--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History forgives the winner a lot of…" description: "\"“History forgives the winner a lot of things.”\" — Yoon Ha Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg" --- # History forgives the winner a lot of things. ![“History forgives the winner a lot of things.” quote by Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg) > ““History forgives the winner a lot of things.”” [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that history tends to overlook or excuse the actions of victors, granting them leniency. **In simple terms:** History often excuses winners. Key Takeaway Recognize bias in historical narratives. Themes history power justice Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - political analysis - media criticism Key Concepts revisionism memory ethics Questions to Reflect On - How does this affect our view of past events? - What responsibilities do we have to question dominant narratives? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize all victors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apologist/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winner/) ## Related quotes > [If somebody tells you 'History will never forgive you,' just laugh at him! Because when the history comes, you won't be here! The threat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-somebody-tells-you-history-will-never-forgive-you-just-laugh-at/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“In trying to remove from Christianity everything that could possibly be objected to in the name of science, in trying to bribe off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-gresham-machen/in-trying-to-remove-from-christianity-everything-that-could-possibly/) [J. Gresham Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-gresham-machen/) > [“Christian apologetics is a defense of religious faith, thus pertaining to the question of one's ultimate commitment in life. Apologetics entails intellectual reasoning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/christian-apologetics-is-a-defense-of-religious-faith-thus-pertaining/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [When an apologist attempts to be autonomous in his reasoned argumentation he indicates that he considers God to be less certain than his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/when-an-apologist-attempts-to-be-autonomous-in-his-reasoned/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [“Reason, it seems to me, is useless in these matters, becomes either an apologist for faith or its persecutor. Catch me tomorrow; I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chester/reason-it-seems-to-me-is-useless-in-these-matters-becomes-either-an/) Chris Chester > [“It is not that men become too intelligent for God,' says the Apologist, 'but rather they become too arrogant for intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-not-that-men-become-too-intelligent-for-god-says-the-apologist/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Some Western biographies are apologist, and do not portray the negative side at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/some-western-biographies-are-apologist-and-do-not-portray-the/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I don't think I need to be an apologist for working hard and being a very large taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-don-t-think-i-need-to-be-an-apologist-for-working-hard-and-being-a/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [I am not a Republican apologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-glenn/i-am-not-a-republican-apologist/) [Darryl Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-glenn/) > [“The most effective apologist is not one who has the greatest academic prowess alone, but the one who has excellent intellectual preparation and reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-j-beckwith/the-most-effective-apologist-is-not-one-who-has-the-greatest-academic/) [Francis J. Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-j-beckwith/) > [I am an apologist for the reading brain. It represents a miracle that springs from the brain's unique capacity to rearrange itself to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-apologist-for-the-reading-brain-it-represents-a-miracle-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“The task of the apologist is not simply to show that there is no hope of eternal salvation outside of Christ, but also that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/the-task-of-the-apologist-is-not-simply-to-show-that-there-is-no-hope/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [I'm an unabashed apologist for strong national-security authority. That's why I might be more alarmed by Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-an-unabashed-apologist-for-strong-national-security-authority/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [It is never just disagreement but always intellectual dishonesty that is the apologist's worst enemy. And its apprentice is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-never-just-disagreement-but-always-intellectual-dishonesty-that/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“By reversing the proper order of things, the non-presuppositional apologist sees submission to God's Word as secondary, rather than primary, sees demonstration as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/by-reversing-the-proper-order-of-things-the-non-presuppositional/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) ## More by Yoon Ha Lee > [“There’s no honor,” she said. “Only duty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/there-s-no-honor-she-said-only-duty/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“I do my job,” Mikodez said, “because after all the trouble I went to get it, it would be irresponsible not to.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/i-do-my-job-mikodez-said-because-after-all-the-trouble-i-went-to-get/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Immortality didn’t turn you into a monster. It merely showed you what kind of monster you already were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/immortality-didn-t-turn-you-into-a-monster-it-merely-showed-you-what/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“the value of a game is in abstraction. Many Nirai go in for simulationist approaches, a tendency you share, but sometimes you learn more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/the-value-of-a-game-is-in-abstraction-many-nirai-go-in-for/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“But then, war is about taking the future away from people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/but-then-war-is-about-taking-the-future-away-from-people/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“When he sounds sane and the rest of the world doesn’t, you know it’s time to pull the trigger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/when-he-sounds-sane-and-the-rest-of-the-world-doesn-t-you-know-it-s/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Blue stands for many things at the end of time: for the forgotten, blazing blue stars of aeons past; the antithesis of redshift, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/blue-stands-for-many-things-at-the-end-of-time-for-the-forgotten/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“How in the name of ash and talon did that fucking Vidona fit a fucking fungal canister on a fucking bannermoth?