“The moment there is suspicion about a person's motives, everything he does becomes tainted.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Widely attributed to Young India (c.1930); genuine in Gandhi's tone and repeated across reputable secondary sources, but no confirmed primary excerpt was located.
About this quote
Once you decide someone is acting in bad faith, the mind quietly re-reads every gesture as proof. A kind word starts to sound like flattery, a favor like a bribe. The distortion lives in the observer, not the observed, which is why restoring trust takes far more evidence than losing it ever did.
When to use it
- A manager who assumes a quiet employee is hiding something starts reading every late reply as evasion.
- After one broken promise, a teenager treats a parent's questions about homework as spying rather than care.
- A customer convinced a mechanic is upselling refuses even the repair the car genuinely needs.