--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It may sound cruel...but...what makes a…" description: "\"“It may sound cruel...but...what makes a criminal is a disposition toward cruelty, a laziness and impatience that lead to taking from others, and cynic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/stanley-crouch-16415_crime_it-may-sound-cruel-but-what-makes-a-crim_372424.jpg" --- # It may sound cruel...but...what makes a criminal is a… ![“It may sound cruel...but...what makes a criminal is a disposition toward cruelty, a laziness and impatience that lead to taking from others, and cynicism that pretends there is a war going on, and that the victims are the result of a conflict that somebody else started. "[Caligula and DeSade] were…” quote by Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/stanley-crouch-16415_crime_it-may-sound-cruel-but-what-makes-a-crim_372424.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/stanley-crouch-16415_crime_it-may-sound-cruel-but-what-makes-a-crim_372424.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/stanley-crouch-16415_crime_it-may-sound-cruel-but-what-makes-a-crim_372424.jpg) > ““It may sound cruel...but...what makes a criminal is a disposition toward cruelty, a laziness and impatience that lead to taking from others, and cynicism that pretends there is a war going on, and that the victims are the result of a conflict that somebody else started. "\[Caligula and DeSade\] were expressing through the license of...power their outrage and boredom, and apparently meaningless lives. That these attitudes have filtered down to the lower classes is what is new.”” [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cruelty stems from a lazy, impatient disposition that justifies taking from others, masked by cynicism and a sense of conflict. **In simple terms:** Cruelty is a lazy, impatient mindset hidden by cynicism. Key Takeaway Challenge selfish attitudes. Themes morality power human nature Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - leadership - justice reform - social activism Key Concepts philosophy political theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - What hidden biases drive your actions? - How can societies curb lazy cruelty? A Different Perspective Not all cruelty is overt; subtle biases persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) ## Related quotes > [Normal children often pass through stages of passionate cruelty, laziness, lying and thievery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/normal-children-often-pass-through-stages-of-passionate-cruelty/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [“His laugh echoed through the entire room. He didn’t sound cruel, but then again, the worst kinds of cruelty come in the guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-skye/his-laugh-echoed-through-the-entire-room-he-didn-t-sound-cruel-but/) [Evelyn Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-skye/) > [If loving you is a crime, then I guess that makes me a criminal. Breakout the your handcuffs and come arrest me. And, please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-loving-you-is-a-crime-then-i-guess-that-makes-me-a-criminal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am as much a villain in my nature as a common thief on the high road,” he said. “Did you not know it?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-duran/i-am-as-much-a-villain-in-my-nature-as-a-common-thief-on-the-high/) [Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-duran/) > [Standing before you as the advocate of the lower races, I declare what I believe cannot be gainsaid...that just so soon and so far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/standing-before-you-as-the-advocate-of-the-lower-races-i-declare-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. 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If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [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/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) ## More by Stanley Crouch > [I also wanted to do something that I hadn't really seen in almost any black novels, which was a complex love story in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/i-also-wanted-to-do-something-that-i-hadn-t-really-seen-in-almost-any/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [Getting to the pint where the other is not the enemy is a big leap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/getting-to-the-pint-where-the-other-is-not-the-enemy-is-a-big-leap/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [The discussion of ideas as opposed to the American narcissistic obsession with what's going on with the self, that's the general thing people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/the-discussion-of-ideas-as-opposed-to-the-american-narcissistic/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [When people conclude that all is futile, then the absurd becomes the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/when-people-conclude-that-all-is-futile-then-the-absurd-becomes-the/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [I wanted to get to that aesthetic proposition that comes out of learning the human elements of a world, so that those notes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crouch/i-wanted-to-get-to-that-aesthetic-proposition-that-comes-out-of/) [Stanley Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crouch/) > [ Above all else, \[Benny Goodman\] was a great player, one of the greatest American music has produced. 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I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. 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