My father was a certain kind of man - I saw how he treated my mother and his family and how he treated strangers. And I vowed I would never make a film that would not reflect properly on my father's name.
Sidney PoitierRead
If you apologize because you are afraid, then you are a child not a man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A true apology should come from maturity, not fear.
Sidney Poitier's quote underscores the importance of authenticity and courage in the act of apologizing. It suggests that a genuine apology is a sign of maturity, while one prompted by fear reflects immaturity, akin to that of a child, highlighting the distinction between adult responsibility and childish behavior.
Themes
ApologyFearMaturityCourageResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on conflict resolution, one could quote this to emphasize the importance of sincere apologies.
More from Sidney Poitier
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I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.
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We suffer pain, we hang tight to hope, we nurture expectations, we are plagued occasionally by fears, we are haunted by defeats and unrealized hopes . . . The hoplessness of which I speak is not limited.
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We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.
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I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.
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