--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You got to knock a man down and put your…" description: "\"“You got to knock a man down and put your knife at his throat before he'll hear you, like I did to that trooper. The truth seems hateful to most everyb..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/thomas-berger-28947_truth_you-got-to-knock-a-man-down-and-put-your_2123696.jpg" --- # You got to knock a man down and put your knife at his… ![“You got to knock a man down and put your knife at his throat before he'll hear you, like I did to that trooper. The truth seems hateful to most everybody.” quote by Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/thomas-berger-28947_truth_you-got-to-knock-a-man-down-and-put-your_2123696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/thomas-berger-28947_truth_you-got-to-knock-a-man-down-and-put-your_2123696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/982/thomas-berger-28947_truth_you-got-to-knock-a-man-down-and-put-your_2123696.jpg) > ““You got to knock a man down and put your knife at his throat before he'll hear you, like I did to that trooper. The truth seems hateful to most everybody.”” [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence is used as a means to force attention, but truth is often rejected because it is painful. **In simple terms:** People ignore harsh truths unless forced to confront them. Key Takeaway Forceful confrontation may reveal truth. Themes power truth violence Mood tense reflective Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - conflict resolution - personal boundaries - truth-telling Key Concepts coercion rejection pain Questions to Reflect On - Is force ever justified to convey truth? - How does violence affect credibility? A Different Perspective Truth can alienate when imposed aggressively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hateful/) [Hateful Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hateful-everybody-2674739/) [Knife Throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knife-throat-434377/) [Man Knife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-knife-2477642/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Hateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-hateful-4344859/) ## Related quotes > [ You always have to be keeping track, especially in this scenario \[ The Hateful Eight\], of where everybody is. They're pieces on a chess board. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/you-always-have-to-be-keeping-track-especially-in-this-scenario-the/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [“I can’t imagine living the way he does—always keeping track of who gave me what and what I should give them in return, incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-can-t-imagine-living-the-way-he-does-always-keeping-track-of-who/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“A one-eyed man with a knife in hand, looking for someone else’s eye to poke out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/a-one-eyed-man-with-a-knife-in-hand-looking-for-someone-else-s-eye-to/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-fike/if-you-are-a-big-eater-put-a-knife-to-your-throat/) [Al Fike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-fike/) > [“She looked at the knife, her throat tight with emotion. 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It's not hard to imagine what it would be like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/famke-janssen/when-someone-holds-a-knife-to-your-throat-it-s-easy-to-be-scared-it-s/) [Famke Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/famke-janssen/) > [“Kaz leaned back. “What’s the easiest way to steal a man’s wallet?” “Knife to the throat?” asked Inej. “Gun to the back?” said Jesper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/kaz-leaned-back-what-s-the-easiest-way-to-steal-a-man-s-wallet-knife/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“The next person who tells me something like, "Squiggle-fuck the rightwise cock-swatter with a starboard jib," is going to get a knife to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/the-next-person-who-tells-me-something-like-squiggle-fuck-the/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [“So a man will sometimes go through half an hour of mortal terror with a brigand, yet when the knife is at his throat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crime-and-punishment-fyodor-dostoevsky/so-a-man-will-sometimes-go-through-half-an-hour-of-mortal-terror-with/) [Crime and Punishment; Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crime-and-punishment-fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“The Witcher had a knife to his throat. He was wallowing in a wooden tub, brimfull with soapsuds, his head thrown agains the slippery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-sapkowski/the-witcher-had-a-knife-to-his-throat-he-was-wallowing-in-a-wooden/) [Andrzej Sapkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-sapkowski/) > [“Das Messer sitzt mir an der Kehle. The knife is at my throat; I am face-to-face with doom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/das-messer-sitzt-mir-an-der-kehle-the-knife-is-at-my-throat-i-am-face/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [“He's weak and ignorant, scared of the way consequences of an action leap away from your control and breed new events, new consequences, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/he-s-weak-and-ignorant-scared-of-the-way-consequences-of-an-action/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More by Thomas Berger > [“All human beings must perform according to their nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/all-human-beings-must-perform-according-to-their-nature/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“I expect Custer was crazy enough to believe he would win, being the type of man who carries the whole world within his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/i-expect-custer-was-crazy-enough-to-believe-he-would-win-being-the/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“If you want to really relax sometime, just fall to rock bottom and you'll be a happy man. 