Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Lincoln 2021 Books

U.S. versus other countries

South Korea- p65

It's awkwardly formal compared to back home, where we usually all eat at different times, typically while in front of the TV or a book or our phones. Loneliness and noise. The American way. p92

Marcos is widely regarded by the world as a brutal dictator, continuing to stay in power after the end of his presidential term by declaring martial law. p147

It strikes me that I cannot claim this country's serene coves and sun-soaked beaches without also claiming its poverty, its problems, its history. To say that any aspect of it is part of me is to say that all of it is part of me. p227

Discussion

I met one old woman who had been doing this every week for the last forty-eight years. even if God does not exist, this woman has been doing good in His name so maybe it does not really matter. p88

She hesitates, then adds, "Maybe you haven't developed a passion yet because you've spent your entire life doing what others wanted you to do." p125

"...So even though the school said he was failing, in my view it was the school that failed him." p169

Isn't there some sense of right and wrong about how human beings should be treated that applies no matter where you live, no matter what language you speak? p174

All of the adults are failing us. p284

There was a time when I thought getting older meant you'd understand more about the world, but it turns out the exact opposite is true. I don't know anything about anything... p296

Family

We are bound to family by blood, but there's no guarantee any connection exists beyond that. p102

Description

[of church] The prayers that told you exactly what to say. The stories and songs about some dude just trying to do good and convince others to not be horrible to one another. p143

Surely the air your lungs first breathe matters. The language your ears first hear. The food your nose first smells and your tongue first tastes. The soil you first crawl upon. p226

"Kuya Jun had a way of making people pay attention, of making them realize that others existed outside of themselves and getting them to care." p262

"He was human," she says without hesitation. "He was struggling. Just because he was a user, a pusher, it doesn't mean that his life was worthless. It doesn't mean that there wasn't good in him." p290-291

Police Corruption

I mean, the whole book, but there are some places that I thought were specifically good.

p173-- a couple of paragraphs about condoning police conduct
p291-- solving a problem vs looking like you're doing something

"Nearly all of them are hollow, empty threats, of course. Words from loyalist fools meant to scare me away from telling the world about what is happening here." He laughs. "These idiots don't know enough to do some research and discover that I'm not married and have no children. Even so, I am always aware that it will only take one such food" -- he holds up a finger-- "one, to end my life." p195

The right to due process is so ingrained in me as an American that I've taken it for granted. Up until now, I've never fully understood that such a right is nothing but ink on paper, paper that can be shredded and tossed in the garbage, paper that can be ignored if people don't demand its application. And it doesn't even take some great evil to do that. The promise of safety is enough. p242

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