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Activism Quotes

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"Only yesterday I was no different than them, yet I was saved. I am explaining to you the way of life of a people who say every sort of wicked thing about me because I sacrificed their friendship to gain my own soul. I left the dark paths of their duplicity and turned my eyes toward the light where there is salvation, truth, and justice. They have exiled me now from their society, yet I am content. Mankind only exiles the one whose large spirit rebels against injustice and tyranny. He who does not prefer exile to servility is not free in the true and necessary sense of freedom."
Kahlil Gibran
"Only yesterday I was no different than them, yet I was saved. I am explaining to you the way of life of a people who say every sort of wicked thing about me because I sacrificed their friendship to gain my own soul. I left the dark paths of their duplicity and turned my eyes toward the light where there is salvation, truth, and justice. They have exiled me now from their society, yet I am content. Mankind only exiles the one whose large spirit rebels against injustice and tyranny. He who does not prefer exile to servility is not free in the true and necessary sense of freedom."
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"But as for activism, my parents did what they could, given the constraints, but were never involved in the causes I think of when I think of activists."
Paul Farmer
"But as for activism, my parents did what they could, given the constraints, but were never involved in the causes I think of when I think of activists."
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"Preach! Write! Act! Do any thing, save to lie down and die!"
Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Preach! Write! Act! Do any thing, save to lie down and die!"
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"Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair."
bell hooks
"Hope is essential to any political struggle for radical change when the overall social climate promotes disillusionment and despair."
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"The Occupy movement found places where people who were feeling that anger could come and share it - and that is, as we all know, extremely important in any political movement. The Occupy sites became a way you could gauge the levels of anger and discontent."
Arundhati Roy
"The Occupy movement found places where people who were feeling that anger could come and share it - and that is, as we all know, extremely important in any political movement. The Occupy sites became a way you could gauge the levels of anger and discontent."
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"Let our voices be heard. I hope they will not be shrill voices, but, I hope we shall speak with such conviction that those to whom we speak shall know of the strength of our feeling and the sincerity of our efforts."
Gordon B. Hinckley
"Let our voices be heard. I hope they will not be shrill voices, but, I hope we shall speak with such conviction that those to whom we speak shall know of the strength of our feeling and the sincerity of our efforts."
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"The greatest purveyor of violence in the world : My own Government, I can not be Silent."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The greatest purveyor of violence in the world : My own Government, I can not be Silent."
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"Those who fight for social justice and the rights of people will count any other thing as unimportant."
Sunday Adelaja
"Those who fight for social justice and the rights of people will count any other thing as unimportant."
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"They sit there shouting "Don't do it." Someone told them revolution looked like the Cosby Show. A slight tug with a good lesson. Revolution is a tough struggle between what was and what needs to be."
Darnell Lamont Walker
"They sit there shouting "Don't do it." Someone told them revolution looked like the Cosby Show. A slight tug with a good lesson. Revolution is a tough struggle between what was and what needs to be."
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"It partook ... of eternity ... there is a coherence in things, a stability; something, she meant, is immune from change, and shines out (she glanced at the window with its ripple of reflected lights) in the face of the flowing, the fleeting, the spectral, like a ruby; so that again tonight she had the feeling she had had once today, already, of peace, of rest. Of such moments, she thought, the thing is made that endures."
Virginia Woolf
"It partook ... of eternity ... there is a coherence in things, a stability; something, she meant, is immune from change, and shines out (she glanced at the window with its ripple of reflected lights) in the face of the flowing, the fleeting, the spectral, like a ruby; so that again tonight she had the feeling she had had once today, already, of peace, of rest. Of such moments, she thought, the thing is made that endures."
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"Don't be a witness. Be an activist."
DaShanne Stokes
"Don't be a witness. Be an activist."
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"Long live protest songs, in whatever form they take."
David Levithan
"Long live protest songs, in whatever form they take."
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"Only by speaking out can we create lasting change. And that change begins with coming out."
DaShanne Stokes
"Only by speaking out can we create lasting change. And that change begins with coming out."
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"All I ask is this: Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause " there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once...Even just learning enough about a subject so you can speak against an opponent eloquently makes you an unusual personage. Start with that. Any one of you would have cried out, would have intervened, had you been in that crowd in Bashiqa. Well thanks to digital technology, you're all in it now."
Joss Whedon
"All I ask is this: Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause " there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once...Even just learning enough about a subject so you can speak against an opponent eloquently makes you an unusual personage. Start with that. Any one of you would have cried out, would have intervened, had you been in that crowd in Bashiqa. Well thanks to digital technology, you're all in it now."
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"To critique sexist images without offering alternatives is an incomplete intervention. Critique in and of itself does not lead to change."
bell hooks
"To critique sexist images without offering alternatives is an incomplete intervention. Critique in and of itself does not lead to change."
