--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda…" description: "\"“Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda Ritter. In this file I will tell you only what you need to know. I am the leader of an organization fighting for ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg" --- # Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda Ritter. In this file… ![“Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda Ritter. In this file I will tell you only what you need to know. I am the leader of an organization fighting for justice and peace. This fight has become increasingly more important—and consequently, nearly impossible—in the past few decades. That is because of…” quote by Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg) > ““Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda Ritter. In this file I will tell you only what you need to know. I am the leader of an organization fighting for justice and peace. This fight has become increasingly more important—and consequently, nearly impossible—in the past few decades. That is because of this.” Images flash across the wall, almost too fast for me to see. A man on his knees with a gun pressed to his forehead. The woman pointing it at him, her face emotionless. From a distance, a small person hanging by the neck from a telephone pole. A hole in the ground the size of a house, full of bodies. And there are other images too, but they move faster, so I get only impressions of blood and bone and death and cruelty, empty faces, soulless eyes, terrified eyes. Just when I have had enough, when I feel like I am going to scream if I see any more, the woman reappears on the screen, behind her desk. “You do not remember any of that,” she says. “But if you are thinking these are the actions of a terrorist group or a tyrannical government regime, you are only partially correct. Half of the people in those pictures, committing those terrible acts, were your neighbors. Your relatives. Your coworkers. The battle we are fighting is not against a particular group. It is against human nature itself—or at least what it has become.” This is what Jeanine was willing to enslave minds and murder people for—to keep us all from knowing. To keep us all ignorant and safe and inside the fence. There is a part of me that understands. “That is why you are so important,” Amanda says. “Our struggle against violence and cruelty is only treating the symptoms of a disease, not curing it. You are the cure. “In order to keep you safe, we devised a way for you to be separated from us. From our water supply. From our technology. From our societal structure. We have formed your society in a particular way in the hope that you will rediscover the moral sense most of us have lost. Over time, we hope that you will begin to change as most of us cannot. “The reason I am leaving this footage for you is so that you will know when it’s time to help us. You will know that it is time when there are many among you whose minds appear to be more flexible than the others. The name you should give those people is Divergent. Once they become abundant among you, your leaders should give the command for Amity to unlock the gate forever, so that you may emerge from your isolation.” And that is what my parents wanted to do: to take what we had learned and use it to help others. Abnegation to the end. “The information in this video is to be restricted to those in government only,” Amanda says. “You are to be a clean slate. But do not forget us.” She smiles a little. “I am about to join your number,” she says. “Like the rest of you, I will voluntarily forget my name, my family, and my home. I will take on a new identity, with false memories and a false history. But so that you know the information I have provided you with is accurate, I will tell you the name I am about to take as my own.” Her smile broadens, and for a moment, I feel that I recognize her. “My name will be Edith Prior,” she says. “And there is much I am happy to forget.” Prior.”” [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A leader explains that the real enemy is humanity’s capacity for cruelty, not a specific group, urging personal responsibility to heal societal illness. **In simple terms:** Human cruelty is the problem, not a single enemy. Key Takeaway Recognize and change your own role in the cycle. Themes justice human nature responsibility violence morality Mood somber reflective urgent Type philosophical motivational critical When to use this quote - education reform - community dialogue - personal reflection - policy advocacy Key Concepts psychology social conditioning ethical dilemma Questions to Reflect On - How can we address both individual and structural causes of violence? - What actions can you take to foster empathy in your community? A Different Perspective The message may oversimplify complex systemic issues and place undue burden on individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clean slate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-slate/) [Help others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-others/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Violence has been a necessary component of every serious liberation struggle...Violence is not the only path to liberation, but likely an indispensable one...the Press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/violence-has-been-a-necessary-component-of-every-serious-liberation/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [I'm not fighting for justice. I am not fighting for freedom. I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-not-fighting-for-justice-i-am-not-fighting-for-freedom-i-am/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/why-should-they-ask-me-to-put-on-a-uniform-and-go-10-000-miles-from/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [I grew up always thinking that fighting for justice was our obligation, whether that's giving your voice to something, serving as a verbal advocate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rye/i-grew-up-always-thinking-that-fighting-for-justice-was-our/) [Angela Rye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rye/) > [It's important to celebrate how far we have come while also fighting for justice for those who are still not safe as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/it-s-important-to-celebrate-how-far-we-have-come-while-also-fighting/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [Artists and celebrities are citizens, and as such you have a responsibility to keep fighting for justice because