I keep seeing quotes used online in support of people's viewpoints, which come from fictional characters that have no business of having their dialog used for these purposes. Here are the most recent:
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you", and went on your way. - Col. Nathan R. Jessup, A Few Good Men, quoted to indicate how we should treat the military with respect but completely ignoring that it was a quote from a megalomaniacal character who was attempting to cover up actions which resulted in the death of a soldier, and whose cover-up resulted in the death of another subordinate.
If you would just stop the winter, bring back summer...please. - Hans of the Southern Isles, Frozen, quoted by people who are tired of the current winter weather. Please: you're quoting a villain who was determined to usurp a kingdom and willing to kill people off to do it!
If that's the law, then the law is an ass - misquote of Mr. Bumble, who actually said in Oliver Twist, "If the law supposes that . . . then the law is a ass," in response to the suggestion that the law supposes that a wife acts under her husband's direction. The person who quoted it was a 72-year-old man arrested in NJ for transporting an unloaded 300-year-old flintlock pistol in his glove compartment, and he actually prefaced his quote by saying, "as a wise man once said," which may be the first time that Mr. Bumble has been described as a wise man. I'm pretty sure that the best that can be said of him is that even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut.
I'm forgetting one more, but maybe I'm just thinking of someone's misguided quoting of Anais Nin.
No comments:
Post a Comment