Public opinion is always more tyrannical towards those who obviously fear it than towards those who feel indifferent to it.
 Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness (1930). copy citation

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Author Bertrand Russell
Source The Conquest of Happiness
Topic opinion reputation tyranny
Date 1930
Language English
Reference
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Weblink http://russell-j.com/beginner/COH-TEXT.HTM

Context

“If it is to become possible, some way must be found by which the tyranny of public opinion can be either lessened or evaded, and by which members of the intelligent minority can come to know each other and enjoy each other's society.
In a good many cases unnecessary timidity makes the trouble worse than it need be. Public opinion is always more tyrannical towards those who obviously fear it than towards those who feel indifferent to it. A dog will bark more loudly and bite more readily when people are afraid of him than when they treat him with contempt, and the human herd has something of this same characteristic. If you show that you are afraid of them, you give promise of good hunting, whereas if you show indifference, they begin to doubt their own power and therefore tend to let you alone.” source

Meaning and analysis

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