there are monolithic power structures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-saliers/artists-and-celebrities-are-citizens-and-as-such-you-have-a/) [Emily Saliers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-saliers/) > [The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/the-real-enemy-of-my-people-is-here-i-will-not-disgrace-my-religion/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [I am much happier fighting for justice than I ever was fighting for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/i-am-much-happier-fighting-for-justice-than-i-ever-was-fighting-for/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [War should we waged without love of violence, cruelty, or enmity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/war-should-we-waged-without-love-of-violence-cruelty-or-enmity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“no amount of violence or cruelty can rupture my faith in myself, my agency and ability to choose and to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-simone/no-amount-of-violence-or-cruelty-can-rupture-my-faith-in-myself-my/) [Sierra Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-simone/) > [Johannes had once said that violence and cruelty were just a stupid person's way of making himself felt, because it was easer to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-holm/johannes-had-once-said-that-violence-and-cruelty-were-just-a-stupid/) [Anne Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-holm/) > [the story is not a pretty one. there is violence in it. And cruelty. But stories that are not pretty have a certain value,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/the-story-is-not-a-pretty-one-there-is-violence-in-it-and-cruelty-but/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside, look sideways, look at the hidden violence of language. Never forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/you-want-to-free-the-world-free-humanity-from-oppression-look-inside/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“As porn has gone mainstream, ushered two decades ago into middle-class living rooms and dens with VCRs and now available on the Internet, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/as-porn-has-gone-mainstream-ushered-two-decades-ago-into-middle-class/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [I think the suffering, violence and cruelty and Guantanamo and the rest is going to go on and on in Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-short/i-think-the-suffering-violence-and-cruelty-and-guantanamo-and-the/) [Clare Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-short/) ## More by Veronica Roth > [How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most relationships and friendships, and damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/how-strange-that-something-so-simple-could-have-been-instrumental-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“I was beginning to feel that I had finally found a place to stay, a place that was not so unstable or corrupt or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-was-beginning-to-feel-that-i-had-finally-found-a-place-to-stay-a/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“He acts so tough that he’s probably afraid of marshmallows and really bright sunrises or something. Overcompensating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/he-acts-so-tough-that-he-s-probably-afraid-of-marshmallows-and-really/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [And is it selfish of me to crave victory, or is it brave?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-is-it-selfish-of-me-to-crave-victory-or-is-it-brave/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [You always look like someone's sucked the life right out of you when something fascinates you. -Tris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/you-always-look-like-someone-s-sucked-the-life-right-out-of-you-when/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“We can be mended. We mend each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/we-can-be-mended-we-mend-each-other/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Don’t worry about me handling the pain," I say. "I’ve had a lot of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/don-t-worry-about-me-handling-the-pain-i-say-i-ve-had-a-lot-of/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Soon I will honor my parents by dying as they died. and if all they believed about death was true, soon I will join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/soon-i-will-honor-my-parents-by-dying-as-they-died-and-if-all-they/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Mas lembre-se, já agora, que por vezes as pessoas que oprimimos tornam-se mais poderosas do que nós gostaríamos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/mas-lembre-se-j-agora-que-por-vezes-as-pessoas-que-oprimimos-tornam/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“am aware of how little space there is between us—six inches at most. That space feels charged with electricity. I feel like it should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/am-aware-of-how-little-space-there-is-between-us-six-inches-at-most/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Oh, good,” I say, a sour taste in my mouth. “Heroism is what I was focused on. Not, you know, trying not to die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/oh-good-i-say-a-sour-taste-in-my-mouth-heroism-is-what-i-was-focused/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Caleb frowns at him. "How old are you, anyway?" "Eighteen." "And you don't think you're too old to be with my little sister?" Tobias…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/caleb-frowns-at-him-how-old-are-you-anyway-eighteen-and-you-don-t/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [What do you think they're going to do to us when they find us guilty?" she says after a few minutes of silence have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/what-do-you-think-they-re-going-to-do-to-us-when-they-find-us-guilty/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“La paz está restringida, eso es libertad”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/la-paz-est-restringida-eso-es-libertad/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [In some parts of the ancient world, the hawk symbolized the sun. Back when I got this, I figured if I always had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/in-some-parts-of-the-ancient-world-the-hawk-symbolized-the-sun-back/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) [Explore