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Bellies Quotes

On hunger, comfort, and getting by.

These bellies quotes swing from privileged finger-pointing by people with full stomachs to the harsher reality of parents stretching noodles to fill their children's bellies so they won't cry, as they have always had to.

Some foreigners with full bellies and nothing better to do engage in finger-pointing at us. First, China does not export revolution; second, it does not export famine and poverty; and third, it does not mess around with you. So what...

Quotes by Xi Jinping

All men cannot go to college, but some men must; every isolated group or nation must have its yeast, must have, for the talented few, centers of training where men are not so mystified and befuddled by the hard and...

Quotes by W. E. B. Du Bois

I find that most men would rather have their bellies opened for five hundred dollars than have a tooth pulled for five.

Quotes by Martin H. Fischer

I just want to tell you what it's like not to have Planned Parenthood... you have to give your kids Ramen noodles at the end of the month to fill up their little bellies so they won't cry. You have...

Quotes by Gwen Moore

Always Quotes

I was born in Saratoga, Texas, a little town there in the Big Thicket about 60 miles north of Beaumont. Needless to say, we were very, very poor, but we always managed to have enough to keep our bellies full.

Quotes by George Jones

In a pine tree behind me, an eagle waits out the rain, hunched into himself, brooding. Crows squabble, a murder chasing a raven. Seals cruise the lines of fishing nets bobbing in the water, hoping for an easy meal, the...

Quotes by Eden Robinson

I went to Ethiopia, and it dawned on me that you can tell a starving, malnourished person because they've got a bloated belly and a bald head. And I realized that if you come through any American airport and see...

Quotes by Dick Gregory

This low-fat idea that's been drummed into our heads and bellies is completely off-base and deeply responsible for most of our modern ills.

Quotes by David Perlmutter

Frequently Asked Questions

What point does the "full bellies" quote make about criticism from abroad?
It criticizes foreigners who have plenty to eat and little else to do besides pointing fingers at other countries' problems. The speaker contrasts this comfort with China's own struggles, arguing critics ignore context. It's a pointed jab at privileged criticism.
What does the quote about paying for surgery versus a dental visit suggest?
It jokes that many men would rather pay a large sum to have their bellies opened than a small fee for a tooth pulled, poking fun at irrational fears around dentistry. The comparison is exaggerated for comic effect. It highlights how selective people's tolerance for pain and expense can be.
What does the Ramen noodles quote reveal about poverty?
The speaker describes parents stretching cheap noodles to fill their children's stomachs at month's end so the kids won't cry from hunger, tying this directly to the loss of Planned Parenthood support. It's a blunt illustration of financial strain on families. The image is meant to humanize a policy debate.
Is hunger the only theme running through these bellies quotes?
No — one Always circles back to comfort and privilege, contrasting well-fed critics with families struggling to feed their kids. Another leans into dark humor about medical costs. Together the quotes span both comic and serious uses of "bellies."
What tone do these quotes take toward hardship around food?
Most are blunt and unsentimental, whether joking about surgery costs or describing the real effort of stretching a food budget. None romanticize hunger; they describe it plainly, sometimes with dark humor. That scraping-by experience, something families have Been through, comes across clearly in the more serious lines.

One speaker even jokes that men would rather have their bellies opened for money than sit through a dental visit, a wry contrast to the more sober lines nearby.