Andrew Vachss Quotes

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Andrew Vachss

Profession : Author

Birth : October 19, 1942

Journalism is what maintains democracy. It's the force for progressive social change.

Andrew Vachss

Journalism is the protection between people and any sort of totalitarian rule. That's why my hero, admittedly a flawed one, is a journalist.

Andrew Vachss

Fighting means you could lose. Bullying means you can't. A bully wants to beat somebody; he doesn't want to fight somebody.

Andrew Vachss

We don't protect our young, and we tolerate predators of our own species.

Andrew Vachss

Victimizers of children are the enemies of any so-called society.

Andrew Vachss

A kid in an abusive home has far fewer rights than any POW. There is no Geneva Convention for kids.

Andrew Vachss

All children are born pure egoists. They perceive their needs to the exclusion of all others. Only through socialization do they learn that some forms of gratification must be deferred and others denied.

Andrew Vachss

I don't sign contracts for my books.

Andrew Vachss

Ours is a country where anything can be accomplished if enough people get angry... because, in America, we act on our collective anger.

Andrew Vachss

I don't take advances for my books.

Andrew Vachss

Ask any experienced defense lawyer: the real risks are for an accused person who is innocent. A guilty defendant has many more options available.

Andrew Vachss

Courier 12 is the Type-O blood of fonts - works just as good for a 'N.Y. Times' op-ed as a screenplay or a short story.

Andrew Vachss

The idea that you're not a writer until you're published is a lie.

Andrew Vachss

Anyone who says, 'Books don't change anything,' or - more commonly - that crime fiction is the wrong genre for promoting social change - should take a closer look.

Andrew Vachss

If I ever stopped being angry, I couldn't write anymore. How could I?

Andrew Vachss

In some neighborhoods, if you want to walk down the streets, you've got two choices - look down, or look hard.

Andrew Vachss

Crime takes the pulse of a culture. It tells us the truth about us as a species.

Andrew Vachss

While early childhood experiences may impel, they do not compel. In the end, evil is a matter of choice.

Andrew Vachss

I hate bullies. I hate them. I'm not good enough with words to describe how much I hate them.

Andrew Vachss

The third person narrator, instead of being omniscient, is like a constantly running surveillance tape.

Andrew Vachss