Quotes about blame
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Sherrilyn Kenyon photo
Rudyard Kipling photo

“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;!”

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) English short-story writer, poet, and novelist

Source: If: A Father's Advice to His Son

Wayne W. Dyer photo
Jeffrey D. Sachs photo

“…History is written by the rich, and so the poor get blamed for everything.”

Jeffrey D. Sachs (1954) American economist

"Good Reads" w:Good Reads, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6440.Jeffrey_D_Sachs

Ian McEwan photo
Holly Black photo
Georges Bataille photo
Cassandra Clare photo
David Levithan photo
Deb Caletti photo
Brené Brown photo
Cormac McCarthy photo
John F. Kennedy photo

“Let us not despair but act. Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past — let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

Remarks at "Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland (18 February 1958) http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx; Box 899, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
Pre-1960

Rick Riordan photo
Max Brooks photo
T.D. Jakes photo
Meg Cabot photo
Plutarch photo

“Neither blame or praise yourself.”

Plutarch (46–127) ancient Greek historian and philosopher
Craig Ferguson photo

“When in doubt about who's to blame. Blame the English.”

Craig Ferguson (1962) Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, producer and voice a…
Graham Joyce photo
Amy Tan photo
Willie Nelson photo

“You'll never get ahead by blaming your problems on other people.”

Willie Nelson (1933) American country music singer-songwriter.

Source: The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart

Lionel Shriver photo
Alexandre Dumas photo

“In general, people only ask for advice that they may not follow it; or, if they should follow it, that they may have somebody to blame for having given it.”

Variant: As a general rule... people ask for advice only in order not to follow it; or if they do follow it, in order to have someone to blame for giving it.
Source: The Three Musketeers

Meg Cabot photo
George Bernard Shaw photo
Germaine Greer photo
Homér photo
Kazuo Ishiguro photo
Scott Adams photo

“The job isn't done until you've blamed someone for the parts that went wrong.”

Scott Adams (1957) cartoonist, writer

Source: Dilbert's Guide to the Rest of Your Life: Dispatches from Cubicleland

Algernon Charles Swinburne photo

“And the best and the worst of this is
That neither is most to blame,
If you have forgotten my kisses
And I have forgotten your name.”

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic

An Interlude.
Undated

Paulo Coelho photo
Anthony Kiedis photo
Philip Roth photo
Megan Whalen Turner photo
Elizabeth Taylor photo
Augusten Burroughs photo
William Peter Blatty photo
Khaled Hosseini photo
Richard Siken photo
Richard Rohr photo

“Until we learn to love others as ourselves, it's difficult to blame broken people who desperately try to affirm themselves when no one else will.”

Richard Rohr (1943) American spiritual writer, speaker, teacher, Catholic Franciscan priest

Source: Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

William James photo
Elizabeth Gilbert photo
Maya Angelou photo

“To grow up is to stop putting blame on parents”

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet

Source: Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female

Robert Greene photo
Glenn Beck photo

“I was still searching for someone to blame for my suffering. I really wanted someone to transfer my hate to, so that I could stop hating myself.”

Glenn Beck (1964) U.S. talk radio and television host

Source: The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life

Lynda Barry photo

“Dear Anyone Who Finds This, Do not blame the drugs.”

Lynda Barry (1956) Cartoonist

Source: Cruddy

Charles Bukowski photo
Cassandra Clare photo
Leo Tolstoy photo
Rick Riordan photo

“How about we give each other everything we can and not blame each other for what we can’t.”

Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer

Source: The Sweetest Thing

Brené Brown photo
Elizabeth Wurtzel photo
Cassandra Clare photo

“it's impossible to remain angry or blame other people for problems in your life when you are saying, "I am responsible”

Brian Tracy (1944) American motivational speaker and writer

Source: Reinvention: How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life

Rick Riordan photo
Sarah Dessen photo
Eric Jerome Dickey photo

“can't blame a man for being human when human is all he'll ever be!”

Eric Jerome Dickey (1961) American author

Source: Liar's Game

John Selden photo

“Tis not the drinking that is to be blamed, but the excess.”

John Selden (1584–1654) English jurist and scholar of England's ancient laws and constitution, and of Jewish law

Humility.
Table Talk (1689)

Jack Johnson (musician) photo

“You're breaking your mind
By killing the time that kills you
But you can't blame the time
When its only in your mind”

Jack Johnson (musician) (1975) American musician

Sexy Plexi.
Song lyrics, Brushfire Fairytales (2001)

P.G. Wodehouse photo
John Hoole photo

“In blaming others, fools their folly show,
And most attempt to speak when least they know.”

