--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First, people tolerate evil because they…" description: "\"“First, people tolerate evil because they see some benefit to themselves,' he said. 'Then, they feed it in hope that it will turn into something else. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/walter-dean-myers-2582_evil_first-people-tolerate-evil-because-they_3097522.jpg" --- # First, people tolerate evil because they see some benefit… ![“First, people tolerate evil because they see some benefit to themselves,' he said. 'Then, they feed it in hope that it will turn into something else. Then, they appease it in hope that it will not turn against them. Then, they respect it because they fear it. Finally, someone has to step up and…” quote by Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/walter-dean-myers-2582_evil_first-people-tolerate-evil-because-they_3097522.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/walter-dean-myers-2582_evil_first-people-tolerate-evil-because-they_3097522.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70d/walter-dean-myers-2582_evil_first-people-tolerate-evil-because-they_3097522.jpg) > ““First, people tolerate evil because they see some benefit to themselves,' he said. 'Then, they feed it in hope that it will turn into something else. Then, they appease it in hope that it will not turn against them. Then, they respect it because they fear it. Finally, someone has to step up and stamp it out! (...)”” [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People initially accept evil for personal gain, then nurture it, eventually fearing and respecting it, until someone finally opposes it decisively. **In simple terms:** Evil is tolerated, nurtured, feared, then challenged. Key Takeaway Stand against injustice before it becomes entrenched. Themes morality power responsibility activism Mood determined urgent Type political inspirational When to use this quote - political activism - community leadership - personal ethics - social movements Key Concepts ethical decay social dynamics courage Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your willingness to confront evil? - How can societies prevent the nurturing of harmful systems? A Different Perspective Opposition may be risky and face backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Ww2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ww2/) ## Related quotes > [“I can think of no more dangerous a position than to learn to tolerate evil in order to become accustomed to reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mally/i-can-think-of-no-more-dangerous-a-position-than-to-learn-to-tolerate/) Sarah Mally > [People can tolerate two homosexuals they see leaving together, but the next day they're smiling, holding hands, tenderly embracing one another, then they cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/people-can-tolerate-two-homosexuals-they-see-leaving-together-but-the/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Freedom is a dangerous intoxicant and very few people can tolerate it in any quantity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/freedom-is-a-dangerous-intoxicant-and-very-few-people-can-tolerate-it/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [It is not the evil itself which is horrifying about our times – it is the way we not only tolerate evil, but have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lincoln-rockwell/it-is-not-the-evil-itself-which-is-horrifying-about-our-times-it-is/) [George Lincoln Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lincoln-rockwell/) > [“People tolerate a lot for looks. They tolerate much less for plainness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/people-tolerate-a-lot-for-looks-they-tolerate-much-less-for-plainness/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [People tolerate those they fear further than those they love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/people-tolerate-those-they-fear-further-than-those-they-love/) [E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/) > [The American people will not tolerate a clean increase in the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/the-american-people-will-not-tolerate-a-clean-increase-in-the-debt/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [Why do people tolerate you? Because they know how overly dramatic little puppies are, like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-do-people-tolerate-you-because-they-know-how-overly-dramatic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That will not do, for your people will not tolerate me. If they get enraged by nothing more than a drink of water out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-t-plaatje/that-will-not-do-for-your-people-will-not-tolerate-me-if-they-get/) [Sol T. Plaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-t-plaatje/) > [“I stared at him. I said, "Wait, really? Like there's an actual part of our brain that dictates how many people we can tolerate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/i-stared-at-him-i-said-wait-really-like-there-s-an-actual-part-of-our/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [“The only people I can't tolerate are the fans of Wayne Newton and Neil Sedaka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foreman-of-earth-first/the-only-people-i-can-t-tolerate-are-the-fans-of-wayne-newton-and/) Foreman of Earth First > [For we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-we-have-been-socialized-to-respect-fear-more-than-our-own-needs/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [When people do the cowardly thing, it's not about respect, it's about fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-people-do-the-cowardly-thing-it-s-not-about-respect-it-s-about/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Respect by fear of ruler is like heart without feelings, grow yourself such that you achieve respect by heart, thats the purest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/respect-by-fear-of-ruler-is-like-heart-without-feelings-grow-yourself/) Senoraroy > [Respect all. Fear none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bum-phillips/respect-all-fear-none/) [Bum Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bum-phillips/) ## More by Walter Dean Myers > [There is a crisis involving reading in certain communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/there-is-a-crisis-involving-reading-in-certain-communities/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [When we think of war, the tendency is to picture young soldiers only in their military roles. To a large extent this dehumanizes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/when-we-think-of-war-the-tendency-is-to-picture-young-soldiers-only/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/the-most-difficult-idea-to-reconcile-in-war-is-the-notion-that/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [he was trying to convince himself that he wasn't guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/he-was-trying-to-convince-himself-that-he-wasn-t-guilty/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Within the black community, roughly 60 percent of children are born to single moms. Moms don't have the emotional wherewithal to deal with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/within-the-black-community-roughly-60-percent-of-children-are-born-to/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“pain is the only real emotion. Everything else can be taken away. Love,happiness,joy can always be taken away. Even old sadness can be dissipated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/pain-is-the-only-real-emotion-everything-else-can-be-taken-away-love/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“People who want to hate you can find something in you they don't like. They have a talent for doing that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/people-who-want-to-hate-you-can-find-something-in-you-they-don-t-like/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [One of the lessons learned during the Vietnam War was that the depiction of wounded soldiers, of coffins stacked higher than their living guards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/one-of-the-lessons-learned-during-the-vietnam-war-was-that-the/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [I am very much interested in getting parents to read to children, and trying to get people mentoring children. If I can do both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/i-am-very-much-interested-in-getting-parents-to-read-to-children-and/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [We need to tell kids flat out: reading is not optional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/we-need-to-tell-kids-flat-out-reading-is-not-optional/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [We need to tell young people that America was built by men and women of all colors and that the future of this country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/we-need-to-tell-young-people-that-america-was-built-by-men-and-women/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“Sometimes everybody touches in the dark. You touch to see what you can stand to touch, what you can to feel with your fingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/sometimes-everybody-touches-in-the-dark-you-touch-to-see-what-you-can/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [Yeah, that's funny, huh?...Something hurts you real bad and you get used to it. Like being hurt becomes part of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/yeah-that-s-funny-huh-something-hurts-you-real-bad-and-you-get-used/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“Love came to me, but it Just wasn't for me. It touched my heart and left it Lying on the shore, and Love smiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/love-came-to-me-but-it-just-wasn-t-for-me-it-touched-my-heart-and/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“That night the mosquitoes ate us up. I had bites all over my body. Back home I thought mosquitoes never bit black people. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/that-night-the-mosquitoes-ate-us-up-i-had-bites-all-over-my-body-back/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) [Explore all 158 Walter Dean Myers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“First, people tolerate evil because they see some benefit to themselves,' he said. 'Then, they feed it in hope that it will turn into something else. Then, they appease it in hope that it will not turn against them. Then, they respect it because they fear it. Finally, someone has to step up and stamp it out! 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