The British media is sinking down, as the American news media has lowered the bar for all of humanity. British news media is definitely trying to stoop down to that level. Everyone is stooping to the lowest common denominator.
John OliverRead
Australia turns out to be a sensational place, albeit one of the most comfortably racist places I've ever been in. They've really settled into their intolerance like an old resentful slipper.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the comfortable acceptance of racism in Australia, highlighting a paradox of beauty and prejudice.
In this quote, John Oliver reflects on the contrast between Australia's stunning landscapes and the underlying issue of racial intolerance. By likening racism to an 'old resentful slipper', he suggests that such attitudes are not only normalized but also deeply entrenched in the culture, indicating a troubling comfort with prejudice that coexists alongside the country's natural beauty.
Themes
RacismIntoleranceAustraliaCulturePrejudice
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about cultural issues, this quote can illustrate the hidden biases that exist in seemingly beautiful places.
More from John Oliver
All quotes →There's never any time I think I'm a real journalist, because I don't have any of the qualifications or the intentions for that.
John OliverRead
I watch one news channel until my soul can't take it anymore. It's the background of my life.
John OliverRead
My first 'Daily Show' piece was pretending I had this terrible immigrant journey, so I went to talk to an immigration lawyer who would help out people, and I ran into him in Penn Station about three months after I'd gotten the green card. I said, 'I got my green card yesterday.' And he hugged me because he understood that level of relief.
John OliverRead
Southern people are bigger-hearted and kinder than I had any right to expect.
John OliverRead
When you've married someone who's been at war, there is nothing you can do that compares to that level of selflessness and bravery.
John OliverRead
Similar quotes
It's no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn't even speak to each other if they met at a party.
Nick HornbyRead
Marriage is about becoming a team. You’re going to spend the rest of your life learning about each other, and every now and then, things blow up. But the beauty of marriage is that if you picked the right person and you both love each other, you’ll always figure out a way to get through it.
Nicholas SparksRead
It was as if my father had given me, by way of temperament, an impossibly wild, dark, and unbroken horse. It was a horse without a name, and a horse with no experience of a bit between its teeth. My mother taught me to gentle it; gave me the discipline and love to break it; and- as Alexander had known so intuitively with Bucephalus- she understood, and taught me, that the beast was best handled by turning it toward the sun.
Kay Redfield JamisonRead
It is understandable that the perspectives of men and women on safety are so different - men and women live in different worlds. [...] At core, men are afraid women will laugh at them, while at core, women are afraid men will kill them.
Gavin De BeckerRead
For millions of Americans who happen to be black or brown, that core bond of trust with the government that governs closest to you, is too often broken.
Joy ReidRead
People do not get married planning to divorce. Divorce is the result of a lack of preparation for marriage and the failure to learn the skills of working together as teammates in an intimate relationship.
Gary ChapmanRead