Violence just hurts those who are already hurt. Instead of exposing the brutality of the oppressor, it justifies it.
CESAR CHAVEZNonviolence is really tough. You don’t practice nonviolence at conferences; you practice it on picket-lines.
More Cesar Chavez Quotes
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Non-violence has suffered its biggest defeat in the hands of people who most want to talk about it.
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When you have people together who believe in something very strongly – whether it’s religion or politics or unions – things happen.
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Do not romanticize the poor. We are all people, human beings subject to the same temptations and faults as all others. Our poverty damages our dignity.
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In some cases non-violence requires more militancy than violence.
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Non-violence is not inaction. It is not discussion. It is not for the timid or weak. Non-violence is hard work.
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You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read.
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Years of misguided teaching have resulted in the destruction of the best in our society, in our cultures and in the environment.
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Organizing is an educational process. The best educational process in the union is the picket line and the boycott. You learn about life.
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We are suffering. We have suffered. And we are not afraid to suffer in order to win our cause.
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Every time we sit at a table at night or in the morning to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations.
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There is no substitute for hard work, 23 or 24 hours a day. And there is no substitute for patience and acceptance.
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There are many reasons for why a man does what he does. To be himself he must be able to give it all. If a leader cannot give it all he cannot expect his people to give anything.
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Students must have initiative; they should not be mere imitators. They must learn to think and act for themselves – and be free.
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It takes a lot of punishment to be able to do anything to change the social order.
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When the man who feeds the world by toiling in the fields is himself deprived of the basic rights of feeding, sheltering, and caring for his own family, the whole community of man is sick.
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True wealth is not measured in money or status or power. It is measured in the legacy we leave behind for those we love and those we inspire.
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There is no such thing as defeat in non-violence.
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History will judge societies and governments – and their institutions – not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor and the helpless.
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In giving of yourself, you will discover a whole new life full of.
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We need to help students and parents cherish and preserve the ethnic and cultural diversity that nourishes and strengthens this community – and this nation.
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When a man or woman, young, or old, takes a place on the picket line for even a day or two, he will never be the same again.
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Our language is the reflection of ourselves.
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When you sacrifice, you force others to sacrifice. It’s an extremely powerful weapon.
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If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.
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Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed.
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I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!
CESAR CHAVEZ