Quotes / Society Is to Blame

"He's only a lad, you really can't blame him
Only a lad, society made him
Only a lad, he's our responsibility, oh oh oh
Only a lad, he really couldn't help it
Only a lad, he didn't want to do it
Only a lad, he's underprivileged and abused
Perhaps a little bit confused, oh oh oh..."

— Oingo Boingo, "Only A Lad"

"Dammit . . . Why am I such an ass? It's society's fault. I've been bamboozled by the system. The public schools dumbed me down! The media brainwashed me! The government surgically crafted stupidmantium onto my skeleton! Which doesn't change the fact that I'm an ass . . ."

— Slick, Sinfest

"It's not my fault that I'm so evil
It's society! Society!
You see, my parents were sometimes abusive
And it made a prick of me!"

— Saddam Hussein, "I Can Change", South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

Abby: How could she do something like this?
Kane: Because she grew up on the Ark. She learned what to do from us.

— The 100, Episode 2.13 "Resurrection"

"Society’s a weak excuse for a man."

— Slick Rick, "Hey Young World"

"I suppose it's true what they say. Society is to blame. High society."

— The Penguin, Batman: The Animated Series, "Birds of a Feather"

"I tried to play by the rules, but no! They wouldn't let me go straight! Society is to blame!"

— Harley Quinn, after a misunderstanding with a shop security guard, Batman: The Animated Series, "Harley's Holiday".

"We live in a society."

— Meme associated with The Joker.

"What do you get when you cross a mentally ill loner with a society that ABANDONS HIM AND TREATS HIM LIKE TRASH?!?!?! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU GET! YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE!!!!"

— Arthur Fleck/Joker, Joker (2019) ^note the original line said "with a system"; "society" was an ad-lib by Joaquin Phoenix, possibly referencing the aforementioned meme.

"We live in a society where honor is a distant memory."

— The Joker, trailer and deleted take of Zack Snyder's Justice League ^note Previously used as a recurring meme that emerged in 2018 referencing a line from The Dark Knight and got renewed traction with Joker, whether sincere or ironic depends on how one views the meme; Joker saying it verbatim here counts as the meme being ascended.

"People will look at the ashes of Westerburg and say; 'now there's a school that self-destructed, not because society didn't care, but because the school was society.' Now that's deep."

— Jason Dean, Heathers

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