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"Be an informed advocate and support."
Asa Don Brown
"Be an informed advocate and support."
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"Calling the earth activists, lightworkers, spiritual warriors. Stay awake. Take action. Spread awareness."
Eileen Anglin
"Calling the earth activists, lightworkers, spiritual warriors. Stay awake. Take action. Spread awareness."
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"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
Mahatma Gandhi
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
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"We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and our selves are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no less afraid."
Audre Lorde
"We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and our selves are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no less afraid."
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"This Revolution is genuine because it was born from the same womb that always gives birth to massive social upheavals - the womb of intolerable conditions and unendurable situations."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"This Revolution is genuine because it was born from the same womb that always gives birth to massive social upheavals - the womb of intolerable conditions and unendurable situations."
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"In terms of my involvement in 'don't ask, don't tell' and marriage equality and anti - bullying and social emotional learning in schools - these are all things that arise out of my relationship with the world and with my fans."
Lady Gaga
"In terms of my involvement in 'don't ask, don't tell' and marriage equality and anti - bullying and social emotional learning in schools - these are all things that arise out of my relationship with the world and with my fans."
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"You know there's always prejudice in a revolutionary movement."
Ursula K. Le Guin
"You know there's always prejudice in a revolutionary movement."
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"It is the writer's duty to write fiction which promotes virtue, the good, the beautiful, and above all, the true. ... It is the writer's duty to hate injustice, to defy the powerful, and to speak for the voiceless. To be ... the severest critics of our own societies."
Edward Abbey
"It is the writer's duty to write fiction which promotes virtue, the good, the beautiful, and above all, the true. ... It is the writer's duty to hate injustice, to defy the powerful, and to speak for the voiceless. To be ... the severest critics of our own societies."
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"Always have there been great numbers of individuals who were very much eager to fight for good causes. Always there were these, but then there were even greater numbers of trendies who would then become wholly and completely misguided in the efforts."
Criss Jami
"Always have there been great numbers of individuals who were very much eager to fight for good causes. Always there were these, but then there were even greater numbers of trendies who would then become wholly and completely misguided in the efforts."
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"Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine initial act of insurrection."
Rebecca Solnit
"Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a fine initial act of insurrection."
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"Peaceful, lawful protest - if it is effective - is innately disruptive of 'business as usual.' That is why it is effective."
Naomi Wolf
"Peaceful, lawful protest - if it is effective - is innately disruptive of 'business as usual.' That is why it is effective."
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"If you give up every time you don't achieve the immediate gain you want, you're just guaranteeing that the worst is going to happen... You can't expect an easy victory after one protest march."
Noam Chomsky
"If you give up every time you don't achieve the immediate gain you want, you're just guaranteeing that the worst is going to happen... You can't expect an easy victory after one protest march."
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"Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men."
Victor Hugo
"Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men."
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"Voices joined together for a cause are like a wave that changes the shore."
Eileen Anglin
"Voices joined together for a cause are like a wave that changes the shore."
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"Denying the facts is what enables people to hate and to persecute marginalized and threatened minority groups. Labeling the advocacy, educational and informational initiatives of these persecuted minority groups dismissively as 'propaganda for the gay agenda' undermines, belittles and trivializes the cause of those whose right to exist is under threat."
Christina Engela
"Denying the facts is what enables people to hate and to persecute marginalized and threatened minority groups. Labeling the advocacy, educational and informational initiatives of these persecuted minority groups dismissively as 'propaganda for the gay agenda' undermines, belittles and trivializes the cause of those whose right to exist is under threat."
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"Abortion should be listed as a weapon of mass destruction against the voiceless."
E.A. Bucchianeri
"Abortion should be listed as a weapon of mass destruction against the voiceless."
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"I detect the activist returning with a vengence."
E.A. Bucchianeri
"I detect the activist returning with a vengence."
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"The meetings and marches and vigils are cool, but if the enemy isn't present, you're just talking slick to a can of oil."
Darnell Lamont Walker
"The meetings and marches and vigils are cool, but if the enemy isn't present, you're just talking slick to a can of oil."
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"When the government and electrical utility company jointly harass an electrical fraud researcher, it confirms that the research is progressing in the right direction!"
Steven Magee
"When the government and electrical utility company jointly harass an electrical fraud researcher, it confirms that the research is progressing in the right direction!"
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"Racism does not need to be fixed, it has to be stopped."
Abdulazeez Henry Musa
"Racism does not need to be fixed, it has to be stopped."
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"Speak up, stand up, and keep correcting the false perceptions. Stay true to your heart's views and keep chanting for peace and justice."
Suzy Kassem
"Speak up, stand up, and keep correcting the false perceptions. Stay true to your heart's views and keep chanting for peace and justice."
