Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
He equates the Confederate flag with the swastika, pointing out the absurdity of labeling both as harmless symbols.
In plain terms
Both symbols are treated as innocuous when they are not.
What can you take from it?
Recognize the weight of hateful symbols.

Where it applies

  • discussions on flag controversies
  • debates on extremist symbols

Putting it to work

  • educate about historical context
  • challenge normalization

Questions to consider

  • How do symbols acquire meaning?
  • When is it appropriate to ban a symbol?

Another view

The comparison may oversimplify complex histories.

More from Robin Williams

  1. And at the closing ceremonies, they introduced Donny and Marie as the first couple of Utah. And I'm like 'uh-uh, honey, no. They're only a couple in Arkansas!'

    Permalink to quote #28
  2. [as a stoned NASA scientist] Okay, okay check this out. The Mars lander...I did the calculations in feet...but I programmed it in meters! Oops! So instead of l…

    Permalink to quote #30
  3. Winston Churchill, the greatest orator of all time, was so fucked up on champagne and cognac, that he may not have done some of his own speeches. They were don…

    Permalink to quote #27

Related quotes

  1. This is our mission at home, to approach these future decisions without hesitation, to do our duty and to remain strong. We know the enemy, we have called him …

    Julius StreicherJulius Streicher quote #4
  2. Some believe that those aeroplanes on September 11 came out of a clear blue sky. I believe they came out of a swamp of hatred created by us.

    George GallowayGeorge Galloway quote #14
  3. This picture will try to show the Nazism is a matter of mind, not geography, and that there are Nazis - and people of good will - in every country. The world c…

    Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando quote #15