When man meets an obstacle he can't destroy, he destroys himself. Ryszard Kapuscinski More Quotes by Ryszard Kapuscinski More Quotes From Ryszard Kapuscinski Our job is like a baker's work - his rolls are tasty as long as they're fresh; after two days they're stale; after a week, they're covered with mould and fit only to be thrown out. Ryszard Kapuscinski jobsfunnytwo In the tropics the white feels weakened, or downright weak, whence comes the heightened tendency to outbursts of aggression. People who are polite, modest or even humble in Europe fall easily into a rage here, get into fights, destroy other people. . . Ryszard Kapuscinski fightinghumblefall There are several reasons why Russians view the oppressive state positively. First, in the Russian Orthodox religion, there is an understanding of authority as something sent by God. Ryszard Kapuscinski understandingviewsfirsts There is a fundamental difference between the Polish experience of the state and the Russian experience. In the Polish experience, the state was always a foreign power. So, to hate the state was a patriotic act. Ryszard Kapuscinski patrioticdifferenceshate In the Russian experience, although the Russian state is oppressive, it is their state, it is part of their fabric, and so the relation between Russian citizens and their state is complicated. Ryszard Kapuscinski fabriccitizenscomplicated Do not be misled by the fact that you are at liberty and relatively free; that for the moment you are not under lock and key: you have simply been granted a reprieve. Ryszard Kapuscinski lockslibertykeys The so-called new Russian man is characterized mainly by his complete exhaustion. You may find yourself wondering if he has the strength to enjoy his new-found freedom. He is like a long-distance runner who, on reaching the finishing line, is incapable even of raising his hands in a gesture of victory. Ryszard Kapuscinski distancemenhands This is the most intimate relationship between literature and its readers: they treat the text as a part of themselves, as a possession. Ryszard Kapuscinski treatsliteratureintimate-relationships The tradition of Russian literature is also an eastern tradition of learning poetry and prose by heart. Ryszard Kapuscinski traditionliteratureheart The Cold War in Africa is one of the darkest, most disgraceful pages in contemporary history, and everybody ought to be ashamed. Ryszard Kapuscinski coldpageswar in reference to Persepolis and all palaces, cities and temples of the past: could these wonders have come into being without that suffering? without the overseer's whip, the slave's fear, the ruler's vanity? was not the monumentality of past epochs created by that which is negative and evil in man? Ryszard Kapuscinski vanitymenpast The Cold War was waged in a particularly brutal and cynical way in Africa, and Africa seemed powerless to do anything to stop it. Ryszard Kapuscinski cynicalwarway The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world was allowed to fly in, because Angola was closed otherwise. Ryszard Kapuscinski independencegroupssea Amin hid nothing. Everybody knew everything. Yet the American Senate only introduced a resolution breaking off trade with Amin three months before his overthrow. Ryszard Kapuscinski resolutionthreemonths He killed his enemies because he was afraid they would kill him. Amin ordered entire tribes to be put to death, because he feared they would rebel. Ryszard Kapuscinski rebeluprisingenemy If the crowd disperses, goes home, does not reassemble, we say the revolution is over. Ryszard Kapuscinski crowdsrevolutionhome Literature seemed to be everything then. People looked to it for the strength to live, for guidance, for revelation. Ryszard Kapuscinski guidanceliteraturepeople In the First World War, there was the sudden passion of nationalism, and the killing took place because of these emotions. But the Soviet case is different, because you had systematic murder, like the Holocaust. Ryszard Kapuscinski holocaustpassionwar When is a crisis reached? When questions arise that can't be answered. Ryszard Kapuscinski crisisarise Amin is the shame of the whole world. The fact that he managed to rule so long and commit so many crimes was only possible thanks to the hypocrisy of the East and the West who were waging the Cold War for world domination. Ryszard Kapuscinski hypocrisywarlong
