--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing, however, I know with…" description: "\"One thing, however, I know with certainty: violence, or the direct threat of violence, of the kind we have seen in the past few days, is totally unjust..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png" --- # One thing, however, I know with certainty: violence, or… ![“One thing, however, I know with certainty: violence, or the direct threat of violence, of the kind we have seen in the past few days, is totally unjustified as a response to any published word or image.” quote by Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png) > “One thing, however, I know with certainty: violence, or the direct threat of violence, of the kind we have seen in the past few days, is totally unjustified as a response to any published word or image.” [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) ## 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 never a justified answer to words or images, no matter the provocation. **In simple terms:** Violence is unacceptable as a response to speech. Key Takeaway Reject violent retaliation against ideas. Themes freedom of expression nonviolence justice Mood serious concerned Type political ethical When to use this quote - political protest - online harassment - media criticism - legal debates Key Concepts ethics human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect speech without inciting violence? - What alternatives exist to violent protest? A Different Perspective Nonviolent responses may be perceived as weak or ineffective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Certainty Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty-violence-1517706/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/) [Threat Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat-violence-805232/) [Totally Unjustified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/totally-unjustified-2571294/) [Unjustified Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjustified-response-5154977/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-kind-891401/) ## Related quotes > [“I shall introduce this city and its occupants as a series of objects whose relationship cannot be told with any certainty. Though violence may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-shall-introduce-this-city-and-its-occupants-as-a-series-of-objects/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [As for the concept of collective guilt, I personally think that it is totally unjustified to hold one person responsible for the behavior of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-for-the-concept-of-collective-guilt-i-personally-think-that-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to go to the movies to see violence or some kind of spy thing with all kinds of information you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-zadora/i-don-t-like-to-go-to-the-movies-to-see-violence-or-some-kind-of-spy/) [Pia Zadora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pia-zadora/) > [“Violence - the kind you see on television - is not honestly violent, there lies its harm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-strunk-jr-2/violence-the-kind-you-see-on-television-is-not-honestly-violent-there/) [William Strunk Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-strunk-jr-2/) > [No-one wants to see violence of any kind on our streets, certainly not any violence that's justified by extreme nationalist ideas or that targets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-soutphommasane/no-one-wants-to-see-violence-of-any-kind-on-our-streets-certainly-not/) [Tim Soutphommasane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-soutphommasane/) > [“Violence of any kind, once it starts, is like fucking a gorilla-you ain't done till the gorilla's done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/violence-of-any-kind-once-it-starts-is-like-fucking-a-gorilla-you-ain/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I would never ever condone any violence of any kind. But in the theater of fiction, blood is delightful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raymond/i-would-never-ever-condone-any-violence-of-any-kind-but-in-the/) [Jonathan Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raymond/) > [True violence, not the kind you usually see in television or movies, touches something very deep and primal in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/true-violence-not-the-kind-you-usually-see-in-television-or-movies/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [In my rational mind, I know... that is a very simplistic way of looking at it, but when there is violence of that kind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-vester/in-my-rational-mind-i-know-that-is-a-very-simplistic-way-of-looking/) [Linda Vester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-vester/) > [I don't ever believe in violence as a kind of medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-don-t-ever-believe-in-violence-as-a-kind-of-medicine/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [I intentionally shoot violence to make the audience feel real pain. I have never and I will never shoot violence as if it's some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeshi-kitano/i-intentionally-shoot-violence-to-make-the-audience-feel-real-pain-i/) [Takeshi Kitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeshi-kitano/) > [In the course of my lifetime, that world went from violence to a kind of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-branagh/in-the-course-of-my-lifetime-that-world-went-from-violence-to-a-kind/) [Kenneth Branagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-branagh/) > [I see contemporary violence as a kind of sardonic response to the promise of consumer fulfilment in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-see-contemporary-violence-as-a-kind-of-sardonic-response-to-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [In a world which is armed to its teeth with nuclear weapons, every quarrel or difference of opinion may lead to violence of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-kahn/in-a-world-which-is-armed-to-its-teeth-with-nuclear-weapons-every/) [Herman Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-kahn/) > [What you might not know is that shortly after she worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others, Rosa Parks had to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martin/what-you-might-not-know-is-that-shortly-after-she-worked-alongside-dr/) [Michel Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martin/) ## More by Timothy Garton Ash > [I'm a historian by training and by conviction. And so the thing that has throughout informed my thinking about international relations is history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-m-a-historian-by-training-and-by-conviction-and-so-the-thing-that/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [America should do a reverse Columbus. The world no longer needs to discover America; but America urgently needs to discover the world's view of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/america-should-do-a-reverse-columbus-the-world-no-longer-needs-to/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [Yet another thing Canadians and Europeans have in common is an obsession with the United States, and with distinguishing themselves from it, often by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/yet-another-thing-canadians-and-europeans-have-in-common-is-an/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [Ordinary Americans, and especially the small minority active in Democrat and Republican primaries, must learn more of what people across the globe are thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/ordinary-americans-and-especially-the-small-minority-active-in/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [No country in Europe has a larger proportion of men and women of immigrant descent, mainly from the African continent and mainly Muslim: an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/no-country-in-europe-has-a-larger-proportion-of-men-and-women-of/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [Well, that's the way democracy works. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/the-main-problem-with-american-power-is-not-that-it-is-american-no/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [What is the elephant in all our rooms? It is the global triumph of capitalism. Democracy is fiercely disputed. Freedom is under threat even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/what-is-the-elephant-in-all-our-rooms-it-is-the-global-triumph-of/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [Nuclear proliferation - the proliferation of WMDs altogether - is one of the greatest dangers of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/nuclear-proliferation-the-proliferation-of-wmds-altogether-is-one-of/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [I find Chinese debates about their political system domestically, but also about China's claims in the international system, to be among the most original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/i-find-chinese-debates-about-their-political-system-domestically-but/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [Every step that produces a single job for a currently unemployed European should be taken. Every centimetre of red tape that puts someone out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/every-step-that-produces-a-single-job-for-a-currently-unemployed/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [But transitions from the politics of violence to democratic compromise are always messy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/but-transitions-from-the-politics-of-violence-to-democratic/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [America is divided by a great argument about itself. Europe is divided by a great argument about America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/america-is-divided-by-a-great-argument-about-itself-europe-is-divided/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) > [The trouble is that privacy is at once essential to, and in tension with, both freedom and security. A cabinet minister who keeps his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/the-trouble-is-that-privacy-is-at-once-essential-to-and-in-tension/) [Timothy Garton Ash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) [Explore all 42 Timothy Garton Ash quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. An acceptable house, partner or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-t-mortensen/as-the-future-is-never-known-with-certainty-the-evaluation-of-the/) [Dale T. Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-t-mortensen/) > [Finding someone that trusted my vision helped me find certainty in who I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/finding-someone-that-trusted-my-vision-helped-me-find-certainty-in/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) [Browse all 1,776 Certainty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One thing, however, I know with certainty: violence, or the direct threat of violence, of the kind we have seen in the past few days, is totally unjustified as a response to any published word or image.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Garton Ash" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty-violence-or-the-direct-threat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certainty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty-violence-or-the-direct-threat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/timothy-garton-ash-15575_certainty_one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty_1440862.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One thing, however, I know with certainty: violence, or the direct threat of violence, of the kind we have…” — Timothy Garton Ash", "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": "Timothy Garton Ash", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-garton-ash/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One thing, however, I know with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty-violence-or-the-direct-threat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-garton-ash/one-thing-however-i-know-with-certainty-violence-or-the-direct-threat/#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 } } ] } ```