Critical Quotes

“I am my own biggest critic. Before anyone else has criticized me, I have already criticized myself. But for the rest of my life, I am going to be with me and I don't want to spend my life with someone who is always critical. So I am going to stop being my own critic. It's high time that I accept all the great things about me.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“When you judge others, you do not define them, you define yourself”
― Earl Nightingale

“Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that.”
― Richard Dawkins

“The more powerful the class, the more it claims not to exist.”
― Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle

“Be warned: A person content to sit with you and criticize others will speak critically of you out of earshot.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Smile Anyway: Quotes, Verse, and Grumblings for Every Day of the Year

“The most critical time in any battle is not when I’m fatigued, it’s when I no longer care.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“The more he identifies with the dominant images of need, the less he understands his own life and his own desires. The spectacle’s estrangement from the acting subject is expressed by the fact that the individual’s gestures are no longer his own; they are the gestures of someone else who represents them to him.”
― Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle

“چرا کار و بار «لوس بازی» سکه شده؟
چرا همه مثل هم حرف می‌زنند: «اون اتفاق باحاله»، «می دونی آدما»، «ای جانم»، «ازت راضی ام» و ...
چرا زنان و دختران ادای نوزادان را در می‌آورند و مردان و پسران فقط لودگی می‌کنند؟
چرا هیچ کس شخصیت منحصر به فردی ندارد؟
چرا می‌ترسند مبادا با کسی بحث‌شان شود؟
چرا وقتی به جوانی بیست و چند ساله می‌گویی «احمق»، به جای آنکه جوابت را دهد، می‌گوید :«وقت به خیر»
چرا همه «پالت» و «پرتقال من کجایی» گوش می‌دهند؟
چرا هیچ کس دیگر کله شقی نمی‌کند و در یک نبرد عاشقانه، رقیب را به «دوئل» فرانمی‌خواند؟
چرا همه عاشق فوتبال و تیم «بارسا» و «یووه» شده‌اند؟
چرا همه فقط گرافیک و بازاریابی و هنرهای تجسمی می‌خوانند؟
چرا از میز شام و گربه و پای لاک‌زده عکس می‌گیرند؟
چرا وقتی یک شب عادی با دوستانشان جایی می‌روند، از این اتفاق ساده ده‌ها بار عکس سلفی و دستجمعی می‌گیرند؟
چه اتفاقی برای‌شان می‌افتد که از دیدن برنامه «خندوانه» یا طنزهای بینمک لذت می‌برند؟
چرا همه سیبیل‌های د��ته موتوری دارند و پیراهن چهارخانه و عینک‌های پت و پهن و مانتوهای چادرگل گلی و شلوارهای قرمز و سبز و کانورس و کوله می‌پوشند؟
چرا همه چیز اینقدر گل گلی و عروسکی و ملوس شده است؟
چرا هرکس را که می‌بینی، هفته بعدش نمایشگاه یا کارگاه متن‌خوانی یا رونمایی از کتاب دارد؟
چرا همه داستان کوتاه می‌نویسند و شعر می‌گویند؟
چرا اینقدر عکاس و «کارگردان اولی» زیاد شده است؟
چرا هیچ کس رمان نمی‌نویسد؟
چرا هر کس که بعد از مدتی کافه نشینی، احساس می‌کند که باید یا مجله ادبی-هنری تاسیس کند یا مترجم و مدرس شود؟
چرا هیچکس نمی‌تواند چند دقیقه بدون مسخره بازی یا تقلید تکه کلام‌های باب روز، درباره هر موضوعی حرف بزند؟
چرا سر و ته همه چیز با دو تا تحلیل و یک کاریکاتور هم می‌آید؟
چرا همه بازاریاب و ایده‌پرداز تبلیغات شده‌اند؟
چرا همه فکر می‌کنند کانت و هگل و افلاطون یکسری حرف‌های نامفهوم زده‌اند؟
چرا آداب معاشرت را در حد جمع کردن حواس و نیاستادن بر سر راه دیگران و بلند بلند قهقهه نزدن در محیط عمومی، بلد نیستند؟
چرا هیچکس، هیچ موضوعی را تا انتها پیگیری نمی‌کند؟
چرا هیچ کس گله‌ای از رنگ قهوه‌ای وخاکستری آسمان ندارد؟
چرا فکر می‌کنند پل طبیعت و برج میلاد آثار معماری ارزشمندی هستند؟
چرا وقتی سگ و گربه می‌بینند، به نشانه هیجان، حرکات عجیب و اصوات نامفهوم از خودشان در می‌آورند؟
چرا نگرانند مبادا «جدی و خشک» جلوه کنند؟
چرا مدام احساس می‌کنند که باید به شکل اغراق شده‌ای بخندند و خوشمزه‌گی کنند؟
چرا از واژگانی چون «شرم»، «فروتنی»،«شرافت» و ... خنده‌شان می‌گیرد؟
چرا همه می‌ترسند کسی برنجد و ناچار خود را در گرداب خاله زنکی غرق می‌کنند؟
چرا وحشت از «توهین»، کار را به تایید کلاشان و شارلتان‌ها انداخته است؟
چرا اینهمه مراسم بزرگداشت این و آن برگزار می‌شود؟
چرا همه کودک صفت شده‌اند و مدام عکس‌های چند ماهگی و کاراکترهای عروسکی و کارتونی را مرور می‌کنند؟
چرا همه به میانجی خیریه‌ها و شیادها، با رنج‌های بشری مواجه می‌شوند؟
چرا به شکل بیمارگونه‌ای قربان صدقه هم می‌روند؟
چرا تیراژ کتاب‌ها 300 نسخه است؟
چرا همه در شکستن گردن روشنفکران از حکومت سبقت می‌گیرند؟
چرا نمی‌توانند خودفروختگی را محکوم کنند؟
چرا هیچ موضعی ندارند؟
و در نهایت چرا فکر می‌کنند خیلی باهوش، شریف، تاج سر بشریت و ملتی برگزیده هستند؟”
― نادر فتوره‌چی

