Quotes / Compassionate Critic

If you give me your attention, I will tell you what I am:
I'm a genuine philanthropist— all other kinds are sham.
Each little fault of temper and each social defect
In my erring fellow-creatures, I endeavour to correct.
To all their little weaknesses I open people's eyes;
And little plans to snub the self-sufficient I devise;
I love my fellow creatures— I do all the good I can—
Yet ev'rybody says I'm such a disagreeable man!
And I can't think why!

—King Gama of Princess Ida

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best?

—Taylor Mali, "What Teachers Make"

"You're a good man, sergeant. You got good instincts, and as far as I can tell, you're a decent supervisor. But from where I sit, you ain't shit when it comes to policing. Oh, don't take it personal, it ain't just you, it's all our young police. Whole generation of y'all. You think about it; you've been here over a year now, and you got nobody on the street looking out for you, nobody willing to talk to you. Isn't that right? This drug thing, this ain't police work. I mean, I can send any fool with a badge and a gun to a corner to jack a crew and grab vials. But policing? ... Before we took the wrong turn and start up with these war games, a cop walked a beat, and he learned that post. And if there were things that happened on that post, where there be a rape, a robbery, a shooting, he had people out there helping him, feeding him information. But every time I came to you, my DEU sergeant for information, to find out what's going on out on those streets... all that came back was some bullshit. You had your stats, your arrests, your seizures, but don't none of that amount to shit when it comes to protecting the neighborhood, now do it?"

—Major Colvin, The Wire

"He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help."

—Abraham Lincoln

Was I a good critic? I don't know. But one thing I am sure of is that I was always on the side of those who were hissed and against those who were hissing; and that my enjoyment often began where that of others left off: Renoir's changes of tone, Orson Welles's excesses, Pagnol's or Guitry's carelessness, Bresson's nakedness. I think there was no trace of snobbery in my tastes. I always agreed with Audiberti: 'The most obscure poem is addressed to everybody.' Whether or not they were called commercial, I knew that all movies were commodities to be bought and sold. I saw plenty of differences in degree, but not in kind. I felt the same admiration for Kelly and Donen's SINGIN' IN THE RAIN as for Carl Dreyer's ORDET.

— François Truffaut

"I was correct before. You were weak, and you ran away. But it is understandable, considering what you learned. Now you can take this knowledge and make it part of yourself. Let it solidify inside you and make you stronger. Let it straighten your back."

— Ysengrin, Gunnerkrigg Court

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