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/how-in-the-name-of-ash-and-talon-did-that-fucking-vidona-fit-a/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“(Cabbages were a Kel idiosyncrasy. They were adamant about their spiced cabbage pickles.) Appearance-wise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/cabbages-were-a-kel-idiosyncrasy-they-were-adamant-about-their-spiced/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Never ascribe to irrational benevolence what selfishness will explain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/never-ascribe-to-irrational-benevolence-what-selfishness-will-explain/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Some of the soldiers made disparaging comments about the fact that he was a womanform when they thought he couldn’t hear them. But his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/some-of-the-soldiers-made-disparaging-comments-about-the-fact-that-he/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“The point of war is to rig the deck, drug the opponent, and threaten to kneecap their family if they don’t fold,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/the-point-of-war-is-to-rig-the-deck-drug-the-opponent-and-threaten-to/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“I’m not a linguist, but do you ever think there’s something wrong with the things we do and don’t have words for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/i-m-not-a-linguist-but-do-you-ever-think-there-s-something-wrong-with/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“One day the rotting remains of their libraries will disintegrate so completely that they will be indistinguishable from the world’s wrack of stray eddies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/one-day-the-rotting-remains-of-their-libraries-will-disintegrate-so/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“I have always believed that a properly guided bureaucracy is deadlier than any bomb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/i-have-always-believed-that-a-properly-guided-bureaucracy-is-deadlier/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) [Explore all 23 Yoon Ha Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) ## More Apologist quotes > [It is never just disagreement but always intellectual dishonesty that is the apologist's worst enemy. And its apprentice is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-never-just-disagreement-but-always-intellectual-dishonesty-that/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I'm an unabashed apologist for strong national-security authority. That's why I might be more alarmed by Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/i-m-an-unabashed-apologist-for-strong-national-security-authority/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [“The task of the apologist is not simply to show that there is no hope of eternal salvation outside of Christ, but also that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/the-task-of-the-apologist-is-not-simply-to-show-that-there-is-no-hope/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [I am an apologist for the reading brain. It represents a miracle that springs from the brain's unique capacity to rearrange itself to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-apologist-for-the-reading-brain-it-represents-a-miracle-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“The most effective apologist is not one who has the greatest academic prowess alone, but the one who has excellent intellectual preparation and reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-j-beckwith/the-most-effective-apologist-is-not-one-who-has-the-greatest-academic/) [Francis J. Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-j-beckwith/) > [I am not a Republican apologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-glenn/i-am-not-a-republican-apologist/) [Darryl Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-glenn/) > [I don't think I need to be an apologist for working hard and being a very large taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-don-t-think-i-need-to-be-an-apologist-for-working-hard-and-being-a/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [Some Western biographies are apologist, and do not portray the negative side at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/some-western-biographies-are-apologist-and-do-not-portray-the/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“It is not that men become too intelligent for God,' says the Apologist, 'but rather they become too arrogant for intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-not-that-men-become-too-intelligent-for-god-says-the-apologist/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Reason, it seems to me, is useless in these matters, becomes either an apologist for faith or its persecutor. Catch me tomorrow; I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chester/reason-it-seems-to-me-is-useless-in-these-matters-becomes-either-an/) Chris Chester > [When an apologist attempts to be autonomous in his reasoned argumentation he indicates that he considers God to be less certain than his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/when-an-apologist-attempts-to-be-autonomous-in-his-reasoned/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [“Christian apologetics is a defense of religious faith, thus pertaining to the question of one's ultimate commitment in life. Apologetics entails intellectual reasoning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/christian-apologetics-is-a-defense-of-religious-faith-thus-pertaining/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [“In trying to remove from Christianity everything that could possibly be objected to in the name of science, in trying to bribe off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-gresham-machen/in-trying-to-remove-from-christianity-everything-that-could-possibly/) [J. Gresham Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-gresham-machen/) > [“By reversing the proper order of things, the non-presuppositional apologist sees submission to God's Word as secondary, rather than primary, sees demonstration as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/by-reversing-the-proper-order-of-things-the-non-presuppositional/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [fiction is not only the historian of life but its apologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/fiction-is-not-only-the-historian-of-life-but-its-apologist/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) [Browse all 37 Apologist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apologist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“History forgives the winner a lot of things.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yoon Ha Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apologist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/yoon-ha-lee-25466_apologist_history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-thi_2271789.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History forgives the winner a lot of things.” — Yoon Ha Lee", "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": "Yoon Ha Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“History forgives the winner a lot...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-things/#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 } } ] } ```