Prick Us and We Shall Bleed

This is quoted from Merchant of Venice, by Shakespeare.

“He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what’s his reason?

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?

If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge.

If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villany you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.”

To be prejudiced, it makes the world mad. Remember we all feel hurt, we all feel pain, even if you do not think so.

2 thoughts on “Prick Us and We Shall Bleed

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  1. This was written more as a personal message to those who I felt, at that time, was hurting me.

    Sometimes we feel prejudiced against someone without even knowing it — we just “hate” or “dislike” this person, even though we do not even know him.

    We treat him as less than human, calling him names or physically abusing him. We do this thinking that he thoroughly deserves it. If he doesn’t show pain, we abuse him even more.

    We have to watch out, for whatever we do to another person, we have to think about the other person’s pain too.

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