I choose the quote “If you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself, you”ll find that other people will have you hating your friends and loving your enemies” by Malcolm X. I choose this quote because I believe that it is very important to check the information you are given to by someone before quickly jumping into conclusions. This quote strongly resonates with me because in the past I used to be someone that would quickly jump to conclusions without a second thought. After growing up and maturing I realized that I should probably take some time and begin confirming these information cause not everything people say about others may be true. One of my experiences with this would be back in middle school where classmate A told me a couple rude remarks about classmate B which at the time was a good friend of mine. I didn’t jump into any conclusion instead I went to go talk to my friend about it, later on I found out that classmate A was lying and from then on I realized that I should be more weary about what people tell me from now on cause it might not always be true.
As a young youth Malcolm X had actually moved around quite a lot despite being born in Omaha, he moved from Omaha to Milwaukee, then to East Chicago later to Indiana and finally Lansing Michigan. Another fact about Malcolm X is that he actually spend 6 and a half year in prison this was due to the rough living conditions he was facing of not having parents or anybody to support him. As a result he had to go around robbing stores for food which then in turn lead to much much worse activities. In prison he had picked up the interest of reading works of history especially ones on the horror of slavery. As soon as he left prison he went to live at a house near his brothers which was near Detroit. He soon became a favorite of Elijah Muhammad and rose to become a minister. He would then proceed to fight against white racism at any chance he was given. He would spread his word through the newspaper, participate in debates, and give out speeches at universities.
This quote caught my attention as well, especially the part that says, “…you’ll find that other people will have you hating your friends and loving your enemies.” I wonder if Malcolm X is referring to outside sources trying to influence or weaken the power of him and his community that were fighting for change, through offering false information. I agree with your point that it is important to confirm information before assuming it is the truth, even though lies can often sound convincing.
I like how you analyzed this quote and provided a personal example. I agree with you that it is important to confirm information before jumping to conclusion. I feel that we tend to take other’s word too seriously even when it may be far from the truth and it often leads to consequences. It also goes back to another quote where is says that language is powerful as it can be very impactful to others.
This quote relates to my life as well. As a child, I used to believe anything that anyone would say without doing my own research. As I grew older, I realized that some people spread misinformation and it is therefore important to do your own research. I liked the example you provided and think this quote said by Malcolm X was very important.