“and our few good times will be rare because we have the critical sense
and are not easy to fool with laughter”
― Charles Bukowski

“Those who are critical don’t like being criticized, and those who are insensitive have a deficiency in their senses.”
― Suzy Kassem

“Beware of those who criticize you when you deserve some praise for an achievement, for it is they who secretly desire to be worshiped.”
― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

“The story of terrorism is written by the state and it is therefore highly instructive… compared with terrorism, everything else must be acceptable, or in any case more rational and democratic.”
― Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle

“You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished.”
― Will Self

“In so far as the culture industry arouses a feeling of well-being that the world is precisely in that order suggested by the culture industry, the substitute gratification which it prepares for human beings cheats them out of the same happiness which it deceitfully projects.”
― ADORNO, THEODOR W.

“Hypercritical, Shaming Parents
Hypercritical and shaming parents send the same message to their children as perfectionistic parents do - that they are never good enough. Parents often deliberately shame their children into minding them without realizing the disruptive impact shame can have on a child's sense of self. Statements such as "You should be ashamed of yourself" or "Shame on you" are obvious examples. Yet these types of overtly shaming statements are actually easier for the child to defend against than are more subtle forms of shaming, such as contempt, humiliation, and public shaming.
There are many ways that parents shame their children. These include belittling, blaming, contempt, humiliation, and disabling expectations.
-BELITTLING. Comments such as "You're too old to want to be held" or "You're just a cry-baby" are horribly humiliating to a child. When a parent makes a negative comparison between his or her child and another, such as "Why can't you act like Jenny? See how she sits quietly while her mother is talking," it is not only humiliating but teaches a child to always compare himself or herself with peers and find himself or herself deficient by comparison.
-BLAMING. When a child makes a mistake, such as breaking a vase while rough-housing, he or she needs to take responsibility. But many parents go way beyond teaching a lesson by blaming and berating the child: "You stupid idiot! Do you think money grows on trees? I don't have money to buy new vases!" The only thing this accomplishes is shaming the child to such an extent that he or she cannot find a way to walk away from the situation with his or her head held high.
-CONTEMPT. Expressions of disgust or contempt communicate absolute rejection. The look of contempt (often a sneer or a raised upper lip), especially from someone who is significant to a child, can make him or her feel disgusting or offensive. When I was a child, my mother had an extremely negative attitude toward me. Much of the time she either looked at me with the kind of expectant expression that said, "What are you up to now?" or with a look of disapproval or disgust over what I had already done. These looks were extremely shaming to me, causing me to feel that there was something terribly wrong with me.
