---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man with money to pay for a meal can…"
description: "\"A man with money to pay for a meal can talk about hunger without demeaning himself. ... But for a man with no money hunger is a disgrace.\" — Vicki Baum"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg"
---

#  A man with money to pay for a meal can talk about hunger…

![“A man with money to pay for a meal can talk about hunger without demeaning himself. ... But for a man with no money hunger is a disgrace.” quote by Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg)

> “A man with money to pay for a meal can talk about hunger without demeaning himself. ... But for a man with no money hunger is a disgrace.”

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Wealth allows one to discuss hunger without personal stigma, whereas poverty makes hunger a source of shame.

**In simple terms:** Rich can talk about hunger safely; poor feel ashamed.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge privilege when discussing hardship.

Themes

class poverty empathy social stigma inequality

Mood

empathetic reflective concerned

Type

analytical social commentary

When to use this quote

- charitable campaigns
- policy debates
- social work
- public speaking
- media narratives

Key Concepts

socioeconomic disparity human dignity ethical discourse

Questions to Reflect On

- How does privilege affect our empathy?
- What can be done to reduce stigma around poverty?

A Different Perspective

It may simplify complex social dynamics.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Demeaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demeaning/) [Disgrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgrace/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Hunger Demeaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-demeaning-1198912/) [Hunger Disgrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger-disgrace-1198911/) [Meals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meals/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-hunger-1198910/) [No money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-money/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Pay Meal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-meal-1198913/) [Talk Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-hunger-1198914/)

## Related quotes

> [We in the richest societies have too many calories even as we starve for beautiful, fresh food; we have overly large houses but lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/we-in-the-richest-societies-have-too-many-calories-even-as-we-starve/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [“You talk about hunger and pain as if they are forces which can't be resisted. Anything is acceptable, as long as the hunger made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-talk-about-hunger-and-pain-as-if-they-are-forces-which-can-t-be/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [Nobody's ever asked me to pay for a meal before I've eaten it, I've never been pulled over just because I was driving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/nobody-s-ever-asked-me-to-pay-for-a-meal-before-i-ve-eaten-it-i-ve/)

[Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/)

> [Taking her out on a date where you pay for the meal and you do not complain about it will show her that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher/taking-her-out-on-a-date-where-you-pay-for-the-meal-and-you-do-not/)

[Mazher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher/)

> [A man who is violent to his woman, with or without provocation is less than a man; and a woman who deliberately provokes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tia-nnebo/a-man-who-is-violent-to-his-woman-with-or-without-provocation-is-less/)

[Tia Nnebo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tia-nnebo/)

> [There are a lot of movies out there that I would hate to be paid to do, some real demeaning, real woman-denigrating stuff. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beah-richards/there-are-a-lot-of-movies-out-there-that-i-would-hate-to-be-paid-to/)

[Beah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beah-richards/)

> [The amount of people that I feel like... I'm not being self-demeaning, but I actually feel like I'm not as cool as them, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-vernon/the-amount-of-people-that-i-feel-like-i-m-not-being-self-demeaning/)

[Justin Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-vernon/)

> [For Democrats to reduce women to beggars for cheap government-funded birth control is demeaning to the women that I know who are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/for-democrats-to-reduce-women-to-beggars-for-cheap-government-funded/)

[Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/)

> [Sexism is bad enough when it's men demeaning women. When women do it to other women, it's even more deflating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-robbins/sexism-is-bad-enough-when-it-s-men-demeaning-women-when-women-do-it/)

[Mel Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-robbins/)

> [I never respond to Donald Trump's personal insults about me. I could care less what he says about me. I'm going to respond when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-never-respond-to-donald-trump-s-personal-insults-about-me-i-could/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [To be told that one can be dependent on one's parents until age 26 should strike a young person who wants to grow up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/to-be-told-that-one-can-be-dependent-on-one-s-parents-until-age-26/)

[Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/)

> [If there were more temple work done in the Church, there would be less of selfishness, less of contention, less of demeaning others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/if-there-were-more-temple-work-done-in-the-church-there-would-be-less/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [“My sense of what I’m worth depends on how much of the world I displace as I walk around? Christ, that’s a demeaning thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sense-of-what-i-m-worth-depends-on-how-much-of-the-world-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When I think about what we now know about Donald Trump and what he's been doing for 30 years, he sure has spent a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-i-think-about-what-we-now-know-about-donald-trump-and-what-he-s/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/)

[Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/)

