To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes
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"Scout," said Atticus, "n*****-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody."
"You aren't really a n*****-lover, then, are you?"
"I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you."
Context
While giving Scout a lesson in How Racism Works, Atticus does the same for the audience. (That's To Kill a Mockingbird at its core, we guess: Dad Atticus helping daughter Scout come of age.)
On the syllabus in this conversation: the power of language, not only as a way to shame those who don't toe the racist line, but also to set the terms of the debate.
Racists use the term "n*****-lover" to suggest that a person is trying to give African Americans special rights, but Atticus points out that all he's arguing for is equality, loving everybody the same.
The end of the quote is basically a grown-up version of "I'm rubber and you're glue," suggesting that schoolyard taunt actually has some merit—some insults do tell you more about the person hurling them than about their target.
Where you've heard it
Sounds like something you might read in a celebrity memoir, but "I do my best to love everybody" is a pretty good mantra. And you know what? Atticus seems to really stick to it.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
1 if you have follow through. 10 if you're totally making it up.