A government or a party gets the people it deserves and sooner or later a people gets the government it deserves.
Frantz FanonRead
The Negro enslaved by his inferiority, the white man enslaved by his superiority alike behave in accordance with a neurotic orientation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Both the oppressed and the oppressor are adversely affected by societal constructs of inferiority and superiority.
Frantz Fanon highlights the psychological impact of racism on both the oppressed and the oppressor. He argues that the enslaved individual internalizes feelings of inferiority due to their oppression, while the oppressor develops a neurotic sense of superiority, leading both parties to behave in unhealthy, neurotic ways. This understanding implies that liberation involves breaking free from these harmful mental frameworks.
Themes
InferioritySuperiorityNeurosisRacismOppressionIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing systemic racism, one might reference this quote to illustrate the psychological effects of oppression.
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Hate demands existence, and he who hates has to show his hate in appropriate actions and behaviors; in a sense, he has to become hate. That is why the Americans have substituted discrimination for lynching.
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