John Hoole (1727–1803) British translator

Book XXVIII, line 7
Translations, Orlando Furioso of Ludovico Ariosto (1773)

Alastair Reynolds photo
Plutarch photo
Kirsten Gillibrand photo
Jan Smuts photo
Marcus Tullius Cicero photo

“On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free hour, when our power of choice is untrammeled and when nothing prevents our being able to do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.”
At vero eos et accusamus et iusto odio dignissimos ducimus, qui blanditiis praesentium voluptatum deleniti atque corrupti, quos dolores et quas molestias excepturi sint, obcaecati cupiditate non provident, similique sunt in culpa, qui officia deserunt mollitia animi, id est laborum et dolorum fuga. et harum quidem rerum facilis est et expedita distinctio. nam libero tempore, cum soluta nobis est eligendi optio, cumque nihil impedit, quo minus id, quod maxime placeat, facere possimus, omnis voluptas assumenda est, omnis dolor repellendus. temporibus autem quibusdam et aut officiis debitis aut rerum necessitatibus saepe eveniet, ut et voluptates repudiandae sint et molestiae non recusandae. itaque earum rerum hic tenetur a sapiente delectus, ut aut reiciendis voluptatibus maiores alias consequatur aut perferendis doloribus asperiores repellat.

Marcus Tullius Cicero (-106–-43 BC) Roman philosopher and statesman

De Finibus Bonorum et Malorum (The Ends of Good and Evil), Book I, section 33; Translation by H. Rackham (1914)

Will Eisner photo

“Maurice Joly: Your honor, I have not written a lampoon here…this book’s delineations are applicable to all governments!
Prosecutor: No, your honor.. this man has written a tract that barely conceals a horrid defamation of our emperor!!
Maurice Joly: No! No! No! This book provides a call to conscience…a perspective for citizens concerned about the harsh realities of the conditions in which they live…
Furthermore, my book shows how the despotism taught by Machiavelli in “The Prince” could, by artifice and evil ways, impose itself on our society.
Prosecutor: No, your honor. It does more than that… for by ‘’’using’’’ the despotism of Machiavelli’’’ asa comparison, Joly seeks to show that Bonaparte, our sovereign, and an evil Italian are ‘’’the same’’’ in thought and deed!
Maurice Joly: If the reader sees a relationship to the infamy of the emperor, am I to blame?
Judge: Maurice Joly, I charge you with the crime of defamation! Of suggesting through shameful means that our sovereign has led the public astray, degraded our nation and corrupted our morals! This is an infamy, sir!!
Judge: Therefore, Maurice Joly, this court sentences you to 15 months imprisonment.
Maurice Joly: This is unfair and an example of this despotic society under Louis Bonaparte!
Balif: Quiet! You’ve had your say!
Judge: The emperor’s police will immediately confiscate all copies of this book they can find!”

Will Eisner (1917–2005) American cartoonist

Source: The Plot: The Secret Story of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (10/2/2005), pp.16-19

Roberto Clemente photo
Rudy Giuliani photo

“The idea of trying to cast blame on President Clinton is just wrong for many, many reasons, not the least of which is I don't think he deserves it.”

Rudy Giuliani (1944–2001) American businessperson and politician, former mayor of New York City

On responsibility for failure to prevent the September 11 attacks (27 September 2006) "Giuliani Defends Clinton on 9/11 Efforts" CBS News (28 September 2006) http://web.archive.org/web/20070214071844/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/28/ap/politics/mainD8KDHAM00.shtml

William Kristol photo

“We're to blame for the "bad blood." Not Putin. The real meaning of America First is Blame America First.”

William Kristol (1952) American writer

Twitter post https://twitter.com/BillKristol/status/984074345571127296 (11 April 2018)
2010s, 2018

Mike Malloy photo

“What about the people that couldn't get out?! Someday it's gonna happen to you, Chertoff! … You won't have a car, and you won't have a government airplane, and you won't have a cell phone, and you won't have a weapon! … Blaming the victim… You filthy pig! You filthy, good-for-nothing Bush Crime Family member! … Oh, these people just make me furious!”

Mike Malloy (1942) American radio broadcaster

http://server7.whiterosesociety.org/content/malloy/MalloyShow-(06-09-2005).mp3
reacting to Michael Chertoff talking about people that couldn't leave New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina.
On Hurricane Katrina

Ursula K. Le Guin photo
Julian of Norwich photo
William Glasser photo

“The most destructive habit [to relationships] is criticizing; next comes blaming, but any of the habits are more than capable of disconnecting you from a person you want to be close with.”

