No one was going to stop me from writing and no one had to really guide me towards science fiction. It was natural, really, that I would take that interest. – Octavia Butler
Religion kept some of my relatives alive, because it was all they had. If they hadnt had some hope of heaven, some companionship in Jesus, they probably would have committed suicide, their lives were so hellish. – Octavia Butler
Once you grow past Mommy and Daddy coming running when youre hurt, youre really on your own. Youre alone, and theres no one to help you. – Octavia Butler
No, I think the future of humanity will be like the past, well do what weve always done and there will still be human beings. Granted, there will always be people doing something different and there are a lot of possibilities. – Octavia Butler
In America everybody is of opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards. – Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays, 1950