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We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. Naming the hurt is how we begin to repair our broken parts.

Tutu Desmond

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
TUTU DESMOND

Animal Appreciation Justice Oppression Philosophy Situation Yourself
When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said “Let us pray.” We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
TUTU DESMOND

Eyes Land Oppression Religion War
We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness. We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.
TUTU DESMOND

Beautiful Friendship Good Love Togetherness World
The path of joy was connection and the path of sorrow was separation.
TUTU DESMOND

Break Up Connection Joy Path Relationship Separate
Forgiveness is simply about understanding that every one of us is both inherently good and inherently flawed.
TUTU DESMOND

Forgiveness Good Philosophy Understand
There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream to find out why they’re falling in.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Fall People Pull River Stop
In the end what matters is not how good we are but how good God is. Not how much we love Him but how much He loves us. And God loves us whoever we are, whatever we’ve done or failed to do, whatever we believe or can’t.
TUTU DESMOND

Believe End Fail God Good Himself Love Philosophy Spiritual
We need other human beings in order to be human. I am because other people are. A person is entitled to a stable community life, and the first of these communities is the family.
TUTU DESMOND

Community Human Life Myself Person Philosophy
Within every hopeless situation and every seemingly hopeless person lies the possibility of transformation
TUTU DESMOND

Hope Person Possible Situation Transformation
Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.
TUTU DESMOND

Deep Discover Humanity Nice Race
I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.
TUTU DESMOND

Myself One Liner
I do believe there are monstrous and evil acts, but I do not believe those who commit such acts are monsters or evil.
TUTU DESMOND

Act Believe Commitment Deep Evil Philosophy
If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible. There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible.
TUTU DESMOND

Justice Oppression People Philosophy Religious Revolution Spiritual
To protect our children, we must talk to them about rape.
TUTU DESMOND

Children Protect Sex Violence
Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.
TUTU DESMOND

Fire Smart Warm Winter Yourself
You show your humanity by how you see yourself not as apart from others but from your connection to others.
TUTU DESMOND

Connection Humanity Philosophy Yourself

We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. Naming the hurt is how we begin to repair our broken parts.

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We are not responsible for what breaks us, but we can be responsible for what puts us back together again. Naming the hurt is how we begin to repair our broken parts.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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