It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
James A. BaldwinRead
It is perfectly possible to be enamoured of Paris while remaining totally indifferent or even hostile to the French.
Interpretation
What this quote means
One can appreciate a place without necessarily liking its people.
In this quote, Baldwin suggests that affection for a location, such as Paris, can exist independently of feelings toward its inhabitants. This reflects a complex relationship between culture and identity, implying that one can enjoy the beauty and charm of a place while holding a critical view of its society or politics.
Themes
ParisLoveIndifferencePeopleCulture
In practice
Example use cases
During a travel talk about appreciating cultures despite challenges.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes βThe white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
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Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
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Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
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The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
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The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
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And the men who loan money to governments, so called, for the purpose of enabling the latter to rob, enslave, and murder their people, are among the greatest villains that the world has ever seen. And they as much deserve to be hunted and killed (if they cannot otherwise be got rid of) as any slave traders, robbers, or pirates that ever lived.
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No consensus of men can make an error erroneous. We can only find or commit an error, not create it. When we commit an error, we say what was an error already.
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I am inside someone who hates me. I look out from his eyes.
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