-HUMILIATION. There are many ways a parent can humiliate a child, such as making him or her wear clothes that have become dirty. But as Gershen Kaufman stated in his book Shame: The Power of Caring, "There is no more humiliating experience than to have another person who is clearly the stronger and more powerful take advantage of that power and give us a beating." I can personally attest to this. In addition to shaming me with her contemptuous looks, my mother often punished me by hitting me with the branch of a tree, and she often did this outside, in front of the neighbors. The humiliation I felt was like a deep wound to my soul.
-DISABLING EXPECTATIONS. Parents who have an inordinate need to have their child excel at a particular activity or skill are likely to behave in ways that pressure the child to do more and more. According to Kaufman, when a child becomes aware of the real possibility of failing to meet parental expectations, he or she often experiences a binding self-consciousness. This self-consciousness - the painful watching of oneself - is very disabling. When something is expected of us in this way, attaining the goal is made harder, if not impossible.
Yet another way that parents induce shame in their children is by communicating to them that they are a disappointment to them. Such messages as "I can't believe you could do such a thing" or "I am deeply disappointed in you" accompanied by a disapproving tone of voice and facial expression can crush a child's spirit.”
― Beverly Engel, The Nice Girl Syndrome: Stop Being Manipulated and Abused -- And Start Standing Up for Yourself

“No churchmen, I notice. Of course not. What use have they for a world without irrational fear?”
― Jonathan L. Howard, The Fear Institute

“چرا کار و بار «لوس بازی» سکه شده؟
چرا همه مثل هم حرف می‌زنند: «اون اتفاق باحاله»، «می دونی آدما»، «ای جانم»، «ازت راضی ام» و ...
چرا زنان و دختران ادای نوزادان را در می‌آورند و مردان و پسران فقط لودگی می‌کنند؟
چرا هیچ کس شخصیت منحصر به فردی ندارد؟
چرا می‌ترسند مبادا با کسی بحث‌شان شود؟
چرا وقتی به جوانی بیست و چند ساله می‌گویی «احمق»، به جای آنکه جوابت را دهد، می‌گوید :«وقت به خیر»
چرا همه «پالت» و «پرتقال من کجایی» گوش می‌دهند؟
چرا هیچ کس دیگر کله شقی نمی‌کند و در یک نبرد عاشقانه، رقیب را به «دوئل» فرانمی‌خواند؟
چرا همه عاشق فوتبال و تیم «بارسا» و «یووه» شده‌اند؟
چرا همه فقط گرافیک و بازاریابی و هنرهای تجسمی می‌خوانند؟
چرا از میز شام و گربه و پای لاک‌زده عکس می‌گیرند؟
چرا وقتی یک شب عادی با دوستانشان جایی می‌روند، از این اتفاق ساده ده‌ها بار عکس سلفی و دستجمعی می‌گیرند؟
چه اتفاقی برای‌شان می‌افتد که از دیدن برنامه «خندوانه» یا طنزهای بینمک لذت می‌برند؟
چرا همه سیبیل‌های دسته موتوری دارند و پیراهن چهارخانه و عینک‌های پت و پهن و مانتوهای چادرگل گلی و شلوارهای قرمز و سبز و کانورس و کوله می‌پوشند؟
چرا همه چیز اینقدر گل گلی و عروسکی و ملوس شده است؟
چرا هرکس را که می‌بینی، هفته بعدش نمایشگاه یا کارگاه متن‌خوانی یا رونمایی از کتاب دارد؟
چرا همه داستان کوتاه می‌نویسند و شعر می‌گویند؟
چرا اینقدر عکاس و «کارگردان اولی» زیاد شده است؟
چرا هیچ کس رمان نمی‌نویسد؟
چرا هر کس که بعد از مدتی کافه نشینی، احساس می‌کند که باید یا مجله ادبی-هنری تاسیس کند یا مترجم و مدرس شود؟
چرا هیچکس نمی‌تواند چند دقیقه بدون مسخره بازی یا تقلید تکه کلام‌های باب روز، درباره هر موضوعی حرف بزند؟
چرا سر و ته همه چیز با دو تا تحلیل و یک کاریکاتور هم می‌آید؟
چرا همه بازاریاب و ایده”
― نادر فتوره چی