all 1,589 Veronica Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) ## More Clean slate quotes > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) > [What's important in any working relationship or working with someone in your family is you have to start with a clean slate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-foster/what-s-important-in-any-working-relationship-or-working-with-someone/) [Erin Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-foster/) > [America is indeed a revelation, though not quite the one that was planned. Given a clean slate, man, it was hoped, would write the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/america-is-indeed-a-revelation-though-not-quite-the-one-that-was/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [When you operate in an overbuilt metropolis, you have to hack your way with a meat ax,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moses/when-you-operate-in-an-overbuilt-metropolis-you-have-to-hack-your-way/) [Robert Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moses/) > [“There is no such thing as a clean slate. I know that now. You just embrace your dirty slate and build over it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-clean-slate-i-know-that-now-you-just/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [“Life says: " Write down your experiences in a notebook, not on a blackboard. Don't start with a clean slate, but with a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveed-nawab-ali/life-says-write-down-your-experiences-in-a-notebook-not-on-a/) Naveed Nawab Ali > [Beware the person who has nothing to lose.In the end, music is your only friend.I know what its like to want to die; how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaile-stewart/beware-the-person-who-has-nothing-to-lose-in-the-end-music-is-your/) [Kaile Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaile-stewart/) > [“With the Internet, Facebook, YouTube, there's no such thing as an unbiased jury anymore. No clean slate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/with-the-internet-facebook-youtube-there-s-no-such-thing-as-an/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“I’m sorry,” she said, wishing she could say something more meaningful. “I’m not. 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Yes, people are more aware of you, but it's kind of this clean slate every single time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-gordon/a-job-doesn-t-lead-to-another-job-yes-people-are-more-aware-of-you/) [Molly Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-gordon/) [Browse all 98 Clean slate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-slate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda Ritter. In this file I will tell you only what you need to know. I am the leader of an organization fighting for justice and peace. This fight has become increasingly more important—and consequently, nearly impossible—in the past few decades. That is because of this.” Images flash across the wall, almost too fast for me to see. A man on his knees with a gun pressed to his forehead. The woman pointing it at him, her face emotionless. From a distance, a small person hanging by the neck from a telephone pole. A hole in the ground the size of a house, full of bodies. And there are other images too, but they move faster, so I get only impressions of blood and bone and death and cruelty, empty faces, soulless eyes, terrified eyes. Just when I have had enough, when I feel like I am going to scream if I see any more, the woman reappears on the screen, behind her desk. “You do not remember any of that,” she says. “But if you are thinking these are the actions of a terrorist group or a tyrannical government regime, you are only partially correct. Half of the people in those pictures, committing those terrible acts, were your neighbors. Your relatives. Your coworkers. The battle we are fighting is not against a particular group. It is against human nature itself—or at least what it has become.” This is what Jeanine was willing to enslave minds and murder people for—to keep us all from knowing. To keep us all ignorant and safe and inside the fence. There is a part of me that understands. “That is why you are so important,” Amanda says. “Our struggle against violence and cruelty is only treating the symptoms of a disease, not curing it. You are the cure. “In order to keep you safe, we devised a way for you to be separated from us. From our water supply. From our technology. From our societal structure. We have formed your society in a particular way in the hope that you will rediscover the moral sense most of us have lost. Over time, we hope that you will begin to change as most of us cannot. “The reason I am leaving this footage for you is so that you will know when it’s time to help us. You will know that it is time when there are many among you whose minds appear to be more flexible than the others. The name you should give those people is Divergent. Once they become abundant among you, your leaders should give the command for Amity to unlock the gate forever, so that you may emerge from your isolation.” And that is what my parents wanted to do: to take what we had learned and use it to help others. Abnegation to the end. “The information in this video is to be restricted to those in government only,” Amanda says. “You are to be a clean slate. But do not forget us.” She smiles a little. “I am about to join your number,” she says. “Like the rest of you, I will voluntarily forget my name, my family, and my home. I will take on a new identity, with false memories and a false history. But so that you know the information I have provided you with is accurate, I will tell you the name I am about to take as my own.” Her smile broadens, and for a moment, I feel that I recognize her. “My name will be Edith Prior,” she says. “And there is much I am happy to forget.” Prior.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Veronica Roth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter-in-this-file-i-will-tell-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clean slate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter-in-this-file-i-will-tell-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/veronica-roth-66_clean-slate_hello-she-says-my-name-is-amanda-ritter_2401322.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hello,” she says. “My name is Amanda Ritter. 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