William Glasser (1925–2013) American psychiatrist

Source: Unhappy Teenagers A Way for Parents and Teachers to Reach Them (2002), p.14

Anne Brontë photo
Lucy Aharish photo

“One of the topics [on the show last week] was the murder of women in the Arab sector, what is referred to, unfortunately, […] as 'honor killing' and has nothing to do with [anything worthy of] honor. The guest in the studio was a woman who had 20 years of experience working for the sake of those same women who die for no good reason, a woman whose everyday job was a holy work for the sake of thousands of Arab women who need a voice that will shout out and cry out their cries. After she had accused the government and the police and everyone of incompetence, I asked her, in a somewhat aggressive manner, as it were, '[…] Where are we in all of this? Where are we Arab women to teach and discipline our sons that a man has no right over a woman? […]' During the commercial break, she got up and told me that I had to learn how to talk to Arabs because the tone that I adopted and the things that I said were said to gain approval from Jews. So I've come to tell you today that I haven't come for approval from you; that I haven't come for approval from anyone; and this is the message that I want you to digest very, very well. In my life I have been accused of many things: that I am the fifth column; that an Arab will always stay an Arab, no matter how liberal he may look; that I bring shame on my family for being in a relationship with a person outside my religion. I've received threats after asking Palestinian residents live on the show why they don't go out against Hamas men, who use them and bring them to their slaughter; I've been attacked on Yom ha-Shoah and Yom ha-Zikaron that the managers at Arutz 2 dared to put an Arab on a show such as that as the host on a day such as that; I've been told that I make Arab women stray off the path of proper behavior; and that I've forgotten where I come from being an 'Ashkenazified', 'Judaized' Arab. So they blamed and they talked—as if that, in itself, made them right.”

Lucy Aharish (1981) Arab-Israeli journalist

Source: Lucy Aharish's campus speech http://www.onlife.co.il/%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%95%D7%93%D7%94/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%94%D7%99%D7%92%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9D-%D7%90%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%97%D7%A8/85312/%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A9-%D7%9C%D7%90-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%99-%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%90-%D7%97%D7%9F-%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99-%D7%90%D7%A3-%D7%90%D7%97%D7%93 at "מנהיגות היום את המחר". Onlife. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2015. Video available.

Norodom Sihanouk photo
Jean-François Revel photo

“Democratic civilization is the first in history to blame itself because another power is working to destroy it.”

Jean-François Revel (1924–2006) French writer and philosopher

Cited in The Effects of Mass Immigration On Canadian Living Standards and Society (2009). ed. Grubel, The Frasier Institute, pp. 202-203 ISBN 088975246X, 9780889752467
1980s, How Democracies Perish (1983)

Akio Morita photo

“The important thing in my view is not to pin the blame for a mistake on somebody, but rather to find out what caused the mistake.”

Akio Morita (1921–1999) Japanese businessman

Source: Made in Japan (1986), p. 149.

J. Bradford DeLong photo

“Hayek says that the problem with classical liberalism was that it was not pure enough. The government needed to restrict itself to establishing the rule of law and to using antitrust to break up monopolies. It was the overreach of the government beyond those limits, via central banking and social democracy, that caused all the trouble. A democratic government needs to limit itself to rule of law and antitrust–and perhaps soup kitchens and shelters. And what if democracy turns out not to produce a government that limits itself to those activities? Then, Hayek says, so much the worse for democracy. A Pinochet is then called for to, in a Lykourgan moment, minimalize the state. After social democracy has been leveled and the rubble cleared away, then–perhaps–a limited range of issues can be discussed and debated by a–limited–restored democracy, with some kind of group of right-wing army officers descended from latifundistas Council of Guardians in the background to ensure that property remains sacred and protected, and the government small enough to fit in a bathtub. […] Hayek was formed in Austria. From his perspective the property and enterprise respecting Imperial Habsburg government of Franz Josef eager to make no waves, to hold what it has, and to keep the lid off the pressure cooker appears not unattractive. This is especially so when you contrasted would be really existing authoritarian alternatives: anti-Semitic populist demagogue mayors of Vienna; nationalist Serbian or Croatian politicians interested in maintaining popular legitimacy by waging class war or ethnic war; separatists who seek independence and then one man, one vote, one time. An “authoritarian” after the manner of Franz Josef looks quite attractive in this context–and if you convince yourself but they are as dedicated to small government neoliberalism as you are, and that the Lykourgan moment of the form will be followed by soft rule and popular assent, so much the better. And if the popular assent is not forthcoming? Then Hayek can blame the socialists, and say it is their fault for not understanding how good a deal they are offered.”

J. Bradford DeLong (1960) American economist

Making Sense of Friedrich A. von Hayek: Focus/The Honest Broker for the Week of August 9, 2014 http://equitablegrowth.org/making-sense-friedrich-von-hayek-focusthe-honest-broker-week-august-9-2014/ (2014)

Paulo Coelho photo