--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Giving freaks a pass is the oldest…" description: "\"Giving freaks a pass is the oldest tradition in Montana.\" — Thomas McGuane" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png" --- # Giving freaks a pass is the oldest tradition in Montana. ![“Giving freaks a pass is the oldest tradition in Montana.” quote by Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png) > “Giving freaks a pass is the oldest tradition in Montana.” [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excusing deviant behavior is a long‑standing local habit. **In simple terms:** Old traditions excuse odd behavior. Key Takeaway Question local norms that enable misconduct. Themes tradition justice community exemption Mood critical analytical Type sociological ethical When to use this quote - law enforcement - community meetings - policy reform Key Concepts Social conformity legal leniency Questions to Reflect On - Why do communities protect the undesirable? - How to change entrenched excuses? A Different Perspective Traditions can hide injustice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Freak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freak/) [Freaks Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freaks-pass-3023291/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving Freaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-freaks-3023293/) [Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montana/) [Oldest Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oldest-tradition-348922/) [Pass Oldest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pass-oldest-3023292/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Montana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-montana-3023290/) ## Related quotes > [Time continued to pass - the oldest trick in the world, and maybe the only one that really is magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/time-continued-to-pass-the-oldest-trick-in-the-world-and-maybe-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The youth of America is their oldest tradition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-youth-of-america-is-their-oldest-tradition/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Our country has the oldest tradition of storytelling, and this was much before writing stories even became a norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/our-country-has-the-oldest-tradition-of-storytelling-and-this-was/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [The youth of America is their oldest tradition. It has been going on now for three hundred years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-youth-of-america-is-their-oldest-tradition-it-has-been-going-on/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [If you're from New York and you're Catholic, you're still Jewish. If you're from Butte Montana and you're Jewish, you're still goyisch. The Air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/if-you-re-from-new-york-and-you-re-catholic-you-re-still-jewish-if/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [As someone who grew up in a logging and rail town and hiking in Glacier National Park, I am honored and humbled to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-zinke/as-someone-who-grew-up-in-a-logging-and-rail-town-and-hiking-in/) [Ryan Zinke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-zinke/) > [We have always been dreamers in Montana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schweitzer/we-have-always-been-dreamers-in-montana/) [Brian Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schweitzer/) > [I have a ranch in Montana, but it's not a real working ranch. I've always liked the outdoors. I come from Texas. My grandfather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/i-have-a-ranch-in-montana-but-it-s-not-a-real-working-ranch-i-ve/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [“Montana wants to scream, but the thing she is angry at is in the past. The past can’t hear her. This is the thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/montana-wants-to-scream-but-the-thing-she-is-angry-at-is-in-the-past/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [When I was in Greenough, Montana, I came across a bear cub. I was off this path, and I thought, If there's a bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-roker/when-i-was-in-greenough-montana-i-came-across-a-bear-cub-i-was-off/) [Al Roker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-roker/) > [I broke into acting doing Latino roles. I played a Latino casanova in 'The Winner' and a Latino character on 'Hannah Montana.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-steger/i-broke-into-acting-doing-latino-roles-i-played-a-latino-casanova-in/) [Michael Steger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-steger/) > [There were very few black people in Montana but we never felt out of place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-pride/there-were-very-few-black-people-in-montana-but-we-never-felt-out-of/) [Charley Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-pride/) > [What's good for America is great for Montana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-rosendale/what-s-good-for-america-is-great-for-montana/) [Matt Rosendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-rosendale/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I'm like the 18-plus version of 'Hannah Montana.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chappell-roan/i-m-like-the-18-plus-version-of-hannah-montana/) [Chappell Roan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chappell-roan/) ## More by Thomas McGuane > [The trouble is, you can't properly present something you don't believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/the-trouble-is-you-can-t-properly-present-something-you-don-t-believe/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [“She ate her breakfast in silence, then drove downtown in weather so lowering the streetlights seemed decapitated. This was when you could discover if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/she-ate-her-breakfast-in-silence-then-drove-downtown-in-weather-so/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [I simply feel that the frontier of angling is no longer either ethical or geographical. The Bible tells us to watch and listen. Something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/i-simply-feel-that-the-frontier-of-angling-is-no-longer-either/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [We have reached the time in the life of the planet, and humanity's demand upon it, when every fisherman will have to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/we-have-reached-the-time-in-the-life-of-the-planet-and-humanity-s/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [The occupational hazard of making a spectacle of yourself, over the long haul, is that at some point you buy a ticket too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/the-occupational-hazard-of-making-a-spectacle-of-yourself-over-the/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [An undisturbed river is as perfect as we will ever know, every refractive slide of cold water a glimpse of eternity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/an-undisturbed-river-is-as-perfect-as-we-will-ever-know-every/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [My life was the best omelette you could make with a chainsaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/my-life-was-the-best-omelette-you-could-make-with-a-chainsaw/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [“That food was so bad I can't wait for it to become a turd and leave me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/that-food-was-so-bad-i-can-t-wait-for-it-to-become-a-turd-and-leave-me/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [“They were unironic enthusiasts for all the mass pleasures the culture offered: television, NASCAR, cruises, Disney World, sports, celebrity gossip, and local politics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/they-were-unironic-enthusiasts-for-all-the-mass-pleasures-the-culture/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [It don't do you no nevermind to tell nobody nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/it-don-t-do-you-no-nevermind-to-tell-nobody-nothing/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [I'd be happy to have my biography be the stories of my dogs. To me, to live without dogs would mean accepting a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/i-d-be-happy-to-have-my-biography-be-the-stories-of-my-dogs-to-me-to/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [By your late thirties the ground has begun to grow hard. It grows harder and harder until the day that it admits you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/by-your-late-thirties-the-ground-has-begun-to-grow-hard-it-grows/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [Angling is extremely time consuming. That's sort of the whole point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/angling-is-extremely-time-consuming-that-s-sort-of-the-whole-point/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [Early on I decided that fishing would be my way of looking at the world. First it taught me to look at rivers. Lately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/early-on-i-decided-that-fishing-would-be-my-way-of-looking-at-the/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) > [The essence of sport is courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/the-essence-of-sport-is-courage/) [Thomas McGuane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) [Explore all 36 Thomas McGuane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Giving freaks a pass is the oldest tradition in Montana.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas McGuane" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradition-in-montana/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradition-in-montana/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/thomas-mcguane-18001_culture_giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradi_2740426.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Giving freaks a pass is the oldest tradition in Montana.” — Thomas McGuane", "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": "Thomas McGuane", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcguane/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Giving freaks a pass is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradition-in-montana/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcguane/giving-freaks-a-pass-is-the-oldest-tradition-in-montana/#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 } } ] } ```