"Be sure you positively identify your target before you pull the trigger"
About this Quote
As a celebrity line, it reads like advice meant to travel - short enough for a soundbite, stern enough to feel like wisdom. Public figures often trade in moral posture, but Flynn’s phrasing dodges sentimentality. He doesn’t say “don’t hurt people.” He says: check your facts before you commit. The “target” can be literal, but it’s also a metaphor for the person you’re about to blame online, the rival you’re about to torch in an interview, the group you’re about to flatten into a stereotype. “Positively identify” echoes the contemporary demand for receipts; it’s the anti-rumor ethic dressed in tactical gear.
Contextually, it resonates in a culture trained to fire first: instant takes, cancel storms, misidentifications that become headlines. The line works because it weaponizes the language of violence to indict a softer kind of violence - reputational, social, political - and reminds you that the click, the accusation, the tweet can be its own trigger pull.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Flynn, Tom. (2026, January 16). Be sure you positively identify your target before you pull the trigger. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/be-sure-you-positively-identify-your-target-130491/
Chicago Style
Flynn, Tom. "Be sure you positively identify your target before you pull the trigger." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/be-sure-you-positively-identify-your-target-130491/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Be sure you positively identify your target before you pull the trigger." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/be-sure-you-positively-identify-your-target-130491/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.








