--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I remember most of those times is…" description: "\"“What I remember most of those times is that poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates violence.”\" — Studs Terkel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg" --- # What I remember most of those times is that poverty… ![“What I remember most of those times is that poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates violence.” quote by Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg) > ““What I remember most of those times is that poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates violence.”” [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He notes that poverty drives desperation, which in turn leads to violent behavior, linking economic hardship to social unrest. **In simple terms:** Poverty leads to desperation, which can cause violence. Key Takeaway Address poverty to reduce violence. Themes poverty violence social issues Mood somber urgent Type sociological analytical When to use this quote - urban policy - social services - community outreach Key Concepts economic desperation social instability crime cycles Questions to Reflect On - What policies can break the poverty‑violence cycle? - How can communities support those in desperation? A Different Perspective Violence also stems from other factors like ideology or personal pathology. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creates Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creates-desperation-5714092/) [Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation/) [Desperation Creates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation-creates-5714090/) [Desperation Desperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation-desperation-3211436/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Creates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-creates-5714091/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I kick a man while he is down, in desperation. Desperation to show that I'm the Alpha and Omega. The leader, and outcast. This,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silentbluejay/i-kick-a-man-while-he-is-down-in-desperation-desperation-to-show-that/) [SilentBlueJay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silentbluejay/) > [I don't think human beings learn anything without desperation. Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything or creating anything. Period. If you ain't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carrey/i-don-t-think-human-beings-learn-anything-without-desperation/) [Jim Carrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carrey/) > [To know what Fascism really is we must first of all know what it is we are fighting, what the Fascist regimes really are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-seldes/to-know-what-fascism-really-is-we-must-first-of-all-know-what-it-is/) [George Seldes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-seldes/) > [“Silently, she wondered whether this was the same desperation, the same impotence that grips many men by their shirts, their T-shirts, their work vests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panashe-chigumadzi/silently-she-wondered-whether-this-was-the-same-desperation-the-same/) [Panashe Chigumadzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panashe-chigumadzi/) > [“Desperation breeds people who are willing to do anything to get what they need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/desperation-breeds-people-who-are-willing-to-do-anything-to-get-what/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Soon, I found myself locked in my own cage of fear and desperation, where my experience of life was getting smaller and smaller.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-moorjani/soon-i-found-myself-locked-in-my-own-cage-of-fear-and-desperation/) [Anita Moorjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-moorjani/) > [Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/desperation-is-sometimes-as-powerful-an-inspirer-as-genius/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [“In the moments of your deepest need, despair and desperation, what you need more than any other thing, is calm and faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/in-the-moments-of-your-deepest-need-despair-and-desperation-what-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-mass-of-men-lead-lives-of-quiet-desperation-what-is-called/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [In exams, we look up for inspiration, down for desperation, left and right for information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/in-exams-we-look-up-for-inspiration-down-for-desperation-left-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Who among us does not move through life with the hidden sense, maybe even quiet desperation, that we are destined for more?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bregman/who-among-us-does-not-move-through-life-with-the-hidden-sense-maybe/) [Peter Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bregman/) > [Lol, the thirst on SQ is serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maher/lol-the-thirst-on-sq-is-serious/) [Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maher/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) ## More by Studs Terkel > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“It was in ’35—we had this campaign to raise a million tax dollars. In the town of Phillips, one evening, during a blizzard, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/it-was-in-35-we-had-this-campaign-to-raise-a-million-tax-dollars-in/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I read somewhere that when a person takes part in community action, his health improves. Something happens to him or to her biologically. