Protests Quotes

“It’s not unpatriotic to denounce an injustice committed on our behalf, perhaps it’s the most patriotic thing we can do.”
― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

“But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“If riotous protests create rampant polarization, fear may create fear, fear of the others, and fear of oneself. In the end, it might kill healing feels, universal goodwill, and mutual understanding. (“Because the world has corona”)”
― Erik Pevernagie

“Now she collapsed in a heap next to her boys. Although she was desperate for sleep, worries about getting more food kept her awake.”
― Beverly Magid, Sown in Tears: A Historical Novel of Love and Struggle

“But let us turn back to the tragic events of February 6. The story of the riots may be briefly told. A riot in France is one of the most remarkable things in the world. The frenzied combatants maintain perfect discipline. Seventeen people were barbarously killed, and several thousand injured, but there was no fighting at all between about seven-thirty p.m. and nine, when everyone took time out for dinner. When it started, no one thought of revolution; it was just a nice big riot. Communists, royalists, Fascists, socialists, fought shoulder to shoulder under both red flag and tricolor against the police and Garde Mobile. The fighting stopped on the stroke of twelve, because the Paris Metro (underground) stops running at twelve-thirty, and no one wanted to walk all the way home. Bloody, bandaged, fighters and police jostled their way into the trains together. Promptly at seven-thirty next morning the fighting started again. – John Gunther, Inside Europe pg. 154-155”
― John Gunther, Inside Europe

“It seems logical that he who supports total war in principle cannot complain of a war against civilians.”
― John Hersey

“I believe that President Reagan can say these things only because he knows that the American people will never hold him accountable for what he says; it is history that holds you accountable, and I've already expressed my opinion that Americans are not big on history. How many of them even remember their own, recent history? Was twenty year ago so long ago for Americans? Do they remember October 21, 1967? Fifty thousand antiwar demonstrators were in Washington; I was there; that was the "March on the Pentagon" -remember? And two years later--in October of '69--there were fifty thousand people in Washington again; they were carrying flashlights, they were asking for peace. There were a hundred thousand asking for peace in Boston Common; there were two hundred fifty thousand in New York. Ronald Reagan had not yet numbed the United States, but he had succeeded in putting California to sleep; he described the Vietnam protests as "giving aid and comfort to the enemy." As president, he still didn't know who the enemy was.”
― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany

“My hearing was not attuned to the sound of such bitterness. I guess I should not have been surprised. I should have known that in an atmosphere where false promises are daily realities, where deferred dreams are nightly facts, where acts of unpunished violence toward Negroes are a way of life, nonviolence would eventually be seriously questioned. I should have been reminded that disappointment produces despair and despair produces bitterness, and that the one thing certain about bitterness is its blindness. Bitterness has not the capacity to make the distinction between some and all. When some members of the dominant group, particularly those in power, are racist in attitude and practice, bitterness accuses the whole group.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

“Starr, what you wanna do?"

Anything. Everything. Scream. Cry. Puke. Hit somebody. Burn something. Throw something.

They gave me the hate, and now I wanna fuck everybody, even if I’m not sure how.

"I wanna do something," I say. "Protest, riot, I don't care--”
― Angie Thomas , The Hate U Give

“Nonviolent action, the Negro saw, was the way to supplement—not replace—the process of change through legal recourse. It was the way to divest himself of passivity without arraying himself in vindictive force.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Why We Can't Wait

“Some people rioted for the sake of rioting.”
― Nancy Campbell Allen, Brass Carriages and Glass Hearts

“Esau sold his birth right, because he wanted a plate of meal. Today, When I look in the news, social media and on the street. I see people doing the same. They are selling their loyalty, trust, love, human rights, freedom, bodies, lives for a plate of meal. They will do or say anything for money , food or alcohol. Free people are selling themselves as slaves, for a plate of meal. They are getting paid to do dirty, bad , evil things. People are paid, to destroy their own future. Never sell yourself shot, if you want peace or a future.

