Althouse: "Be alone, and you will feel that it is better to be with people. Be with people, and you will understand that being alone is not so bad."

January 24, 2018

"Be alone, and you will feel that it is better to be with people. Be with people, and you will understand that being alone is not so bad."

Yoko Ono.

66 comments:

readering said...: Clearly Yoko Ono eats at a superior Chinese restaurant.; 1/24/18, 1:08 PM
William said...: Schopenhauer: "People are like porcupines. They huddle together for warmth, and then, when warmed, the quills come out and push them apart."; 1/24/18, 1:09 PM
eddie willers said...: "Hell is other people."; 1/24/18, 1:15 PM
Nonapod said...: True dat. It's why in the future everyone will mostly only associate with their robot companions, people that they can either turn off or guiltlessly tell off when they get sick of them.; 1/24/18, 1:18 PM
madAsHell said...: Was she the inspiration for Yoda?; 1/24/18, 1:36 PM
Fabi said...: Totally circular and groovy, baby!; 1/24/18, 1:42 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Be with Yoko, and you will understand that being alone is not so bad.; 1/24/18, 1:42 PM
MikeD said...: Now I know where Neil deGrasse Tyson gets all the deep tho'ts he posts to Twitter.; 1/24/18, 1:43 PM
Caroline said...: Imagine no people; 1/24/18, 1:46 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Well, sure, she's right about that. And yet still I can't help but believe, deep down in my heart, that people, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world.; 1/24/18, 1:48 PM
mikee said...: Yoko Ono is the common denominator in her examples of being alone and being with other people, yet being miserable in both situations. Makes sense to me.; 1/24/18, 1:49 PM
matism said...: They call a horse with wings "Pegasus". What do they call a dog with Wings?
}:-]; 1/24/18, 1:51 PM
Bob Boyd said...: Flido; 1/24/18, 1:55 PM
Achilles said...: Grass is always greener?; 1/24/18, 1:56 PM
Darrell said...: The sweetest sound I ever heard was the ringing in my ears when Yoko stopped singing.; 1/24/18, 2:03 PM
dreams said...: As for me, I'm happy in my own head. Tis good.; 1/24/18, 2:04 PM
Darrell said...: People who need people are the sorriest cocksuckers in the world.; 1/24/18, 2:05 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: True dat Yoko.; 1/24/18, 2:13 PM
Limited blogger said...: When I want to be alone I put "Who has seen the Wind" on the stereo.; 1/24/18, 2:17 PM
Bob Boyd said...: When I want to be alone I break wind.; 1/24/18, 2:21 PM
matism said...: The original answer to that question, Bob Boyd, was "Yoko Ono"...; 1/24/18, 2:27 PM
Bilwick said...: Never thought the day would ever come when I'd even think this, but: I know where you're coming from, Yoko.; 1/24/18, 2:27 PM
StephenFearby said...: In related news today...

"...Billy Bush opens up about the P***ygate scandal to tell why he's 'taking a step back' from marriage and how he's now focusing on his liquor company"

'...For now, he says he's focusing on Beach Whiskey, the liquor company he co-founded two years ago which includes the brand of vodka, American Harvest. According to Beach Whiskey, American Harvest is an 'American-made organic vodka, which merges the farm-to-bottle movement with the exploding craft spirits category.'"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5307337/Billy-Bush-opens-P-ygate-scandal.html; 1/24/18, 2:27 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: Ah, so.; 1/24/18, 2:33 PM
jimbino said...: Being alone is great, except that our fascist state will tax you extra, deny you immigration and inheritance benefits and otherwise disadvantage you for not having a spouse. As I remember, when Vermont was considering Civil Unions, there were over 1100 citations to our laws that so discriminate against singles, and in those days, gay couples.; 1/24/18, 2:35 PM
SeanF said...: Am I missing something, Matism?

Yoko Ono (John Lennon's girlfriend) had nothing to do with Wings (Paul McCartney's band).; 1/24/18, 2:37 PM
Bob Boyd said...: matism said...
"The original answer to that question, Bob Boyd, was "Yoko Ono"..."

