got to move on. I don't want to say anything bad about the mother of my children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-andre/what-s-done-is-done-you-ve-got-to-move-on-i-don-t-want-to-say/) [Peter Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-andre/) > [Never want to say anything so strongly that you give up the option of finding something better. If you have to say it, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hugo/never-want-to-say-anything-so-strongly-that-you-give-up-the-option-of/) [Richard Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hugo/) > [And I want to say anything is possible. Comma. You know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-bruno/and-i-want-to-say-anything-is-possible-comma-you-know/) [Frank Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-bruno/) > [I guess because of my act, people think that I say things they want to say, and that they can just come up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-sykes/i-guess-because-of-my-act-people-think-that-i-say-things-they-want-to/) [Wanda Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-sykes/) > [You can say anything you want to say. I'm just Bill Foley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foley/you-can-say-anything-you-want-to-say-i-m-just-bill-foley/) Bill Foley > [I can read people, and if the other person doesn't want to say anything, I'm fine with that. People say things when it's time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidan-gillen/i-can-read-people-and-if-the-other-person-doesn-t-want-to-say/) [Aidan Gillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-gillen/) > [I think that the inventors can do anything they want, and nobody can say anything otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-newsted/i-think-that-the-inventors-can-do-anything-they-want-and-nobody-can/) [Jason Newsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-newsted/) > [It's a little bit like talking about the life of writing. The life of writing may be about many things, but it always begins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/it-s-a-little-bit-like-talking-about-the-life-of-writing-the-life-of/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [“I will give you anything to say you want to stay, you want me too. Say you'll never die, you'll always haunt me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-sour/i-will-give-you-anything-to-say-you-want-to-stay-you-want-me-too-say/) [Stone Sour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-sour/) > [“Please could I say one word?" was the question three times repeated before a rough head boobed out from the grotto of books in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/please-could-i-say-one-word-was-the-question-three-times-repeated/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) ## More by Sam Abell > [Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/photography-alone-of-the-arts-seems-perfected-to-serve-the-desire/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I did it once, and National Geographic recruited me. I did it primarily out of curiosity. A lot of legendary photographers had worked on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-did-it-once-and-national-geographic-recruited-me-i-did-it-primarily/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I can't speak for other photographers, but the photographers who went forward strongly when the so-called "official" part of their career ended, to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-can-t-speak-for-other-photographers-but-the-photographers-who-went/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Actually, ambition won't get you that far. You'll shift gears. You'll see something that's shinier. But if you believe... then you're the long-distance runner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/actually-ambition-won-t-get-you-that-far-you-ll-shift-gears-you-ll/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [A mad, keen photographer needs to get out into the world and work and make mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/a-mad-keen-photographer-needs-to-get-out-into-the-world-and-work-and/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I have this awareness that the more dynamic the situation is, the more on guard I need to be that the dynamic isn't controlling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-have-this-awareness-that-the-more-dynamic-the-situation-is-the-more/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [What I'm interested in is modern American history. I'm taken with the changes that have occurred in America in my lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/what-i-m-interested-in-is-modern-american-history-i-m-taken-with-the/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Essentially what photography is is life lit up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/essentially-what-photography-is-is-life-lit-up/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Life rarely presents fully finished photographs. An image evolves, often from a single strand of visual interest - a distant horizon, a moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/life-rarely-presents-fully-finished-photographs-an-image-evolves/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Photographs that transcend but do not deny their literal situation appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/photographs-that-transcend-but-do-not-deny-their-literal-situation/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I wanted life to be episodic. I wanted to be a magazine photographer and I was willing to do what it took to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/i-wanted-life-to-be-episodic-i-wanted-to-be-a-magazine-photographer/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [ That statement \[ Stephen Ambrose:'You, Sam, have the hardest job, which is, pretend like nothing has happened in the last 200 years.'\] woke me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/that-statement-stephen-ambrose-you-sam-have-the-hardest-job-which-is/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [The unusual wins out over the usual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-unusual-wins-out-over-the-usual/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [Even though I teach with 35mm, my method takes people by surprise, because it isn't fast, and it isn't about hardware or software, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/even-though-i-teach-with-35mm-my-method-takes-people-by-surprise/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [The class that I teach is called "The Life of a Photograph." It takes up the question, of the billion photographs that were taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-class-that-i-teach-is-called-the-life-of-a-photograph-it-takes-up/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) [Explore all 87 Sam Abell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The reason I don't want to say anything about it is it has a strange power to take over the conversation. Just like it's doing with us. I was asked to participate in a documentary about Richard Prince, and be the voice of someone who was appropriated, and I declined. The reason I did is I don't want it to be the subject of the discussion of my work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Abell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything-about-it-is-it-has-a-strange/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything-about-it-is-it-has-a-strange/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/631/sam-abell-7768_communication_the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything_2152546.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The reason I don't want to say anything about it is it has a strange power to take over the conversation…” — Sam Abell", "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": "Sam Abell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The reason I don't want to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything-about-it-is-it-has-a-strange/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/the-reason-i-don-t-want-to-say-anything-about-it-is-it-has-a-strange/#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 } } ] } ```