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Creativity Quote by Max Cannon

"But if I'm going to cause somebody else discomfort by my actions, then I should probably modify my actions toward them to make them as comfortable as possible"

About this Quote

There is a quiet radicalism in how Max Cannon frames responsibility: not as a grand moral identity, but as a practical, relational adjustment. The line sidesteps the internet-age temptation to argue intentions to death. It doesn’t say, “I didn’t mean to.” It says, essentially, “impact counts, so I’ll recalibrate.” Coming from an artist, that matters. Artists are often granted cultural permission to be difficult, transgressive, even careless, with “the work” as alibi. Cannon’s sentence refuses that exemption. It treats other people not as collateral damage in the pursuit of authenticity, but as collaborators in a shared space.

The subtext is about power, even if it never uses the word. “Cause somebody else discomfort” could be anything from a boundary violation to a microaggression to an abrasive creative persona. The speaker acknowledges that the freedom to act without considering others is usually a privilege; the burden of discomfort is unevenly distributed. By choosing to “modify my actions,” he’s describing consent as an ongoing practice, not a one-time checkbox. It’s behavioral, not performative.

The phrasing “toward them” is doing work, too. It suggests specificity: you don’t have to become a different person in the abstract; you can make targeted changes in how you treat a particular person. That’s a mature ethic for messy real-world relationships, and it’s also a blueprint for healthier creative communities where honesty and care aren’t mutually exclusive.

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APA Style (7th ed.)
Cannon, Max. (2026, January 16). But if I'm going to cause somebody else discomfort by my actions, then I should probably modify my actions toward them to make them as comfortable as possible. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-if-im-going-to-cause-somebody-else-discomfort-93731/

Chicago Style
Cannon, Max. "But if I'm going to cause somebody else discomfort by my actions, then I should probably modify my actions toward them to make them as comfortable as possible." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-if-im-going-to-cause-somebody-else-discomfort-93731/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"But if I'm going to cause somebody else discomfort by my actions, then I should probably modify my actions toward them to make them as comfortable as possible." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/but-if-im-going-to-cause-somebody-else-discomfort-93731/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

Max Cannon

Max Cannon (born July 16, 1962) is a Artist from USA.

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