I don't blame the average seventeen-year-old punk-rock kid for calling me a sellout. I understand that. And maybe when they grow up a little bit, they'll realize there's more things to life than living out your rock & roll identity so righteously.
Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth and it happens every few minutes. The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the importance of addressing the root cause of rape by educating men instead of solely focusing on women's self-defense.
Kurt Cobain emphasizes that the societal response to rape often centers on teaching women self-defense rather than confronting the core issue: the behavior of men who commit such acts. By advocating for a shift in focus towards educating men not to rape, he calls for a more fundamental change in societal attitudes and actions regarding sexual violence. This approach suggests that true prevention requires addressing the mindset that allows such crimes to occur in the first place.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a seminar about sexual violence prevention, this quote can be used to emphasize the need to educate men on consent.
More from Kurt Cobain
All quotes →Thank you for the tragedy. I need it for my art.
I get a thrill meeting kids who are into alternative music.
The future of rock belongs to women.
I don't need to be inspired any longer, just supported.
My body is damaged from music in two ways. I have a red irritation in my stomach. It's psychosomatic, caused by all the anger and the screaming. I have scoliosis, where the curvature of your spine is bent, and the weight of my guitar has made it worse. I'm always in pain, and that adds to the anger in our music.
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When I got home from hospital, and I was in a wheelchair in a plaster body cast, an aeroplane flew over. And I thought to myself, 'Well, if I can't walk, then I might as well fly.' And I was lifted into the aeroplane for the first time. And when I took the controls of the aeroplane, I knew this was something I could do. I thought, 'I can fly.'
I am afraid of a lot of things. A dog. I could be afraid of a dog that's upset, for example. And on the tennis courts, maybe on the outside I look fearless, but on the inside, I'm scared. There's not one player in the world who isn't nervous before matches. Especially important matches.
Black Power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny.