--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you have large-scale legitimated…" description: "\"When you have large-scale legitimated violence in a place that is divided as profoundly and bitterly as Kentucky was, the legitimate violence can cause..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg" --- # When you have large-scale legitimated violence in a place… ![“When you have large-scale legitimated violence in a place that is divided as profoundly and bitterly as Kentucky was, the legitimate violence can cause illegitimate violence, a terrible local heartlessness and cruelty that feeds on itself and goes on and on.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg) > “When you have large-scale legitimated violence in a place that is divided as profoundly and bitterly as Kentucky was, the legitimate violence can cause illegitimate violence, a terrible local heartlessness and cruelty that feeds on itself and goes on and on.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense, legit violence in a divided region can spawn endless illegitimate cruelty, creating a vicious cycle of suffering. **In simple terms:** Violence breeds more violence, especially in polarized societies. Key Takeaway Seek reconciliation to break the violence cycle. Themes conflict violence polarization community morality Mood reflective somber Type philosophical social. When to use this quote - regional politics - community building - peace initiatives - social healing Key Concepts cycle of retaliation social fragmentation Questions to Reflect On - What steps can heal deeply divided communities? - How to prevent legitimate force from spawning illegitimate cruelty? A Different Perspective Addressing underlying grievances is essential to stop escalation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitterly Kentucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterly-kentucky-5700945/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Divided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divided/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Heartlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartlessness/) [Illegitimate Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illegitimate-violence-5700943/) [Kentucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kentucky/) [Large scale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-scale/) [Legitimate Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimate-violence-3170738/) [Legitimated Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legitimated-violence-5700944/) [Locals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locals/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Violence Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence-cause-1282071/) ## Related quotes > [“The whole concept of "violence" is flawed from the get-go, for it makes no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate force. The use of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bowman/the-whole-concept-of-violence-is-flawed-from-the-get-go-for-it-makes/) [James Bowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bowman/) > [In non-violence the cause has to be just and clear as well as the means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/in-non-violence-the-cause-has-to-be-just-and-clear-as-well-as-the/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Pregnant women are more likely to die from homicide by domestic violence than any other cause of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-capps/pregnant-women-are-more-likely-to-die-from-homicide-by-domestic/) [Lois Capps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-capps/) > [Violence is not inevitable. I mean, the only inevitable form of violence is the kind that we understand, the only legitimate (if there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/violence-is-not-inevitable-i-mean-the-only-inevitable-form-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Keeping a monopoly on legitimate violence is still the proven best way to limit violence and allow reason some asylum where it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ranciere/keeping-a-monopoly-on-legitimate-violence-is-still-the-proven-best/) [Jacques Rancière](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ranciere/) > [“Max Weber, who we met in the previous chapter, provided the most famous and widely accepted definition of the state, identifying it with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/max-weber-who-we-met-in-the-previous-chapter-provided-the-most-famous/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“Self-defense is a universal exception to the state’s monopoly on legitimate violence. State failure drives the self-defense doctrine through the imminence requirement. Private violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-johnson/self-defense-is-a-universal-exception-to-the-state-s-monopoly-on/) [Nicholas Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-johnson/) > [By this curious turn of disposition I have gained the reputation of deliberate heartlessness; how undeserved, I alone can appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/by-this-curious-turn-of-disposition-i-have-gained-the-reputation-of/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“The Eugenic optimism seems to partake generally of the nature of that dazzled and confused confidence, so common in private theatricals, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-eugenic-optimism-seems-to-partake-generally-of-the-nature-of-that/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“I don't think I am heartless. Do you?' 'You have done too many foolish things during the last fortnight to be entitled to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-think-i-am-heartless-do-you-you-have-done-too-many-foolish/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“You must know,’ said Estella, condescending to me as a beautiful and brilliant woman might, ‘that I have no heart—if that has anything to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/you-must-know-said-estella-condescending-to-me-as-a-beautiful-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [We call the beautiful the highest, because it appears to us the golden mean, escaping the dowdiness of the good and the heartlessness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-call-the-beautiful-the-highest-because-it-appears-to-us-the-golden/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“mnY reason of b"kup, but it hurts moRe when you don"t know evN a single-1. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumit-choudhary-c2/mny-reason-of-b-kup-but-it-hurts-more-when-you-don-t-know-evn-a/) [Sumit Ð choudhary c2](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumit-choudhary-c2/) > [Fashionable women regard themselves, and are regarded by men, as pretty toys or as mere instruments of pleasure; and the vacuity of mind, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moore-grimke/fashionable-women-regard-themselves-and-are-regarded-by-men-as-pretty/) [Sarah Moore Grimke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moore-grimke/) > [I loathe the urchin's cruelty to the cat, but I will not loathe the urchin. I loathe Hitler's mass-torturing, but not Hitler; and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/i-loathe-the-urchin-s-cruelty-to-the-cat-but-i-will-not-loathe-the/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Causes quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/) [Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I don't wear rubbers cause you can't catch it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/i-don-t-wear-rubbers-cause-you-can-t-catch-it-twice/) [Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/) [Eloise Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloise-greenfield/) > [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) [Browse all 9,070 Causes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you have large-scale legitimated violence in a place that is divided as profoundly and bitterly as Kentucky was, the legitimate violence can cause illegitimate violence, a terrible local heartlessness and cruelty that feeds on itself and goes on and on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-violence-in-a-place-that-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Causes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-violence-in-a-place-that-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d45/wendell-berry-236_causes_when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-vi_726862.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you have large-scale legitimated violence in a place that is divided as profoundly and bitterly as…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you have large-scale legitimated violence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-violence-in-a-place-that-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/when-you-have-large-scale-legitimated-violence-in-a-place-that-is/#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 } } ] } ```