Quotes About Confrontation

The Duelists.

I once quoted a man as saying, "Violence is the first option, and the last choice, of the competent.

Yes there are violent and dangerous criminals out there, but there are many more people in the world who will kill you for pissing them off.

you're way more likely to get killed for pissing off someone. And the fastest way to anger people is to break the local rules and—this is the important part—then be obnoxious about not apologizing or changing your behavior when called on it.

if necessary, leave. The party may be spoiled, you might not be able to see the end of the movie, etc. so what? It's better than getting your head knocked in or being around to watch the stomping that is about to happen. somebody is going to get seriously hurt. That means hospitals and police—not fun, folks. oddly enough, when you are really tough, it's easier to walk away from this sort of thing.

Diverting a river is easier than facing the truth; Cyrus did not want to acknowledge the fact that his horse would not have drowned if he had not forced it to try and cross the river.

Quo usque tandem abutere, Catalina, patientia nostra?

I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.

We have begun to slam doors, and to throw things. I throw my purse, an ashtray, a package of chocolate chips, which breaks on impact. We are picking up chocolate chips for days. Jon throws a glass of milk, the milk, not the glass: he knows his own strength, as I do not. He throws a box of Cheerios, unopened. The things I throw miss, although they are worse things. The things he throws hit, but are harmless. I begin to see how the line is crossed, between histrionics and murder.

It's his word against the Commander's, unless he wants to head a posse. Kick in the door, and what did I tell you? Caught in the act, sinfully Scrabbling. Quick, eat those words.

Now I only need to look out at them through my sky-blue eyes. They see their own ill will staring them in the forehead and turn tail. Before, I was not a witch. But now I am one.

You're dead, Cordelia.' No I'm not. 'Yes you are. You're dead. Lie down.

He doesn't know which is worse, a past he can't regain or a present that will destroy him if he looks at it too clearly. Then there's the future. Sheer vertigo.

When push comes to shove, only one's own nightmares are of any interest or significance.

Their faces were the way women's faces are when they've been talking about you behind your back and they think you've heard: embarrassed, but also a little defiant, as if it were their right.

What confronts us, now the excitement's over, is our own failure.

When push comes to shove, only one's own nightmares are of any interest or significance

I can see this idea gathering in Cordelia as well. Maybe she's gone too far, hit, finally, some core of resistance in me. If I refuse to do what she says this time, who knows where my defiance will end?

Mitch looks in her direction. He can't meet her eyes. It's as if she's semi-invisible, a kind of hovering blur.

Petchenegs versus Byzantium," said Jimmy, one memorable day.

I suppose you're wondering what happened to the mirror,' he said. 'Well …' 'I smashed it. Last week. With the frying-pan.' 'Oh,' she said.

Ah, but who will bell the cat?" "I am not sure what you mean." "It is a country saying. A council of mice met to decide what to do about the tomcat who was on the loose. They agreed the best plan was to attach a bell to his neck so they could hear him coming and hide. It was a fine plan—but it needed a mouse brave enough to risk his life jumping on the cat.

We know - intellectually - that confronting an issue is the only way to resolve it. But any resolution will disrupt the status quo. Given the choice between conflict and change on the one hand, and inertia on the other, the ostrich position can seem very attractive.

Why be an ostrich?