--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better a thousand times the Arab…" description: "\"“Better a thousand times the Arab untouched. The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn.”\" — Scott Anderson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/scott-anderson-16892_arab_better-a-thousand-times-the-arab-untouch_204071.jpg" --- # Better a thousand times the Arab untouched. The foreigners… ![“Better a thousand times the Arab untouched. The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn.” quote by Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/scott-anderson-16892_arab_better-a-thousand-times-the-arab-untouch_204071.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/scott-anderson-16892_arab_better-a-thousand-times-the-arab-untouch_204071.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/scott-anderson-16892_arab_better-a-thousand-times-the-arab-untouch_204071.jpg) > ““Better a thousand times the Arab untouched. The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn.”” [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques foreign influence, suggesting locals should learn from outsiders rather than being taught. **In simple terms:** Locals should learn from foreigners, not be taught. Key Takeaway Embrace reciprocal learning across cultures. Themes cultural exchange learning foreign influence humility education Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - travel - business negotiations - academic collaborations - community programs Key Concepts mutual respect global perspective knowledge transfer Questions to Reflect On - What benefits arise from mutual learning? - How can we avoid cultural arrogance? A Different Perspective Assumes power dynamics are one‑sided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab/) [Foreigners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigners/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/the-foreigners-come-out-here-always-to-teach-whereas-they-had-much/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn, for, in everything but wits and knowledge, the Arab is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-lawrence/the-foreigners-come-out-here-always-to-teach-whereas-they-had-much-2/) [T. E. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-lawrence/) > [All men are made one for another: either then teach them better or bear with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/all-men-are-made-one-for-another-either-then-teach-them-better-or/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“Either teach them better if it be in thy power; or if it be not, remember that for this use, to bear with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/either-teach-them-better-if-it-be-in-thy-power-or-if-it-be-not/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“The longer teachers teach, the better they are at their practice. That practice may serve to empower students or it may break the students’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-emdin/the-longer-teachers-teach-the-better-they-are-at-their-practice-that/) Christopher Emdin > [It's the less bright students who make teachers teach better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/it-s-the-less-bright-students-who-make-teachers-teach-better/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [Even the self-assured will raise their perceived self-efficacy if models teach them better ways of doing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bandura/even-the-self-assured-will-raise-their-perceived-self-efficacy-if/) [Albert Bandura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bandura/) > [We want to teach a better way and to be a hero, and there's no one like Wonder Woman to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-jenkins/we-want-to-teach-a-better-way-and-to-be-a-hero-and-there-s-no-one/) [Patty Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-jenkins/) > [My parents would say to me, 'You can teach yourself anything better than someone else can teach it to you.' That was the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/my-parents-would-say-to-me-you-can-teach-yourself-anything-better/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [To be around a person who is that well-respected is just going to teach me even more about how to be better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-larson/to-be-around-a-person-who-is-that-well-respected-is-just-going-to/) [Kyle Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-larson/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [“For the Arab, the past does not merely live. The past defines the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/for-the-arab-the-past-does-not-merely-live-the-past-defines-the/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) > [The majority of Arab people would side with Russia and China, not with the West. And they'd throw their 'elites' groomed in and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-majority-of-arab-people-would-side-with-russia-and-china-not-with/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/) [Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/) ## More by Scott Anderson > [“Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/do-not-try-to-do-too-much-with-your-own-hands-better-the-arabs-do-it/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“He wasn’t sure what to do. If he left the rock, it would only take a few minutes of desert air to dry his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/he-wasn-t-sure-what-to-do-if-he-left-the-rock-it-would-only-take-a/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“nothing capable of sustaining an invasion force of any size. But in all this, Aqaba, lying at the very southern end of the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/nothing-capable-of-sustaining-an-invasion-force-of-any-size-but-in/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [Waitresses, soldiers, rickshaw drivers, old ladies selling vegetables - my father would schmooze anybody. He was Clintonesque before the word existed. And, of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/waitresses-soldiers-rickshaw-drivers-old-ladies-selling-vegetables-my/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [The modern Middle East was largely created by the British. It was they who carried the Allied war effort in the region during World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/the-modern-middle-east-was-largely-created-by-the-british-it-was-they/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [Pain