OK, I thought your comment seemed kind of random. Now it makes sense.; 1/24/18, 2:38 PM
SeanF said...: jimbino: Being alone is great, except that our fascist state will tax you extra...for not having a spouse.
The tax break is for financially supporting another person, not for being married.; 1/24/18, 2:39 PM
furious_a said...: "The more I'm around people, the more I love my horse." -- Cowboy proverb.; 1/24/18, 2:40 PM
Mid-Life Lawyer said...: I've always had kind of a negative attitude toward Yoko, I guess due to the whole Beatles' breakup thing etc. Then I became more of a libertarian-conservative in my late twenties and grew to disdain most of the hippie culture I once worshiped and of which I view her as a representative. I think this is the second pithy quote you have put up by her lately and I may need to give her a closer look.; 1/24/18, 2:41 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Chuck Berry was jamming with John Lennon, sounding good, having a great old time, when suddenly Yoko started being Yoko. I am sure Berry wished Yoko was all alone at that moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9kgu71d81U; 1/24/18, 2:48 PM
stevew said...: Attributed to Yoko but I'm told that's a quote from John, except he used 'Yoko' instead of 'people'.

-sw; 1/24/18, 2:48 PM
traditionalguy said...: Wisdom for sale. Eat food and you will lose your hunger, but don't eat food and you will grow hungry. And the loss of all desire for food is a symptom of the disease unto death.

Carnack the Magnificent said that.; 1/24/18, 3:01 PM
Etienne said...: Curtis LeMay missed her by "this much."; 1/24/18, 3:04 PM
Bill Peschel said...: Our first commenter, Readering, won the thread and kept the crown.

For most of my life, I would have agreed with the sentiments, but for the last 27 years, I've been with someone who has made my life better in many ways. Yes, I've enjoyed my times alone. This past Christmas I spent five days in the house while they went off to visit her folks. But that was because I knew she would be coming home.

Yes, it is rare to be so simpatico with someone. I'm thinking of another friend of mine that I wish I could be with as well (I moved away so we could be closer to her parents). I wish I could be closer with my siblings (who moved away decades ago to be with their partners). While fortunate to live in this country, distances and economics make it hard for us to stay together as we like. But those relationships are vital to maintain, and the cause of despair when they aren't.

If you're truly happy living alone, I'll be the first to congratulate you. From a distance. But being truly alone would be the death of me.; 1/24/18, 3:32 PM
SayAahh said...: Deep, man; 1/24/18, 3:32 PM
PackerBronco said...: "Be alone, and you will feel that it is better to be with people. Be with people, and you will understand that being alone is not so bad."

--- In other words, I thought I was unhappy until Yoko showed up and started singing.; 1/24/18, 3:34 PM
PackerBronco said...: exiledonmainstreet said...
Chuck Berry was jamming with John Lennon, sounding good, having a great old time, when suddenly Yoko started being Yoko. I am sure Berry wished Yoko was all alone at that moment

I understand that the techie who turned off her microphone was nominated for a Grammy.; 1/24/18, 3:36 PM
Kassaar said...: One was never married, and that's his hell; another is, and that's his plague.
- Robert Burton, c.1621; 1/24/18, 3:42 PM
Richard Dillman said...: Here is a pertinent quotation from The "Solitude" chapter of "Walden" by H.D. Thoreau, circa 1854:

“I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”; 1/24/18, 3:45 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: The blind squirrel found a nut. How about that.; 1/24/18, 3:53 PM
southcentralpa said...: She keeps forgetting most people still hate her for breaking up the Beatles, and then goes back to being alone. Got it.

(Yes, I know. It's a joke.); 1/24/18, 3:57 PM
dreams said...: I like living relatively close to where I grew up and near my nieces and nephews, about 30/40 miles so I can visit and drive by our old home place and I do miss my 3 siblings and brother-in-law who have died within the last 6 years.; 1/24/18, 4:05 PM
Mr Wibble said...: If you're truly happy living alone, I'll be the first to congratulate you. From a distance. But being truly alone would be the death of me.

1/24/18, 3:32 PM

I need human interaction and friendship, but I like my time alone as well. Unfortunately the people I tend to become friends with are often introverts who are quite happy with no interaction, and can't understand why it drives me bonkers. So then I go back to not having friends.; 1/24/18, 4:11 PM
J. Farmer said...: A truism. The grass is always greener, and all that.

I was never much a fan of Ono's style of art or her plastic band, but she certainly does seem to get an inordinate and almost hysterical level of hate from the general public. Is it really all just annoying boomer Beatlemania nostalgia blaming her for breaking up the band?; 1/24/18, 4:18 PM
The Godfather said...: I just got an email ad to subscribe to the Washington Post because "Real journalism matters." Funniest thing I've read all day.

Yes, it's off point, but I had to share.; 1/24/18, 4:18 PM
Jim at said...: It's why in the future everyone will mostly only associate with their robot companions, people that they can either turn off or guiltlessly tell off when they get sick of them.

