“I Don’t Care” quotes – Part III…

THE FAMOUS QUOTE ABOUT DOING IT IN FRONT OF THE HORSES: “I don’t care what they do, so long as they don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses.”        Mrs. Patrick Campbell (Beatrice Stella Tanner Campbell; 1865-1940)        British stage actress        This is the usual version of a legendary quotation about homosexuals that’s commonly attributed to Mrs. Campbell. It may be a paraphrase of her actual quote, or she may have said it different ways on different occasions. In the biography Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1961), author Alan Dent gives her quote as: “Does it really matter what these affectionate people do — so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!” In The Duchess of Jermyn Street (1964) by in Daphne Fielding, Campbell is quoted as saying “It doesn't matter what you do in the bedroom, as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses.”        Language maven Barry Popik has an in-depth post about the history of this quote on his great site “The Big Apple.” He notes that the saying has been cited in print since at least 1929 and that Mrs. Campbell apparently said about an actor she knew or about the playwright Oscar Wilde.

A TALK SHOW HOST’S CLUELESS COMMENT: “You’re entitled to behave however the hell you like as long as you don’t scare the horses and the children.”        Piers Morgan        TV talk show host and game show judge        In an interview with Charlie Sheen in February 2011        Morgan seemed oblivious to allegations that Sheen had threatened and abused some of his wives and girlfriends. As noted by Anna Holmes, creator of the feminist website Jezebel: “Mr. Morgan...like many of Mr. Sheen’s past and present press enablers, showed little to no urgency in addressing the question of violence against women. ‘You’re entitled to behave however the hell you like as long as you don’t scare the horses and the children,’ Mr. Morgan said at one point. Scaring women, it seems, was just fine.

A CLUELESS POLITICAN’S JOKE: “I don't care what position we take, as long as doggy style is included.”        Michael Wiener         A New Mexico County Commissioner who recently made headlines after being photographed with some local hookers during a trip to the Philippines         This was his reported response during a Bernalillo County Commission meeting in 2011, when someone asked if the Commission might change its position on an issue being discussed.

EXCERPT FROM “I DON’T CARE QUOTES – Part II” (The Sexual Preference Edition): “I don’t care if a soldier is ‘straight’, as long as he can shoot straight.”        Attributed to Barry Goldwater (1909-1998)        The common paraphrase of a remark Goldwater made in 1993         What he actually said was “You don’t need to be ‘straight’ to fight and die for your country.”         To read the rest of this previous post, click this link.

EXCERPT FROM “I DON’T CARE QUOTES – Part I” (The Celebrity Edition): “I don’t care what they say as long as they talk about me.”         Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968)        American theater and movie actress        Her famous version of the old Hollywood publicity axiom        To read the rest of this previous post, click this link.

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