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Because it isn't there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/why-do-writers-write-because-it-isn-t-there/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“But, Sire, the curse which shall ruin you eventually is the selfsame which ruins all men, irrespective of their actions good or evil, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/but-sire-the-curse-which-shall-ruin-you-eventually-is-the-selfsame/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/the-art-and-science-of-asking-questions-is-the-source-of-all-knowledge/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“When you run into a story of more than three against one and one winning, then you have heard a lie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/when-you-run-into-a-story-of-more-than-three-against-one-and-one/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“…What it means is you will fight until you’re all used up. Far from being sour, life is so sweet you will live it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/what-it-means-is-you-will-fight-until-you-re-all-used-up-far-from/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“privilege is founded on duty, and if the horse carries the man, the animal is fed before the rider himself doth eat. Thus in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/privilege-is-founded-on-duty-and-if-the-horse-carries-the-man-the/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“It was strange how in no time at all everybody went from fear to being excruciatingly bored, and the very women who yesterday had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/it-was-strange-how-in-no-time-at-all-everybody-went-from-fear-to/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“I love her still, for if you know anything about that kind of feeling, you know how close it is connected to hopelessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/i-love-her-still-for-if-you-know-anything-about-that-kind-of-feeling/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“Tell us, Merlin,” said he, “why do we feel no sense of triumph in this?” And Merlin answered, “Well, is not triumph a childish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/tell-us-merlin-said-he-why-do-we-feel-no-sense-of-triumph-in-this-and/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“like all wicked people he could do things which defied the means of honest men, for evil is always more easily managed than virtue.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/like-all-wicked-people-he-could-do-things-which-defied-the-means-of/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) > [“The truth is always made up of little particulars which sound ridiculous when repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berger/the-truth-is-always-made-up-of-little-particulars-which-sound/) [Thomas Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) [Explore all 19 Thomas Berger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berger/) ## More Hateful quotes > [A second wife is hateful to the children of the first; a viper is not more hateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/a-second-wife-is-hateful-to-the-children-of-the-first-a-viper-is-not/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-love-the-idea-of-the-teachings-of-jesus-christ-and-the-beautiful/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [“You can be bit in the leg by a rattlesnake and seek help to heal your wound, or you can run after it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/you-can-be-bit-in-the-leg-by-a-rattlesnake-and-seek-help-to-heal-your/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/heterosexual-intercourse-is-the-pure-formalized-expression-of/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/though-this-nation-has-proudly-thought-of-itself-as-an-ethnic-melting/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [Oddly enough, most of the books written about the subject aren't very good because they just focus on the more hateful movies that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/oddly-enough-most-of-the-books-written-about-the-subject-aren-t-very/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [I've been racking my brain. I've been trying to figure out how Bob Dole's luggage got on my airplane...I told the doctor, I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-ve-been-racking-my-brain-i-ve-been-trying-to-figure-out-how-bob/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Obama wouldn't have been voted president if he weren't black. Somebody asked me over the weekend why does somebody earn a lot of money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/obama-wouldn-t-have-been-voted-president-if-he-weren-t-black-somebody/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Advocacy groups in the USA, as in other countries, may not be able to silence this hateful, cowardly and deceitful attack upon people’s humanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/advocacy-groups-in-the-usa-as-in-other-countries-may-not-be-able-to/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [First, I think more Americans need to declare their independence from partisan politics on both sides. The more that Americans declare their independence, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avlon/first-i-think-more-americans-need-to-declare-their-independence-from/) [John Avlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-avlon/) > [“No matter how powerful hate seems, it cannot usurp the throne of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/no-matter-how-powerful-hate-seems-it-cannot-usurp-the-throne-of-love/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The even mead, that erst brought sweetly forth The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover, Wanting the scythe, all uncorrected, rank, Conceives by idleness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-even-mead-that-erst-brought-sweetly-forth-the-freckled-cowslip/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Fury is an entirely appropriate response to a system that sends young people to kill other young people in a war that never should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/fury-is-an-entirely-appropriate-response-to-a-system-that-sends-young/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [I try to understand people who aren't as smart as me and not be hateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-coleman/i-try-to-understand-people-who-aren-t-as-smart-as-me-and-not-be/) [Gary Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-coleman/) [Browse all 447 Hateful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hateful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You got to knock a man down and put your knife at his throat before he'll hear you, like I did to that trooper. 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