“Thus, by science I mean, first of all, a worldview giving primacy to reason and observation and a methodology aimed at acquiring accurate knowledge of the natural and social world. This methodology is characterized, above all else, by the critical spirit: namely, the commitment to the incessant testing of assertions through observations and/or experiments — the more stringent the tests, the better — and to revising or discarding those theories that fail the test. One corollary of the critical spirit is fallibilism: namely, the understanding that all our empirical knowledge is tentative, incomplete and open to revision in the light of new evidence or cogent new arguments (though, of course, the most well-established aspects of scientific knowledge are unlikely to be discarded entirely).

. . . I stress that my use of the term 'science' is not limited to the natural sciences, but includes investigations aimed at acquiring accurate knowledge of factual matters relating to any aspect of the world by using rational empirical methods analogous to those employed in the natural sciences. (Please note the limitation to questions of fact. I intentionally exclude from my purview questions of ethics, aesthetics, ultimate purpose, and so forth.) Thus, 'science' (as I use the term) is routinely practiced not only by physicists, chemists and biologists, but also by historians, detectives, plumbers and indeed all human beings in (some aspects of) our daily lives. (Of course, the fact that we all practice science from time to time does not mean that we all practice it equally well, or that we practice it equally well in all areas of our lives.)”
― Alan Sokal

“I forget what matters because I pay attention to what doesn’t.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“What had once been their greatest strength--their perceived docility and obedience, their relative invisibility--had become their weakness. The narrative flipped. Now their Asian features read as scheming, perfidious, sly.”
― Kirstin Chen, Counterfeit

“Be careful listening to people criticizing something they have never attempted.”
― Dana L. Stringer

“One of the worst things that you can do is to pretend that what you’re actually sowing are seeds, that you’re actually sowing them in soil, and that you’ve actually left your living room to do either.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“The criteria for being an armchair quarterback is that you don’t need any. The benefit of being an armchair quarterback is that there isn’t any. And the outcome of being an armchair quarterback is that you’ll eventually wear out a bunch of chairs and a whole lot of people.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“To fight for greater things is the essence of our humanity. Therefore, to fall to the skepticism of those for whom the essence of the fight is lost is to lose the greater fight for the essence of our humanity.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“If you don’t resist it, once critical people have had their say, they’re done with it. Say “Thanks for being honest” or “Thanks for taking the time to let me know how you feel” or “Thanks for caring so much.” Simple, subtle, and sweet.”
― Rick Kirschner, Dealing with People You Can't Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst

“The truth of the matter is the truth matters.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“I place my stethoscope onto their chest to listen for the lub-dub sound of the heart valves. Then I wait. I wait a long, silent, slow five minutes. I listen for silence and feel for the presence of absence. No sound is heard and no pulse is felt.”
― Matt Morgan, Critical: Science and Stories from the Brink of Human Life

“I have been critical of the undemocratic rule, but now I think it may be the option of neutral law, but not martial law, which is essential for the stability and unity of Pakistan's state, constitution, economy, and institutions to eliminate the democratic mafia and terror.”
― Ehsan Sehgal

“Maybe one of the greatest criticisms that we can levy against ourselves is our unwillingness to stand against the criticisms that people levy against themselves.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“Critical criticisms are essential.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita