"Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, Jack always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer"
About this Quote
The glamour version of Jackie Kennedy often edits out the fact that she lived inside a pressure cooker of headlines, betrayal, and national projection. This line lets the steam show, but in a controlled way. She frames her distress as something triggered by “the papers,” that blunt plural capturing a whole ecosystem of gossip and agenda-setting. The problem isn’t one bad story; it’s the daily churn of narrative as weather.
Jack’s advice - “be more tolerant” - lands with the cool pragmatism of a politician who understood that outrage is a resource other people harvest from you. The simile does the real work: “like a horse flicking away flies in the summer.” Not noble endurance, not saintly forgiveness. Animal competence. Reflex. The horse doesn’t negotiate with flies or internalize their opinions; it keeps moving, conserving energy for what matters. That’s the subtext: the press is irritating, persistent, and mostly beneath the dignity of a response.
It also quietly rewrites “tolerance” as strategy, not morality. In a White House where every reaction could become a new headline, restraint isn’t passive; it’s a form of power. Coming from Jackie, the image carries an extra edge: she was expected to be graceful, ornamental, unbothered. This metaphor admits she was bothered - then shows how she learned to perform unbotheredness as survival.
Jack’s advice - “be more tolerant” - lands with the cool pragmatism of a politician who understood that outrage is a resource other people harvest from you. The simile does the real work: “like a horse flicking away flies in the summer.” Not noble endurance, not saintly forgiveness. Animal competence. Reflex. The horse doesn’t negotiate with flies or internalize their opinions; it keeps moving, conserving energy for what matters. That’s the subtext: the press is irritating, persistent, and mostly beneath the dignity of a response.
It also quietly rewrites “tolerance” as strategy, not morality. In a White House where every reaction could become a new headline, restraint isn’t passive; it’s a form of power. Coming from Jackie, the image carries an extra edge: she was expected to be graceful, ornamental, unbothered. This metaphor admits she was bothered - then shows how she learned to perform unbotheredness as survival.
Quote Details
| Topic | Kindness |
|---|
More Quotes by Jackie
Add to List
