"That a Burnt Child often Dreads the Fire".
Sketches from Life (1846)
“Take everything you like seriously, except yourselves.”
“So I never felt anything except how bad I was and like, "Oh, shame on you!"”
Interviewed by Cathay Che, The Advocate (8 May 2001)
Context: The message I got from my record label at the time — and this was on purpose — was that I wasn't selling enough. Even when the single was a hit, it wasn't enough of a hit — I never got to number 1; I only got to number 5. And MTV didn't like the first video for the song, and we had to do another one. So I never felt anything except how bad I was and like, "Oh, shame on you!"
This Business of Living (1935-1950)
WTF Is…? series, Day One: Garry's Incident (October 1, 2013)
Variant: Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.
Source: Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements
Source: Malcolm X Speaks (1965), p. 111
