About this quote

There's a cheap way to feel tall, which is to stand on someone you've made small, and it never actually delivers. Honor bought by degrading another is counterfeit, because it depends on the victim staying beneath you. Real standing never needs someone else's shame to prop it up.

When to use it

• A boss who mocks a subordinate in front of the team to look powerful.
• An online pile-on where strangers feel bigger by shaming one person.
• Winning a spat with a sibling by belittling them, then feeling emptier for it.