--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What it comes down to, Red, is some…" description: "\"“What it comes down to, Red, is some people refuse to get their hands dirty at all. That's called sainthood, and the pigeons land on your shoulders and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/stephen-king-13_quote_what-it-comes-down-to-red-is-some-people_1432244.jpg" --- # What it comes down to, Red, is some people refuse to get… ![“What it comes down to, Red, is some people refuse to get their hands dirty at all. That's called sainthood, and the pigeons land on your shoulders and crap all over your shirt.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/stephen-king-13_quote_what-it-comes-down-to-red-is-some-people_1432244.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/stephen-king-13_quote_what-it-comes-down-to-red-is-some-people_1432244.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea1/stephen-king-13_quote_what-it-comes-down-to-red-is-some-people_1432244.jpg) > ““What it comes down to, Red, is some people refuse to get their hands dirty at all. That's called sainthood, and the pigeons land on your shoulders and crap all over your shirt.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who avoid dirty work claim moral purity, but their inaction causes problems that fall on others. **In simple terms:** Avoiding effort leads to unintended consequences. Key Takeaway Take responsibility instead of claiming purity. Themes responsibility morality work ethic consequences Mood critical thoughtful serious Type ethical motivational When to use this quote - team projects - community service - environmental cleanup - political activism Key Concepts ethics social responsibility leadership Questions to Reflect On - What tasks are you avoiding? - How does avoidance affect those around you? A Different Perspective Idealizing purity can excuse neglect of necessary work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pigeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigeons/) ## Related quotes > [“Startled pigeons filled the old, shadowy rooms and crumbling hallways with their soft thunder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/startled-pigeons-filled-the-old-shadowy-rooms-and-crumbling-hallways/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It is the touchscreen of my smartphone tells me that my hands are very dirty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-the-touchscreen-of-my-smartphone-tells-me-that-my-hands-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Finally, if you attempt to read this without working through a significant number of exercises (see §0.0.1), I will come to your house and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-vakil/finally-if-you-attempt-to-read-this-without-working-through-a/) Ravi Vakil > [It's getting to the point where, to be honest with you, even though there is a lot of great music around, especially in clubland,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-alkan/it-s-getting-to-the-point-where-to-be-honest-with-you-even-though/) [Erol Alkan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-alkan/) > [“If a peasant offers you a beautiful fruit with his dirty hands, take it with endless gratitude because his hands became dirty for your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-a-peasant-offers-you-a-beautiful-fruit-with-his-dirty-hands-take/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I don't even pretend we can occupy the Lib Dem holier-than-thou, hands-entirely-clean-and-entirely-empty-type stance. No, we are getting our hands dirty, and inevitably and totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/i-don-t-even-pretend-we-can-occupy-the-lib-dem-holier-than-thou-hands/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [Jump into the middle of things, get your hands dirty, fall flat on your face, and then reach for the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/jump-into-the-middle-of-things-get-your-hands-dirty-fall-flat-on-your/) [Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/) > [I love to get my hands dirty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/i-love-to-get-my-hands-dirty/) [Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilla-duchess-of-cornwall/) > [“For six months, then, Emma, at fifteen years of age, made her hands dirty with books from old lending libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/for-six-months-then-emma-at-fifteen-years-of-age-made-her-hands-dirty/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [You have to get your hands dirty. 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They are simply afraid of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/many-people-excuse-themselves-by-claiming-that-they-don-t-have-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I feel like it's so important to get your little ones' hands dirty in the kitchen. It gives them kitchen confidence, and it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha-curry/i-feel-like-it-s-so-important-to-get-your-little-ones-hands-dirty-in/) [Ayesha Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayesha-curry/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. 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No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Pigeons quotes > [I get really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows. I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/i-get-really-nervous-if-pigeons-are-flying-around-before-shows-i-can/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [I love the pigeons. I just raise them, period, and feed them. Pigeons go away, and they always come back. You get a touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-love-the-pigeons-i-just-raise-them-period-and-feed-them-pigeons-go/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I don't understand why people would want to get rid of pigeons. They don't bother no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-don-t-understand-why-people-would-want-to-get-rid-of-pigeons-they/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [Children pick up words as pigeons peas And utter them again as God shall please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/children-pick-up-words-as-pigeons-peas-and-utter-them-again-as-god/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [If pigs had wings, they would be pigeons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-pigs-had-wings-they-would-be-pigeons/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [You have to accept the fact that sometimes you are the pigeon, and sometimes you are the statue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-chabrol/you-have-to-accept-the-fact-that-sometimes-you-are-the-pigeon-and/) [Claude Chabrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-chabrol/) > [GIRLS SAY I'M CRAZY JUST BECAUSE I SAY I AM CHEATING ON THEM & THEN GO TO THE PARK TO FEED NON-EXISTENT PIGEONS AND…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/litha/girls-say-i-m-crazy-just-because-i-say-i-am-cheating-on-them-then-go/) [Litha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/litha/) > [“...the cooing of pigeons, nesting in the wall outside; shimmering and unexpected like a first hyacinth gently tearing open its nutritious heart to release…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-cooing-of-pigeons-nesting-in-the-wall-outside-shimmering-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I'm very old-fashioned. I believe that people should stay married for life, like pigeons and Catholics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-very-old-fashioned-i-believe-that-people-should-stay-married-for/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [No not pigeon holed me as an actor, or as a character, or as to what I could do - but what I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabney-coleman/no-not-pigeon-holed-me-as-an-actor-or-as-a-character-or-as-to-what-i/) [Dabney Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabney-coleman/) > [When I first came to New York, I would scream like a girl and run to the other side of the street if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searles/when-i-first-came-to-new-york-i-would-scream-like-a-girl-and-run-to/) [John Searles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searles/) > [If you confine yourself to this Skinnerian technique, you study nothing but the learning apparatus and you leave out everything that is different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/if-you-confine-yourself-to-this-skinnerian-technique-you-study/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [I'm character-driven. 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I can't spend as much time there as I like, but I like everything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-ritchie/the-english-countryside-is-the-most-staggeringly-beautiful-place-i/) [Guy Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-ritchie/) [Browse all 243 Pigeons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigeons/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What it comes down to, Red, is some people refuse to get their hands dirty at all. 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