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The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It takes an old Bible line about truth bringing freedom and adds the part nobody warns you about: learning the truth hurts and angers you first. That bitter second half is why it stuck, and why it became Steinem's signature. People quote it to explain the fury that comes with waking up to injustice, though most do not know it began in recovery rooms.
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In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
Gloria Steinem did not coin this line, but she is the person who made it famous. Quote Investigator traces earlier versions to a 1978 poster at an alcohol treatment centre, which said the truth would make you miserable. Joe Klaas's 1990 book Twelve Steps to Happiness has the first strong match, which he called his favourite motto. Steinem was using it in speeches by 1998, at a Stanford event reported in Heterodoxy, and told a newspaper in 1999 she would put it on a button. It may well have started in the twelve-step recovery world.
Sources (1)
- Quote Investigator: The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You OffFull article, dated citations 1978, 1990, 1998, 1999Reference checked
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