I think about how I think I know a person then 'poof!' I discover I only knew a cartoon version. Suddenly there's this fleshy, demanding, noisy creature in front of me, unknowable and just as lost as I am, and equally unable to remember that every soul in the world is hurting, not just themselves.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- People often misjudge others as cartoons before realizing they are complex, hurting humans like themselves.
- In plain terms
- We often see a cartoon version of people before seeing the real person.
- What can you take from it?
- Real people are complex and hurting, not caricatures.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How well do you really know those around you?
Another view
Assuming everyone is equally lost can be a generalization.
More from Douglas Coupland
Preemptive boringness. Being one-dimensional is the most satisfying method of coping with out-of-control people - with any situation that's out of control ... …
Permalink to quote #12 'We call Jasmine's room 'The Harem,' a sexy place, about which Dan never complained, even though his own possessions, his laptop PC and briefcase, for example,…
Permalink to quote #14 ''Is the hotel Marge? It has to be Marge. I want atmosphere.' Marge is Anna-Louise's word describing sad, 1950s-ish diner-type places where the waitresses are …
Permalink to quote #11
Related quotes
Before you judge me, try hard to love me Look within your heart then ask... Have you seen my childhood? ~ Childhood
Michael JacksonMichael Jackson quote #7 No man can justly censure or condemn another, because indeed no man truly knows another.
Sir Thomas BrowneSir Thomas Browne quote #21 There, but for the grace of God, goes God.
Herman J. MankiewiczHerman J. Mankiewicz quote #1