"I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you"
About this Quote
Weaponized politeness is the trick here: "I'm sorry" opens like an apology, then swivels into a verbal body-check. Robin Williams compresses a whole social dynamic into one sentence: the performance of civility while refusing to yield an inch. It works because it mimics the rhythm of everyday disagreement - the little throat-clear before conflict - then replaces reconciliation with an unbudgeable premise. The conditional "if" dangles the possibility of agreement like a peace offering, but the clause that follows quietly declares the offer impossible. You're not just wrong; you're so wrong that consensus can't even be imagined without rewriting reality.
Williams, the comedian, isn't merely insulting someone. He's exposing the ego mechanics of argument. People rarely fight over facts alone; they fight over status. This line plays that game with a grin, positioning the speaker as reasonable (I would agree!) while claiming superior judgment (you aren't right). It's dismissive without the messy labor of rebuttal, which is exactly why it lands in conversation and on late-night couches: it captures the fantasy of having the last word, cleanly.
There's also a gentle self-parody baked in. The sentence admits that agreement is often transactional: I'll meet you where you are, but only if reality cooperates. In an era when debates become identity tests, the joke stings because it's familiar - the kind of line people love to quote when they're done listening.
Williams, the comedian, isn't merely insulting someone. He's exposing the ego mechanics of argument. People rarely fight over facts alone; they fight over status. This line plays that game with a grin, positioning the speaker as reasonable (I would agree!) while claiming superior judgment (you aren't right). It's dismissive without the messy labor of rebuttal, which is exactly why it lands in conversation and on late-night couches: it captures the fantasy of having the last word, cleanly.
There's also a gentle self-parody baked in. The sentence admits that agreement is often transactional: I'll meet you where you are, but only if reality cooperates. In an era when debates become identity tests, the joke stings because it's familiar - the kind of line people love to quote when they're done listening.
Quote Details
| Topic | Sarcastic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
More Quotes by Robin
Add to List




