Alarm clock Quote by Tom Robbins
““The difference between a criminal and an outlaw is that while criminals frequently are victims, outlaws never are. Indeed, the first step toward becoming a true outlaw is the refusal to be victimized. All people who live subject to other people's laws are victims. People who break laws out of greed, frustration, or vengeance are victims. People who overturn laws in order to replace them with their own laws are victims. ( I am speaking here of revolutionaries.) We outlaws, however, live beyond the law. We don't merely live beyond the letter of the law-many businessmen, most politicians, and all cops do that-we live beyond the spirit of the law. In a sense, then, we live beyond society. Have we a common goal, that goal is to turn the tables on the 'nature' of society. When we succeed, we raise the exhilaration content of the universe. We even raise it a little bit when we fail. When war turns whole populations into sleepwalkers, outlaws don't join forces with alarm clocks. Outlaws, like poets, rearrange the nightmare. The trite mythos of the outlaw; the self-conscious romanticism of the outlaw; the black wardrobe of the outlaw; the fey smile of the outlaw; the tequila of the outlaw and the beans of the outlaw; respectable men sneer and say 'outlaw'; young women palpitate and say 'outlaw'. The outlaw boat sails against the flow; outlaws toilet where badgers toilet. All outlaws are photogenic. 'When freedom is outlawed, only outlaws will be free.' There are outlaw maps that lead to outlaw treasures. Unwilling to wait for mankind to improve, the outlaw lives as if that day were here. Outlaws are can openers in the supermarket of life.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Still Life with Woodpeckers by Tom Robbins, 1980
The quote contrasts criminals, who are often victims of circumstance, with outlaws who reject victimhood and operate beyond legal and societal constraints, celebrating rebellious freedom.
In simple terms: Outlaws reject being victims and live beyond laws.
Embrace personal agency over victimhood.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal transformation
- political activism
- creative problem solving
- entrepreneurial ventures
- social movements
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to live beyond the law?
- When does rebellion become oppression?
Outlaw ethos may ignore ethical responsibilities and harm others.