Original artwork, not a still
I love mankind... it's people I can't stand!!
— Peanuts ‧ 1950
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the cynic's version of philanthropy, and it works because it comes from a small boy dragging a security blanket. Linus is the strip's thinker, so the line lands as a joke and as an honest confession at once. It is a ready-made epigraph for anyone who adores humanity in the abstract and cannot stand a queue.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for PeanutsShow the scene
Linus van Pelt says it in the Peanuts strip of 12 November 1959. By then Linus had been in the strip for seven years and was settling into his role as its resident philosopher and theologian. That autumn he had also suffered the Great Pumpkin no-show: in the strip of 3 November he blamed it on being 'a victim of false doctrine'. The line about loving mankind but not the people in it comes nine days later.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: PeanutsLinus section, entries dated 3 Nov 59 and 12 Nov 59Reference checked
- Wikipedia: Linus van PeltDebut and Personality sectionsReference checked
Context reviewed
