What is the psychology behind posting quotes and attributing them to famous people?
To the point it’s ridiculous. Just saw a post on fb: “Boston is probably the only major city that if you f*** with them they will shut down the whole city…stop everything….and find you.” They attributed it to Happy Gilmore!
That goes beyond absurd, you know? It just made me wonder whey we feel the need to link certain things to famous people?
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That specific quote came from a Twitter feed from a tweeter named Happy Gilmore which is why it was attributed to him.
O. But if had come from Joe Smith they wouldn’t have repeated it.
This happens all the time with Morgan Freeman. If you ever see anything attributed to him… he probably didn’t say it. I don’t know why people post these things, or why people respond to it, let alone why they don’t start checking their facts after the 25th Freeman quote.
@glacial I just figure Morgan Freeman really is God and is therefore incredibly brilliant, witty, and wise.~
God isn’t black! He’s white! A white male.
@SuperMouse I bet he is, too! But some of the quotes I see over his face are truly inane, and I think to myself, “Morgan Freeman would never have stated something so obvious!”
For some strange reason George Takei has become a very famous quotester! I do not understand.
I see this all the time, with quotes attributed to George Carlin or Andy Rooney. It usually goes like this:
You have to love the homespun honesty of Andy Rooney. Here is his take on the homeless.
“I don’t carry a gun in my car, but if I did, I would shoot the people who stand on street corners with cardboard signs asking for help. How about if I pop a cap in your ass and help society by getting rid of one of the leeches draining the working class of their hard earned money?”
Now, obviously Andy Rooney would never support killing the homeless, and would never use an expression like “pop a cap in your ass”, but people love that shit.
It lends authority to something they want to express but feel their own thoughts don’t carry any weight. And they think that it is something Mark Twain or Clint Eastwood or Morgan Freeman would agree with.
And the they get lots of likes and everyone thinks they’re smart for digging up that nugget of wisdom.
But if they really want respect, they should take ownership of their own wisdom, and their friends will recognize it. Or maybe not, because it isn’t really that brilliant.
Snopes is a fabulous source for debunking these quotes; that’s where I found out Abraham Lincoln didn’t actually say “don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
lol pop a cap in your ass
@SuperMouse Phew! Good thing they were there to solve that one!
Snopes is a fabulous source for debunking these quotes; that’s where I found out Abraham Lincoln didn’t actually say “don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
Thanks to Snoopes I found out it was actually Shakespeare whom said that! ;-p
“I don’t know.” -Christopher Marlowe
@SuperMouse Morgan Freeman really IS God. Haven’t you seen Bruce Almighty?
“Don’t believe everything you see on the internet!”
—Thomas Edison
“Too many of you Christians are just assholes.” ~ Jesus.
@Dutchess_III Did Jesus say that before or after being crucified?
@Dutchess_III I am going check that Jesus quote on Snopes; I don’t think He was that judgmental.
Are we just talking about wrongly attributed quotes or any quotes at all?
I’ve quoted movies, songs, famous sayings, etc., but I always know if the person quoted actually said it.
As for wrongly attributing – I don’t know, an attempt at humor? Believing the famous person actually said the line in question because someone else said they did? Who knows?
My favorite:
“One day, a bunch if idiots on the Internet will make stuff up and claim I said it.” -Nostradamus
They are about brevity and clarity.
I really wish people would do their research before they post these things. I’ve had to politely tell some of my friends that Bill Cosby is not 83 and tired. He was born July 12, 1937. He’s 75! That should be their first clue. If you aren’t familiar with this misquote attributed to Cosby, here is some information about it.
@jonsblond Someone just sent me this I thought it was interesting in light of our part of this conversation.
Lack of an original thought or ability to think independently.
”@rainbowunbroken has a good point.” -George Carlin
“You have to give me half, as a finders fee.” ~ Cheech and Chong.
“Hell no!” -Some Random Bitch
Oh hell YES!! ~ Some Much BIGGER Random Bitch
“Don’t make me get the shovel.” -Tiny Tim
“Don’t make me get my spinach…oh hell. Where’d the can opener go??”~Popeye
I can’t stands, noes more!
“O! Busted.” ~ Eddy Murphy
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