Bruce Willis was in a flick, Surrogates, which is along those lines.

It's an interesting premise and the movie's not half bad.; 1/24/18, 4:20 PM
tim maguire said...: Hell really is other people.; 1/24/18, 4:21 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: Best is to be with small groups of people. I winnowed my "circle" to roughly 8 or so close friends whom I see on a regular basis, and my wife, who's my closest friend of all. She knows that I need time alone every now and then, to read silently or putter around in the garage or practice my hobbies. And when I'm sick of being alone, she's always there. I asked her what goes thru her head when I take these spells, and she answered, "I just wonder when you will come and hang out with me again."

Sweet as candy.; 1/24/18, 4:24 PM
Kyzer SoSay said...: @ Etienne, that was cruel and also hysterical.; 1/24/18, 4:25 PM
Jay Vogt said...: Etienne said...Curtis LeMay missed her by "this much."

too soon; 1/24/18, 4:29 PM
Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...: Oh. It was a Tweet. Response at the top of the heap when I looked was:
"Separaste a los Beatles con tus pinches Ideas."
I can go with that.; 1/24/18, 4:47 PM
Tommy Duncan said...: Farms have a kitchen and a barn. Both are good places to be.

Modern homes have a family room and a garage. Both are good places to be.

Dogs get lots of walks around Christmas.; 1/24/18, 4:56 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "I need human interaction and friendship, but I like my time alone as well."

I am the same way, Mr. W. Like dreams, I like living near my family (which is the reason I moved back to Wisconsin), but I wouldn't want to live in the same house with them.

A professor of mine explained it well. Extroverts are not necessarily loudmouths who jabber away all day and introverts are not necessarily antisocial wallflowers. Extroverts are energized by being around and interacting with people. They are capable of being alone, but after a while, they find it draining. Introverts, on the other hand, can enjoy socializing, but too much of it exhausts them. Being alone recharges their batteries.

The prof put himself in the extrovert category. When I was younger, I was more extroverted - I have never been shy - but now I find that prolonged socializing tires me. I'm happy to have people over for dinner, but I'm also happy when they leave :); 1/24/18, 5:01 PM
David said...: Be with Yoko, you may feel both at the same time.; 1/24/18, 5:05 PM
jimbino said...: SeanF: jimbino: Being alone is great, except that our fascist state will tax you extra...for not having a spouse.
The tax break is for financially supporting another person, not for being married.

Not true: are you aware of the different tax schedules for single and married people? Not to mention the favorable tax treatment, SS benefits, medicare benefits, etc that depend on being married to your partner?; 1/24/18, 5:07 PM
rhhardin said...: Paglia I think said that a scientist nerd needs human contact maybe once a year.; 1/24/18, 5:12 PM
Jaq said...: I think Terry Gross interviewed her once, and it was eye opening. You could see the person John married.; 1/24/18, 5:17 PM
dustbunny said...: Plus she inherited all the money; 1/24/18, 5:46 PM
dustbunny said...: Yes, I’m bitter; 1/24/18, 6:16 PM
AMDG said...: “They call a horse with wings "Pegasus". What do they call a dog with Wings?”

And the answer is: Linda McCartney

Another question: What do Yoko Ono and an Ethiopian have in common?

BTW - while she played a role, Yoko is not solely responsible for the breakup of the Beatles. Management (Allen Klein), Paul’s dominance, and just being sick of each other played big roles in the break up.

Yoko was responsible for John and Paul not working together. Paul had invited John to join some sessions for ‘Venus & Mars’ and he was up for it but she nixed it.; 1/24/18, 8:10 PM
victoria said...: Truer words were never spoken.

A little too profound for me.

Vicki from Pasadena; 1/24/18, 8:27 PM
gg6 said...: 'A mind half vacant is a mind half full.'
Tao of Mickey Mouse, Chap I, verse I
Duh.; 1/24/18, 8:47 PM
Anonymous said...: When I'm with people, I usually would rather be alone. When I'm alone, I'm happy and glad that I'm not around people. (With a few exceptions.); 1/24/18, 9:25 PM
SeanF said...: jimbino: Not true: are you aware of the different tax schedules for single and married people?
The schedules are different, but they don't favor married people - unless one of the married people has a significantly higher income than the other, which is why I said the break was for financially supporting another person. Two single people making $50K each will see their total tax bill go up if they get married, not down.; 1/24/18, 10:18 PM
Will Cate said...: "Be with people, and you will under stand that aaayyAAAEEEEYAYAYAYASYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA" ........; 1/24/18, 10:42 PM