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-read-somewhere-that-when-a-person-takes-part-in-community-action/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Don't be an examiner, be the interested inquirer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/don-t-be-an-examiner-be-the-interested-inquirer/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Hope never trickles down. It always springs up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/hope-never-trickles-down-it-always-springs-up/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I never drove a car. I'm hopeless that way. I press the wrong buttons on the tape recorder. But if the person I'm interviewing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-never-drove-a-car-i-m-hopeless-that-way-i-press-the-wrong-buttons/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/to-survive-the-day-is-triumph-enough-for-the-walking-wounded-among/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“I’ll never forget that Depression Easter Sunday. Our son was four years old. I bought ten or fifteen cents’ worth of eggs. You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-ll-never-forget-that-depression-easter-sunday-our-son-was-four/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [All you need in life is truth and beauty and you can find both at the Public Library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/all-you-need-in-life-is-truth-and-beauty-and-you-can-find-both-at-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but rather a raucous conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/reading-a-book-should-not-be-a-passive-exercise-but-rather-a-raucous/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I hope for peace and sanity - it's the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-hope-for-peace-and-sanity-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“The total cost of the Federal Arts Project was only $23 million. Many of these paintings, sculptures and prints were given to museums, courthouses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-total-cost-of-the-federal-arts-project-was-only-23-million-many/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I find labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-find-labels-liberal-and-conservative-of-little-meaning-our-language/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“Who knows Bob’s name in this outfit—let alone his lame child’s? (“The last place I worked for, I was let go,” recalls the bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/who-knows-bob-s-name-in-this-outfit-let-alone-his-lame-child-s-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [The trouble with censorship is that once it starts it is hard to stop. Just about every book contains something that someone objects to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-trouble-with-censorship-is-that-once-it-starts-it-is-hard-to-stop/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) [Explore all 142 Studs Terkel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## More Desperation quotes > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [Lol, the thirst on SQ is serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maher/lol-the-thirst-on-sq-is-serious/) [Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maher/) > [“Who among us does not move through life with the hidden sense, maybe even quiet desperation, that we are destined for more?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bregman/who-among-us-does-not-move-through-life-with-the-hidden-sense-maybe/) [Peter Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bregman/) > [In exams, we look up for inspiration, down for desperation, left and right for information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/in-exams-we-look-up-for-inspiration-down-for-desperation-left-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-mass-of-men-lead-lives-of-quiet-desperation-what-is-called/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“In the moments of your deepest need, despair and desperation, what you need more than any other thing, is calm and faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/in-the-moments-of-your-deepest-need-despair-and-desperation-what-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/desperation-is-sometimes-as-powerful-an-inspirer-as-genius/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [“Soon, I found myself locked in my own cage of fear and desperation, where my experience of life was getting smaller and smaller.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-moorjani/soon-i-found-myself-locked-in-my-own-cage-of-fear-and-desperation/) [Anita Moorjani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-moorjani/) > [“Desperation breeds people who are willing to do anything to get what they need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/desperation-breeds-people-who-are-willing-to-do-anything-to-get-what/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“If you were mine, I'd never leave you, Prudence. I couldn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-gracie/if-you-were-mine-i-d-never-leave-you-prudence-i-couldn-t/) [Anne Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-gracie/) > [I took Second City out of desperation, and that's what ended up working out. It shows that you should be doing a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hader/i-took-second-city-out-of-desperation-and-that-s-what-ended-up/) [Bill Hader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hader/) > [“silent desperation of everything they never said - gaps and absences in every conversation, the past circumscribing the present, the future hemming in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/silent-desperation-of-everything-they-never-said-gaps-and-absences-in/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“The car was on the FDR drive now and, turning her head, she glanced out at the bleak brown buildings of the projects that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/the-car-was-on-the-fdr-drive-now-and-turning-her-head-she-glanced-out/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) [Browse all 697 Desperation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desperation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What I remember most of those times is that poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates violence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Studs Terkel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-that-poverty-creates/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desperation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-that-poverty-creates/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/668/studs-terkel-3020_desperation_what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-t_3161107.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What I remember most of those times is that poverty creates desperation, and desperation creates violence.” — Studs Terkel", "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": "Studs Terkel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What I remember most of those...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-that-poverty-creates/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/what-i-remember-most-of-those-times-is-that-poverty-creates/#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 } } ] } ```