--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with compassion is that it is…" description: "\"The problem with compassion is that it is not photogenic.\" — Sebastian Horsley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png" --- # The problem with compassion is that it is not photogenic. ![“The problem with compassion is that it is not photogenic.” quote by Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png) > “The problem with compassion is that it is not photogenic.” [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassion often fails to look good in media, so people overlook it. **In simple terms:** Compassion isn’t always visually appealing. Key Takeaway Value compassion beyond appearances. Themes empathy media perception Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - advertising - personal relationships - social media - public policy Key Concepts visual culture social bias Questions to Reflect On - How can we recognize compassion when it isn’t eye‑catching? - What incentives could make compassion more visible? A Different Perspective Visual appeal can dominate moral judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Photogenic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-photogenic-5606813/) [Photogenic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photogenic/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-compassion-5606814/) [The problem with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-problem-with/) ## Related quotes > [I have my meals delivered... you know what I like? Chicken and rice... But the problem with being a defensive lineman is, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-douglas/i-have-my-meals-delivered-you-know-what-i-like-chicken-and-rice-but/) [Hugh Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-douglas/) > [It's counterproductive. The problem with sentimentality is that it kills the emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-dardenne/it-s-counterproductive-the-problem-with-sentimentality-is-that-it/) [Jean-Pierre Dardenne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-dardenne/) > [Love is photogenic. It needs darkness room to develop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/love-is-photogenic-it-needs-darkness-room-to-develop/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Virtue is not photogenic. What is it to be a nice guy? To be nothing, that's what. A big fat zero with a smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/virtue-is-not-photogenic-what-is-it-to-be-a-nice-guy-to-be-nothing/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [I wish I was always photogenic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-oden/i-wish-i-was-always-photogenic/) [Greg Oden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-oden/) > [Photogenic is a stupid, nonsensical word, but it is also a great mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-cendrars/photogenic-is-a-stupid-nonsensical-word-but-it-is-also-a-great-mystery/) [Blaise Cendrars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-cendrars/) > [“Love is photogenic, it develops in the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-gokul/love-is-photogenic-it-develops-in-the-dark/) [LORRAINE GOKUL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-gokul/) > [Have you ever had one of those moments when you know that you're being visited by your own future? They come so rarely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/have-you-ever-had-one-of-those-moments-when-you-know-that-you-re/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [Dogs seem more photogenic than cats. In photos most cats look like sociopaths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/dogs-seem-more-photogenic-than-cats-in-photos-most-cats-look-like/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“She was also completely beautiful: blonde with a face that was ridiculously photogenic and a tall, yet curvy figure that always got plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reece-evhans/she-was-also-completely-beautiful-blonde-with-a-face-that-was/) [Reece Evhans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reece-evhans/) > [You know, I'm very photogenic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/you-know-i-m-very-photogenic/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Cats never strike a pose that isn't photogenic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-jackson-braun/cats-never-strike-a-pose-that-isn-t-photogenic/) [Lilian Jackson Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-jackson-braun/) > [If we examine a work of ordinary art, by means of a powerful microscope, all traces of resemblance to nature will disappear - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/if-we-examine-a-work-of-ordinary-art-by-means-of-a-powerful/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [For modeling, you have to be photogenic, but to be a VJ, you actually project your whole personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-rouass/for-modeling-you-have-to-be-photogenic-but-to-be-a-vj-you-actually/) [Laila Rouass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-rouass/) > [Virtue is not photogenic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/virtue-is-not-photogenic/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) ## More by Sebastian Horsley > [I don't think I'm known for my gifts - I'm known for my gall. I don't want to be just a famous person -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-don-t-think-i-m-known-for-my-gifts-i-m-known-for-my-gall-i-don-t/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [The function of music is to release us from the boredom of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/the-function-of-music-is-to-release-us-from-the-boredom-of-existence/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [I am half-Byronic, half-moronic; part-shaman, part-showman; half-Nazi, half-Liberace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-am-half-byronic-half-moronic-part-shaman-part-showman-half-nazi/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [But really death seems the least awful thing that can happen to someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/but-really-death-seems-the-least-awful-thing-that-can-happen-to/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [If I hear that people are litigious, I immediately dismiss them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/if-i-hear-that-people-are-litigious-i-immediately-dismiss-them/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [You may look back on your life and accept it as good or evil. But it is far, far harder to admit that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/you-may-look-back-on-your-life-and-accept-it-as-good-or-evil-but-it/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [I consider myself to be very correct and proper: an upright citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-consider-myself-to-be-very-correct-and-proper-an-upright-citizen/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [I have wanted only one thing to make me happy. That thing is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-have-wanted-only-one-thing-to-make-me-happy-that-thing-is-everything/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [I might be old, but I'm still desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-might-be-old-but-i-m-still-desirable/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [If I want to dislike women, I should be allowed to. As it happens, I love them. Women to me are privately worshipped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/if-i-want-to-dislike-women-i-should-be-allowed-to-as-it-happens-i/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [I think you are born, and I think you die. I have a pragmatic nature, but I yearn to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-think-you-are-born-and-i-think-you-die-i-have-a-pragmatic-nature/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [If someone thinks I'm posh, it just shows how lowly they are. Some people think I went to Eton. I'm far too stupid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/if-someone-thinks-i-m-posh-it-just-shows-how-lowly-they-are-some/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [Dandyism is a lie which reveals the truth, and the truth is that we are what we pretend to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/dandyism-is-a-lie-which-reveals-the-truth-and-the-truth-is-that-we/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [I am half-Byronic, half-moronic; part-shaman, part-showman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/i-am-half-byronic-half-moronic-part-shaman-part-showman/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [People who have a reputation for being evil are usually good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/people-who-have-a-reputation-for-being-evil-are-usually-good/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) [Explore all 62 Sebastian Horsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with compassion is that it is not photogenic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sebastian Horsley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-is-not-photogenic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-is-not-photogenic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d12/sebastian-horsley-10949_compassion_the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-i_3142525.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with compassion is that it is not photogenic.” — Sebastian Horsley", "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": "Sebastian Horsley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem with compassion is that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-is-not-photogenic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/the-problem-with-compassion-is-that-it-is-not-photogenic/#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 } } ] } ```