Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2023 January 6

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January 6

Looking to attribute a quote

There’s a popular aphorism in left-leaning, progressive communities to explain why powerful people tend to avoid the consequences of the law. Paraphrasing, the statement reads something like "power never goes after power", or something along those lines. I’ve been trying to find out who said it or anything similar to it, but I’ve had no luck so far. To my ear, it sounds like something Malcolm X might have said, but I honestly don’t know. I would appreciate some help with this if anyone recognizes the saying. Viriditas (talk) 03:35, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

Well, wikiquote:power says that Malcolm X said "Power never takes a back step — only in the face of more power." You might like to read some of the other quotations there to see if one is closer to what you want. --174.89.144.126 (talk) 09:56, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

Interesting, thanks. Sounds very similar. Viriditas (talk) 10:42, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

I don't think so. The first one says that powers won't challenge each other for dominance, while the second one is about when they do. --174.89.12.107 (talk) 02:57, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Okay, looks like I’m back to square one. Viriditas (talk) 09:05, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

How about "the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house" from Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde? --Amble (talk) 18:02, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

Great source. I will read up on it. Thanks. Viriditas (talk) 22:41, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Or perhaps "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." from a blog post by a Frank Wilhoit who isn't Francis M. Wilhoit? --Amble (talk) 18:55, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

• Laws are for the little people—a variation of Leona Helmsley's "only the little people pay taxes"
• Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.—Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub and Other Stories
• La majestueuse égalité des lois, qui interdit au riche comme au pauvre de coucher sous les ponts, de mendier dans les rues et de voler du pain. In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.—Anatole France, The Red Lily

fiveby(zero) 19:37, 9 January 2023 (UTC)

• Thank you. Viriditas (talk) 22:41, 12 January 2023 (UTC)

Father Ted - Strange sentences

Are the strange sentences used in Father Ted supposed to be funny? Late-morning & afternoon hours as early hours? Number 11 upside-down? And roads taken in a warehouse? 86.130.26.236 (talk) 20:51, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

It's a comedy. --Viennese Waltz 21:44, 6 January 2023 (UTC)

Everything in Father Ted is designed to be funny.  --Lambiam 08:34, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Do you have a sense of humor?--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 16:23, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Maybe the OP is of German extraction. Bob Newhart once said that it's hard to be funny in Germany. They might say, "Vhy do you call zis man Curly vhen he has no hair?" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:02, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

I'm German and I find Father Ted extremely funny. Your comment, not your best comedic effort. No, actually, it is quite laughable. --Wrongfilter (talk) 20:37, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

As a Brit who has lived in Germany, I heartily concur. WW2-era propaganda-fostered prejudices are passé. We have plenty of more recent war-related propaganda to insult each other with. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.194.245.235 (talk) 20:50, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Bob Newhart said it, to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. He also said, "Why do you call someone 'Tiny' when he weighs 300 pounds?" That was in the early 1980s. It might be that Germans have improved their sense of humor since then. It still doesn't explain the OP's bewilderment. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:18, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

What makes you think that Bob Newhart was particularly knowledgeable about German culture, over and above, say, actual Germans, or people who actually lived in Germany around that time? Could it be possible that a professional comedian might have made a joke that pandered to prejudices but was not actually accurate, and is not therefore useful to a discussion on an Encyclopaedia Reference desk?

Since this is a ref desk, how about a relevant link? German humour. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.194.245.235 (talk) 02:29, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

I could find the YouTube link to that particular Carson show, if you're interested. The point he was making is that Germans are very literal, hence not getting the jokes. Kind of like the OP here seems to be. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:55, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

(1) I'm not interested. (2) You seem to assume Carson was correct – as someone who lived in Germany, I say he was not. (3) Germany is a large country with many regional subcultures, making sweeping generalisations foolish. (4) The OP geolocates to somewhere rather more relevant to Father Ted than Germany. You are the one who introduced Germany to the discussion, pointlessly and somewhat insultingly (to Germans). Let's stop beating this particular dead horse, before SOKO Tierschutz come after us. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.194.245.235 (talk) 05:38, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

It was Newhart who said it, not Carson. Maybe at some point the OP will come back here and address his apparent lack of a sense of humor. But I wouldn't count on it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:21, 8 January 2023 (UTC)

Oh, the early 80s, right, now I remember, laughing was still very much frowned on. In fact we didn't even know how to spell "humour". --Wrongfilter (talk) 21:31, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

Well, the Germans did name their tiny tank-like remote controlled mine "Goliath" and their huge super-heavy tank tank "Maus" (mouse). ==136.56.52.157 (talk) 23:01, 7 January 2023 (UTC)

OP, if you did not understand the explanations given to your very similar query on 4 January, above, then probably no-one here is capable of explaining the matter to you. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 51.194.245.235 (talk) 20:46, 7 January 2023 (UTC)