Genesis 25:30-34”
― De philosopher DJ Kyos

“Never under estimate stupid people. They have a plan and their plan always work, because their plan is to destroy not to build. You know how easy it is to destroy something rather than building it.”
― De philosopher DJ Kyos

“[Tupac Shakur] said Thug Life stood for "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody." We did all that stuff last night because we were pissed, and it fucked all of us. Now we have to somehow un-fuck everybody.”
― Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give

“Whoever can protest and does not is responsible for what happens without protest.”
― Katherine Locke

“Protesting problems doesn’t really bring solutions. It just brings more problems.

We reap what we sow.

If we want to reap happiness, we must sow happiness. And that happiness inspires, strengthens others and builds bridges.

If we want solutions, we have to think about solutions and be detached from the problem.

Otherwise, [if we focus on the problem] we take the problem with us, [keep it active,] and poison the future.

If we want to reap love, we must love. With no ifs and buts.
And, we need to do it OURSELVES instead of asking others to do it.

This is freedom. This is empowerment.
This is our own solution from the problem, from our sorrow, frrom our pain.

And the more people detach themselves from the unwanted, and walk the path of love, and [focus on] the joy of the wanted, the more solutions we achieve for the world.”
― Elke Heinrich

“The flag stands for a set of principles, not the lack of adherence to them.”
― Craig D. Lounsbrough

“If not thought carefully, our solidarity for just causes can backfire, especially when we are selective in reacting against injustice.”
― Louis Yako

“What the F#*% is Wrong with US?

Where people in the Sunshine Condominiums collectively pay facilities for food and entertainment,

as younger staff—with a bleak future like those in The Hunger Games—wait upon them.

Before writing love letters to distant authoritarian, inner-city policemen who’ve they’ve seen cracking the skulls of criminals, who they’ve also never met.

They’ll thank those policemen for protecting them from criminals who all appear to have the same basic skin tone.

...protests should never be a spectator sport for the elderly”
― Gary J Floyd

“The people at the front are young, energetic, and incredibly brave. There’s a Black girl, in her twenties, skinny as a rail, with a black kerchief over her face. The kerchief is useful in both pandemics and the fog of tear gas. She wears skinny jeans and a black T-shirt with “Black Lives Matter” on it. Some white adults are as offended by her choice of wardrobe as she is by their overall indifference. She’s opposed by much larger men, outfitted like extras in Mad Max or RoboCop. The only thing threatening about her is her mouth and her willpower.

...This girl is intelligent and talented, someone who should be leading this country into the twenty-first century. Instead, she’s out in the street risking her life because she dares to be dissatisfied.”
― Gary J Floyd

“Amazing how every time the cops kill someone it's up to everyone who didn't kill anyone to remain calm.

(4/15/2021 on Twitter)”
― Kashana Cauley

“The answer to all police killings is definitely to punish hundreds of thousands of people who didn't commit them.

(4/12/2021 on Twitter)”
― Kashana Cauley

“You can't join the movement for the thrill of the cause.”
― Michael C. Haymes

“She gazed over her oxygen mask at the small, smiling Christmas tree that sat on the table behind her.  Tonight, the whirling sound of the disk in the drive was a song that was sweeter than any lullaby.”
― Circa24, Thomas Hardy was an Optimist: A Collection of Short Stories From the Plague Years.

“The Dark Cloud
Is a protest on Capitol Hill that does not defend justice fully
Is a school policy that makes a bullying victim apologize to their bully
Is willing to take on anything because domination is its goal
Is ready to destroy your heart, mind, dreams, love, and soul”
― Aida Mandic

“You don't need to worry about picking a side when it comes to politics. Just be good to those around you, and be the neighbour you'd like to have living next door. The rest takes care of itself when we look after eachother regardless of differences.”
― Torron-Lee Dewar

“Revolution and selfishness are interrelated. Sometimes, it happens because the rulers are selfish; sometimes, the protesters are!”
― Md. Ziaul Haque

“বিপ্লব এবং স্বার্থপরতা পরস্পর সম্পর্কযুক্ত। কখনও কখনও, এটি ঘটে কারণ শাসকরা স্বার্থপর; কখনও কখনও, প্রতিবাদকারীরা!”
― Md. Ziaul Haque

“Do not expect those the system has elevated and given employment to support you in your fight against the system.”
― Eduvie Donald

“A police officer is paid to be attacked by angry people.”
― Steven Magee