is always preferable to numbness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/pain-is-always-preferable-to-numbness/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“Over the course of his wartime service, Lawrence was awarded a number of medals and ribbons, but with his profound disdain for such things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/over-the-course-of-his-wartime-service-lawrence-was-awarded-a-number/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“Part of Sykes's motive was rooted in religiosity. A devout Catholic, he regarded a return of the ancient tribe of Israel to the Holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/part-of-sykes-s-motive-was-rooted-in-religiosity-a-devout-catholic-he/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“Initial euphoria would give way to shock, shock to horror, and then, as the killing dragged on with no end in sight, horror to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/initial-euphoria-would-give-way-to-shock-shock-to-horror-and-then-as/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [If wells are constructed right and operated right, hydraulic fracturing will not cause a problem. … Our natural gas supplies would plummet precipitously without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/if-wells-are-constructed-right-and-operated-right-hydraulic/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“mold—William Henry Yale also subscribed to Roosevelt’s notions of the ideal American man and of the dangers of “over-civilization,” code for effeminacy. The true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/mold-william-henry-yale-also-subscribed-to-roosevelt-s-notions-of-the/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [The peculiarities of my childhood, of constantly moving through so many different cultures, of always being the outsider, may have made me extraordinarily self-sufficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/the-peculiarities-of-my-childhood-of-constantly-moving-through-so/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [Among the handful of British diplomats and military men aware of their government's secret policy in the Middle East-that the Arabs were being encouraged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/among-the-handful-of-british-diplomats-and-military-men-aware-of/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“The foreigners come out here always to teach, whereas they had much better learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/the-foreigners-come-out-here-always-to-teach-whereas-they-had-much/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [What the Fed is really trying to say is that it doesn't know what it is going to do next. And if the markets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/what-the-fed-is-really-trying-to-say-is-that-it-doesn-t-know-what-it/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) [Explore all 37 Scott Anderson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) ## More Arab quotes > [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/) [Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/) > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [The majority of Arab people would side with Russia and China, not with the West. And they'd throw their 'elites' groomed in and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-majority-of-arab-people-would-side-with-russia-and-china-not-with/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [“For the Arab, the past does not merely live. The past defines the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davis-bunn/for-the-arab-the-past-does-not-merely-live-the-past-defines-the/) [Davis Bunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davis-bunn/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. In our newsroom, we have every single nationality, we have every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/al-jazeera-is-a-representation-of-you-know-diversity-in-the-arab/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [The twin causes Bin Laden invokes are Islam and Arab self-determination, and armies rise to serve him. No need to convert or dogmatize. Believers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-vincent/the-twin-causes-bin-laden-invokes-are-islam-and-arab-self/) [Norah Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-vincent/) > [Arab youth are taught to wonder, 'Since the Holocaust was a European affair, why are the Palestinians being forced to pay for the creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-bronfman-sr/arab-youth-are-taught-to-wonder-since-the-holocaust-was-a-european/) [Edgar Bronfman, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-bronfman-sr/) > [The majority of Arab people see the United States and Israel (definitely not Iran or Syria) as the greatest danger to the world. Could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-majority-of-arab-people-see-the-united-states-and-israel/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [I'm called a terrorist in the Arab media still today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yitzhak-shamir/i-m-called-a-terrorist-in-the-arab-media-still-today/) [Yitzhak Shamir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yitzhak-shamir/) > [I have been to Burj-Al-Arab. And I visit Dubai quite often, I really like the place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-dhupia/i-have-been-to-burj-al-arab-and-i-visit-dubai-quite-often-i-really/) [Neha Dhupia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-dhupia/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [None of us is certain about the outcome of the Arab Spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/none-of-us-is-certain-about-the-outcome-of-the-arab-spring/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [As you know with the Arab Spring, there were no dividends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najib-razak/as-you-know-with-the-arab-spring-there-were-no-dividends/) [Najib Razak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najib-razak/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Browse all 310 Arab quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arab/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Better a thousand times the Arab untouched. 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