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I don't believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person. I have a lot to learn from other people.

— Eduardo Galeano in: David Barsamian (2004)

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Kindness

More quotes by Eduardo Galeano

Unlike solidarity, which is horizontal and takes place between equals, charity is top-down, humiliating those who receive it and never challenging the implicit power relations.

Upside Down: A Primer for the Looking Glass World (2000)

The division of labor among nations is that some specialize in winning and others in losing.

The dominant culture of the world teaches us that The Other is a threat, that our fellow human beings are a danger. We will all continue to be exiles in one form or another as long as we continue to accept the paradigm that the world is a racetrack or a battlefield.

As the owners of heaven forbade chocolate to mortals, so the owners of earth forbade it to commoners.

Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone (2009)

We are all mortal until the first kiss and the second glass of wine.

The Book of Embraces (1991)

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Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.

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Affectation hides three times as many virtues as charity does sins.

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A daughter who respects you while you’re alive is far better than a son who performs the rites and rituals after you’re gone.

Sanu Sharma

O proud philanthropist, your hope is vain
To get by giving what you lost by gain.

Ambrose Bierce

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Eduardo Galeano (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.