--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Civil rights used to be about treating…" description: "\"Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same. But today some people are so used to special treatment that equal treatment is considered to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-sowell-247_civil-rights_civil-rights-used-to-be-about-treating-e_1954906.jpg" --- # Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same… ![“Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same. But today some people are so used to special treatment that equal treatment is considered to be discrimination.” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-sowell-247_civil-rights_civil-rights-used-to-be-about-treating-e_1954906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-sowell-247_civil-rights_civil-rights-used-to-be-about-treating-e_1954906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/thomas-sowell-247_civil-rights_civil-rights-used-to-be-about-treating-e_1954906.jpg) > “Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same. But today some people are so used to special treatment that equal treatment is considered to be discrimination.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civil rights once meant equal treatment for all, but now some view equal treatment as discrimination because of a focus on special treatment. **In simple terms:** Equality once meant sameness; now it’s seen as unfair. Key Takeaway Recognize the shift from equal to special treatment. Themes equality politics social change Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - Legal debates - educational curricula - workplace policies Key Concepts law philosophy public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance equity and equality? - What defines “special treatment”? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on special treatment can undermine true equality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-right/) [Civil rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) [Considered Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-discrimination-3194765/) [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Equal treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal-treatment/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Special treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special-treatment/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) [Treatment Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment-equal-1374363/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Used to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-to-be/) ## Related quotes > [When I was teaching at an institution that bent over backward for foreign students, I was asked in class one day: "What is your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/when-i-was-teaching-at-an-institution-that-bent-over-backward-for/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/when-people-get-used-to-preferential-treatment-equal-treatment-seems/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Everybody deserves fair treatment, equal treatment in the eyes of the law and the state. And that includes gays, lesbians, transgender persons. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/everybody-deserves-fair-treatment-equal-treatment-in-the-eyes-of-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Women don't want equal treatment, they couldn't handle it if they got it. It's a tough world out there. What a lot of women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/women-don-t-want-equal-treatment-they-couldn-t-handle-it-if-they-got-2/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [Women don't want equal treatment, they couldn't handle it if they got it. It's a tough world out there. What a lot of women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/women-don-t-want-equal-treatment-they-couldn-t-handle-it-if-they-got/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [calls for equal treatment are often seen as calls for 'special treatment' in situations where discrimination has become the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hill/calls-for-equal-treatment-are-often-seen-as-calls-for-special/) [Anita Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hill/) > [The sad and tragic fact is that the civil rights movement, despite its honorable and courageous past, has over the years degenerated into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-sad-and-tragic-fact-is-that-the-civil-rights-movement-despite-its/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-brown/equal-treatment-for-children-in-unequal-situations-is-not-justice/) [Jerry Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-brown/) > [“But equal treatment in an unequal society could still foster inequality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/but-equal-treatment-in-an-unequal-society-could-still-foster/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [There are people out there every day really fighting the fight for equal rights, equal pay, equal treatment. They're inspiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/there-are-people-out-there-every-day-really-fighting-the-fight-for/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [“What I don’t understand is how some people say they can recognize the necessity to provide people with equal treatment under the law but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-perry/what-i-don-t-understand-is-how-some-people-say-they-can-recognize-the/) [Natalie Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-perry/) > [Black lives matter' doesn't mean that all lives do not matter, rather it is a cry for equal treatment in the greater circle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/black-lives-matter-doesn-t-mean-that-all-lives-do-not-matter-rather/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [E.U. law provides agency workers with the right to equal treatment, and all workers with maximum working hours. It forces governments to take environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-lewis/e-u-law-provides-agency-workers-with-the-right-to-equal-treatment-and/) [Clive Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-lewis/) > [Treating people the same is not equal treatment if they are not the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/treating-people-the-same-is-not-equal-treatment-if-they-are-not-the/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [People need to see signs of equal treatment across society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/people-need-to-see-signs-of-equal-treatment-across-society/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? If not, then why should the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/do-all-children-have-some-inherent-right-to-live-in-america-if-they/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“those parts of the British Isles without the advantage of coal deposits or ports, industrialization was as handicapped as in other countries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/those-parts-of-the-british-isles-without-the-advantage-of-coal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The whole idea of equal justice under law is completely incompatible with the idea of judges deciding cases according to "empathy".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-whole-idea-of-equal-justice-under-law-is-completely-incompatible/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) [Explore all 823 Thomas Sowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More Civil rights quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [I am for freedom of religion, and against all maneuvers to bring about a legal ascendency of one sect over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-am-for-freedom-of-religion-and-against-all-maneuvers-to-bring-about/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights. Their right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/i-speak-not-for-myself-but-so-those-without-a-voice-can-be-heard/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Why do we apologize for advocating for ourselves? Why do we apologize for taking up space that we are entitled to? Why do we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-tambascio/why-do-we-apologize-for-advocating-for-ourselves-why-do-we-apologize/) [Elizabeth Tambascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-tambascio/) > [We are a nation of innovators and problem-solvers who sparked revolutions in democratic government, civil rights, communications, flight, rural electrification and technology. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-a-mcchrystal/we-are-a-nation-of-innovators-and-problem-solvers-who-sparked/) [Stanley A. McChrystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-a-mcchrystal/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Civil rights leaders are involved in helping poor people. That's what I've been doing all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-young/civil-rights-leaders-are-involved-in-helping-poor-people-that-s-what/) [Andrew Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-young/) > [I grew up in the early '60s, and there was a lot of civil rights, a lot of unrest in our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-grew-up-in-the-early-60s-and-there-was-a-lot-of-civil-rights-a-lot/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-autry/i-do-not-believe-that-defending-traditional-marriage-between-one-man/) [Alan Autry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-autry/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [The notion of women being written out of history is as old as the Bible, but it always seems more galling when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thornberry/the-notion-of-women-being-written-out-of-history-is-as-old-as-the/) [Emily Thornberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thornberry/) [Browse all 1,552 Civil rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Civil rights used to be about treating everyone the same. 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