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Quote by Shaun Tan

“Why do I always listen to your insane plans? Why aren't we at home watching TV like everyone else? What possible difference will any of this make?”

Quote by Shaun Tan

Author

Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan, born in 1974, is an acclaimed illustrator from Australia. His works are known for their unique style and profound themes, spanning various fields including children's literature, adult literature, and art. more

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“We need a powerful sense of determination to banish the ugly blemish of racism scarring the image of America. We can, of course, try to temporize, negotiate small, inadequate changes and prolong the timetable of freedom in the hope that the narcotics of delay will dull the pain of progress. We can try, but we shall certainly fail. The shape of the world will not permit us the luxury of gradualism and procrastination. Not only is it immoral, it will not work It will not work because Negroes know they have the right to be free. It will not work because Negroes have discovered, in nonviolent direct action, an irresistible force to propel what has been for so long an immovable object. It will not work because it retards the progress not only of the Negro, but of the nation as a whole.”

“You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.”

“Through education we seek to change attitudes; through legislation and court orders we seek to regulate behavior. Through education we seek to change internal feelings (prejudice, hate, etc.); through legislation and court orders we seek to control the external effects of those feelings. Through education we seek to break down the spiritual barriers to integration; through legislation and court orders we seek to break down the physical barriers to integration. One method is not a substitute for the other, but a meaningful and necessary supplement.”

“In order to be whole, we must recognise the despair oppression plants within each of us — that thin persistent voice that says our efforts are useless, it will never change, so why bother, accept it. And we must fight that inserted piece of self-destruction that lives and flourishes like a poison inside of us, unexamined until it makes us turn upon ourselves in each other.”

“Forget rage, we don’t even have to ‘fight back’ against the machine. But we do have to perform one, all-important mind maneuver: We must reclaim our attention and consciously choose a new way to focus it that is both self-directed and empowering.”

“One particularly successful method of capturing public attention was the renting of vacant shops in town centres for weeks at a time. A short-term lease would be agreed and then the shop would be stocked with leaflets and publications, with posters displayed in the windows to attract passers-by. The shops were staffed by a supporter who was on hand to answer questions. [...] Reports of one of the earliest shops in Wrexham described how anti-vivisection literature was handed out and how, day after day, a constant stream of visitors, both friends and foes, passed in and out of the shop asking questions, offering suggestions, raising objections or entering into debate.”