## More by Vicki Baum

> [Fame always brings loneliness. Success is as ice cold and lonely as the North Pole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/fame-always-brings-loneliness-success-is-as-ice-cold-and-lonely-as/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [I was growing tired of all the fussing and prevaricating, of the stolen hours and the secret rendez-vous; of the small indignities and broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/i-was-growing-tired-of-all-the-fussing-and-prevaricating-of-the/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [in the big city nobody has time to make friends. The big city is a big solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/in-the-big-city-nobody-has-time-to-make-friends-the-big-city-is-a-big/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [To me, writing is not a profession. You might as well call living a profession. Or having children. Anything you can't help doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/to-me-writing-is-not-a-profession-you-might-as-well-call-living-a/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [A woman who is loved always has success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/a-woman-who-is-loved-always-has-success/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [serious difficulties don't vanish by themselves, they are standing around your bed when you open the eyes the next morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/serious-difficulties-don-t-vanish-by-themselves-they-are-standing/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [You don't get ulcers from what you eat. You get them from what's eating you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/you-don-t-get-ulcers-from-what-you-eat-you-get-them-from-what-s/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [There is a need for heroism in American life today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/there-is-a-need-for-heroism-in-american-life-today/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [“The experiences people have in a large hotel do not constitute entire human destinies, full and completed. They are fragments merely, scraps, pieces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/the-experiences-people-have-in-a-large-hotel-do-not-constitute-entire/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [To be a Jew is a destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/to-be-a-jew-is-a-destiny/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [People don't speak of hunger when they know what it is to be hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/people-don-t-speak-of-hunger-when-they-know-what-it-is-to-be-hungry/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [The most remarkable thing about Hollywood is that it does not exist. ... Hollywood, in a word, has no center, never had one, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/the-most-remarkable-thing-about-hollywood-is-that-it-does-not-exist/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [the seat of the greatest patriotic loyalties is in the stomach. Long after giving up all attachment to the land of his birth, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/the-seat-of-the-greatest-patriotic-loyalties-is-in-the-stomach-long/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [when we are young our parents run our life; when we get older, our children do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/when-we-are-young-our-parents-run-our-life-when-we-get-older-our/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

> [Courage comes and goes. Hold on for the next supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/courage-comes-and-goes-hold-on-for-the-next-supply/)

[Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

[Explore all 32 Vicki Baum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/)

## More Demeaning quotes

> [I'd rather be somewhere building a house, if I knew how. The whole idea of being a professional artist is like a demeaning kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-earl-beal/i-d-rather-be-somewhere-building-a-house-if-i-knew-how-the-whole-idea/)

[Willis Earl Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-earl-beal/)

> [When I think about what we now know about Donald Trump and what he's been doing for 30 years, he sure has spent a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/when-i-think-about-what-we-now-know-about-donald-trump-and-what-he-s/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [“My sense of what I’m worth depends on how much of the world I displace as I walk around? Christ, that’s a demeaning thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sense-of-what-i-m-worth-depends-on-how-much-of-the-world-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If there were more temple work done in the Church, there would be less of selfishness, less of contention, less of demeaning others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/if-there-were-more-temple-work-done-in-the-church-there-would-be-less/)

[Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/)

> [To be told that one can be dependent on one's parents until age 26 should strike a young person who wants to grow up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/to-be-told-that-one-can-be-dependent-on-one-s-parents-until-age-26/)

[Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/)

> [I never respond to Donald Trump's personal insults about me. I could care less what he says about me. I'm going to respond when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-never-respond-to-donald-trump-s-personal-insults-about-me-i-could/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Sexism is bad enough when it's men demeaning women. When women do it to other women, it's even more deflating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-robbins/sexism-is-bad-enough-when-it-s-men-demeaning-women-when-women-do-it/)

[Mel Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-robbins/)

> [For Democrats to reduce women to beggars for cheap government-funded birth control is demeaning to the women that I know who are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/for-democrats-to-reduce-women-to-beggars-for-cheap-government-funded/)

[Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/)

> [The amount of people that I feel like... I'm not being self-demeaning, but I actually feel like I'm not as cool as them, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-vernon/the-amount-of-people-that-i-feel-like-i-m-not-being-self-demeaning/)

[Justin Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-vernon/)

> [There are a lot of movies out there that I would hate to be paid to do, some real demeaning, real woman-denigrating stuff. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beah-richards/there-are-a-lot-of-movies-out-there-that-i-would-hate-to-be-paid-to/)

[Beah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beah-richards/)

> [A man who is violent to his woman, with or without provocation is less than a man; and a woman who deliberately provokes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tia-nnebo/a-man-who-is-violent-to-his-woman-with-or-without-provocation-is-less/)

[Tia Nnebo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tia-nnebo/)

> [The McJob tag is misleading, and demeaning to our staff and franchisees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-easterbrook/the-mcjob-tag-is-misleading-and-demeaning-to-our-staff-and-franchisees/)

[Steve Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-easterbrook/)

> [It's the end of the day where wives stay home and raise the kids and all that. That demeaning stuff? No more. Country club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-s-the-end-of-the-day-where-wives-stay-home-and-raise-the-kids-and/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [There has to be so many other ways of approaching airline security than demeaning ourselves by giving up a lot of our dignities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quico-canseco/there-has-to-be-so-many-other-ways-of-approaching-airline-security/)

[Quico Canseco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quico-canseco/)

> [“...to protect her from male attention, that feeling of being scored each time you walked down a street, the demeaning comments yelled out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/to-protect-her-from-male-attention-that-feeling-of-being-scored-each/)

[Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/)

[Browse all 102 Demeaning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demeaning/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A man with money to pay for a meal can talk about hunger without demeaning himself. ... But for a man with no money hunger is a disgrace.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Vicki Baum"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-talk-about-hunger-without/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Demeaning"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-talk-about-hunger-without/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/021/vicki-baum-19106_demeaning_a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-t_1706043.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A man with money to pay for a meal can talk about hunger without demeaning himself. ... But for a man with…” — Vicki Baum",
                "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": "Vicki Baum",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A man with money to pay...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-talk-about-hunger-without/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/a-man-with-money-to-pay-for-a-meal-can-talk-about-hunger-without/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
