“I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones.”
John Cage (1912–1992) American avant-garde composer
Quoted in Richard Kostelanetz (1988) Conversing with Cage
1980s
“I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.”
Source: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Last update June 3, 2021. History
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Shirley Jackson49
novelist, short story writer 1916–1965Related quotes
“I wanted my wild things to be frightening.”
Maurice Sendak (1928–2012) American illustrator and writer of children's books
As quoted in The Art of Maurice Sendak by Selma G. Lanes (1980)
Context: I wanted my wild things to be frightening. But why? It was probably at this point that I remembered how I detested my Brooklyn relatives as a small child. They came almost every Sunday, and there was my week-long anxiety about their coming the next Sunday... They'd lean way over with their bad teeth and hairy noses, and say something threatening like "You're so cute I could eat you up." And I knew if my mother didn't hurry up with the cooking, they probably would.
“Is there anything more frightening than people?”
Svetlana Alexievich book Voices from Chernobyl
Source: Voices from Chernobyl (2005), p. 60
Tony Benn (1925–2014) British Labour Party politician
Interview with Michael Moore in the movie Sicko (2007).
2000s
Ernst Röhm (1887–1934) German Nazi and military officer
Cited in "The Nazis: A Warning from History", Disc 1, 10:48. Also quoted in "The Face of the Third Reich: Portraits of the Nazi Leadership" - Page 139 by Joachim C. Fest - History - 1999
Woody Allen (1935) American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, author, playwright, and musician
Variant: I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens.
Hans Rosling book Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
Source: Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think