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"Much protest is naA ve; it expects quick, visible improvement and despairs and gives up when such improvement does not come. Protesters who hold out longer have perhaps understood that success is not the proper goal. If protest depended on success, there would be little protest of any durability or significance. History simply affords too little evidence that anyone's individual protest is of any use. Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence."
Wendell Berry
"Much protest is naA ve; it expects quick, visible improvement and despairs and gives up when such improvement does not come. Protesters who hold out longer have perhaps understood that success is not the proper goal. If protest depended on success, there would be little protest of any durability or significance. History simply affords too little evidence that anyone's individual protest is of any use. Protest that endures, I think, is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence."
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"It shouldn't be the consumer's responsibility to figure out what's cruel and what's kind, what's environmentally destructive and what's sustainable. Cruel and destructive food products should be illegal. We don't need the option of buying children's toys made with lead paint, or aerosols with chlorofluorocarbons, or medicines with unlabeled side effects. And we don't need the option of buying factory-farmed animals."
Jonathan Safran Foer
"It shouldn't be the consumer's responsibility to figure out what's cruel and what's kind, what's environmentally destructive and what's sustainable. Cruel and destructive food products should be illegal. We don't need the option of buying children's toys made with lead paint, or aerosols with chlorofluorocarbons, or medicines with unlabeled side effects. And we don't need the option of buying factory-farmed animals."
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"Make noise for justice.Make noise for inclusion.Make noise for empathy.Make noise for our planet.Make noise for civil rights.Make noise for women's rights.Make noise for compassion.Make noise for LOVE."
Scott Stabile
"Make noise for justice.Make noise for inclusion.Make noise for empathy.Make noise for our planet.Make noise for civil rights.Make noise for women's rights.Make noise for compassion.Make noise for LOVE."
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"Revolution starts in the mind. Question Everything!"
Bryant McGill
"Revolution starts in the mind. Question Everything!"
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"The Occupy movement did create spontaneously communities that taught people something: you can be in a supportive community of mutual aid and cooperation and develop your own health system and library and have open space for democratic discussion and participation. Communities like that are really important."
Noam Chomsky
"The Occupy movement did create spontaneously communities that taught people something: you can be in a supportive community of mutual aid and cooperation and develop your own health system and library and have open space for democratic discussion and participation. Communities like that are really important."
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"Use filmmaking to eliminate racism " use to it terminate misogyny " use it to destroy homophobia and all other primitiveness."
Abhijit Naskar
"Use filmmaking to eliminate racism " use to it terminate misogyny " use it to destroy homophobia and all other primitiveness."
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"Any government's condemnation of terrorism is only credible if it shows itself to be responsive to persistent, reasonable, closely argued, non-violent dissent. And yet, what's happening is just the opposite. The world over, non-violent resistance movements are being crushed and broken. If we do not respect and honour them, by default we privilege those who turn to violent means."
Arundhati Roy
"Any government's condemnation of terrorism is only credible if it shows itself to be responsive to persistent, reasonable, closely argued, non-violent dissent. And yet, what's happening is just the opposite. The world over, non-violent resistance movements are being crushed and broken. If we do not respect and honour them, by default we privilege those who turn to violent means."
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"Let us not still our anger against indifference and inattention and let us not glitziness, superciliousness and mumbo jumbo slither into our thinking and our actions, if we don't want our conscience to be backfired on. ['Twilight of desire']"
Erik Pevernagie
"Let us not still our anger against indifference and inattention and let us not glitziness, superciliousness and mumbo jumbo slither into our thinking and our actions, if we don't want our conscience to be backfired on. ['Twilight of desire']"
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"We must stop this unimaginable atrocity before it becomes a reality."
S. A. Tawks
"We must stop this unimaginable atrocity before it becomes a reality."
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"Always contend for the good!"
Jaachynma N.E. Agu
"Always contend for the good!"
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"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
Nelson Mandela
"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
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"Our freedoms are vanishing. If you do not get active to take a stand now against all that is wrong while we still can, then maybe one of your children may elect to do so in the future, when it will be far more riskier - and much, much harder."
Suzy Kassem
"Our freedoms are vanishing. If you do not get active to take a stand now against all that is wrong while we still can, then maybe one of your children may elect to do so in the future, when it will be far more riskier - and much, much harder."
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"The radical geographer Iain Boal had prophesied, "The longing for a better world will need to arise at the imagined meeting place of many movements of resistance, as many as there are sites of closure and exclusion. The resistance will be as transnational capitalism."
Rebecca Solnit
"The radical geographer Iain Boal had prophesied, "The longing for a better world will need to arise at the imagined meeting place of many movements of resistance, as many as there are sites of closure and exclusion. The resistance will be as transnational capitalism."
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"16 days of activism? I don't know about you folks, but I'm an activist every single day."
Christina Engela
"16 days of activism? I don't know about you folks, but I'm an activist every single day."
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