Their prejudice allowed white Southerners to look the other way when blacks were denied their most basic human rights, and it encouraged the worst of them to engage in unspeakable acts of cruelty and violence.
quote by Linda Chavez
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Moral Fiber!
true moral fiber...
is grounded in respect!
respect yourself!
respect the earth!
respect your neighbor!
(everyone is your neighbor)
respect the search for truth.
respect justice!
respect the rights of human beings
to be human beings!
respect the need of each and all!
living thus...
will not allow you to respect,
acts of injustice,
acts of ignorance,
acts of prejudice,
acts of greed!
be respect!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson was the first great negro singer
Though through his life he knew his share of woe
In his Homeland he was treated as an outcast
But in death his legend seem to grow and grow.
Paul Robeson spoke of freedom peace and justice
And he campaigned for the black Peoples rights
But for his beliefs he was made to suffer
In a country that is governed by whites.
For his membership of the communist party
Paul Robeson an unfair price had to pay
His passport from him it was confiscated
By the authorities in the U.S.A.
Even shunned by some influential blacks in his home Country
And his basic human rights to him denied
But in Russia he was feted as a hero
And Paul Robeson he was revered far and wide.
For freedom, human rights and peace and justice
Paul Robeson so much of himself he gave
And the way he had been treated in his Homeland
Must have had Abe Lincoln turning in his grave
Paul Robeson he will always be remembered
As one of the few who sacrificed their fame
In the cause of human rights and peace and justice
And his lives on as an immortal name.
poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Prejudiced? Who? Me? ? .....[Personal; Human Nature; Racial Prejudice]
I'm a white guy, aged 64, raised in a small town way up north.
Do some thoughts I have about blacks signal prejudice coming forth?
First I'd say NO, but then again I'd say YES.
But such thoughts, by both whites and blacks, are normal I would guess.
What thoughts am I now referring to you will probably ask.
To answer that sensible question will put my mind to task.
My interactions with blacks, I think, no prejudice does reveal.
And the rare times I have 'prejudice' thoughts, I think they're no big deal.
Do you wish to know of what my 'pre-judged' thoughts consist?
I'd almost rather not tell you. But, if you insist.
I sometimes think 'nigger'; when and where I grew up that was a 'bad' name.
I also think of them as different though people are the 'same'.
And here is where I say 'I don't like generalization'.
By 'same' I mean neither all blacks nor all whites are 'the same' in this nation.
So whites and blacks can both be smart or stupid, mean or kind;
within each 'race' criminals and 'saints' you'll find.
I wasn't raised to either love or hate blacks. My parents seemed not to judge.
And I've changed my mind again; I'm NOT prejudiced. From that opinion I shall not budge!
Then why you ask do I sometimes think 'nigger' when I think of a black?
I think it's due to both a primeval urge to break society's rules, and to thought-control I lack.
Luckily I don't act out my 'bad' thoughts. I might be in jail now if I had.
When in grade school, a boy said I called him 'nigger'. The accusation made me sad.
poem by Bri Edwards
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Things That Own Us!
things that we feel are wrong,
and yet we turn the other way.
acts of oppression committed
by those in power,
and yet we close our eyes.
people around us in need,
yet all we worry about is ourselves.
inhumane actions that we allow,
by not standing, not speaking,
and not acting.
injustices fed by our indifference.
human rights violated to the tune
of our apathy, and our blindness.
hatred, prejudice, and violence
that we choose to do nothing about.
despair that we leave for others...
fears that we do not face...
these are the things that own us!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In the name of noble purposes men have committed unspeakable acts of cruelty against one another.
quote by J. William Fulbright
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Do We Deal With Prejudice?
even those of us who've worked very hard
at not being prejudiced, have some type of
prejudice remaining. for example:
it could be prejudice by color, over religion,
over political views, concerning sexual orient-
ation.... prejudice against those who have money,
or those who dont! ...etc.
all prejudice is wrong by nature, most of it grounded
in the 'self'... in our own irrational fears, and our
stubborn streak of ignorance....
it's always taught, but doesnt have to be allowed!
it ofen hides under the banner of morality, or the
flags of patriotism...
we battle prejudice by being open minded, being
willing to listen, and learning to see ourselves
in other people...
if we say we have no prejudices, we have lost,
and prejudice has us bound.
if we admit our prejudices, name them, look at
them with naked eyes and resolve, then we're making
headway....
prejudice in the end is humanity failing to be human!
being human is a 24 hour a day,7 days a week job!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Deep Level Concern
deep level concern;
our own national parks
used as collateral
on loans from China!
water rights to the Great Lakes,
and other bodies of water here...
sold to China!
our jobs, Joe blue collar working
families.... sold to China!
our oil profiteer wars,
financed by China!
sleeping with the country
with the worst human rights record,
dancing with the devil!
and now, our own police forces
committing acts of violence
and oppression against Americans!
against American people protesting,
standing up for freedom and equality!
standing against the profiteers!
reacting the same way,
and with the same types of oppression,
as China!
our rights,
...our freedom,
......our dignity.
even our rights to work and survive....
sold to....
.....and even worse,
...........sold by!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A statement: children who watch violent TV programmes tend to be more violent when they grow up. But did the TV cause the violence, or do violent children preferentially enjoy watching violent programmes? Very likely both are true. Commercial defenders of TV violence argue that anyone can distinguish between television and reality. But Saturday morning children’s programmes now average 25 acts of violence per hour. At the very least this desensitizes young children to aggression and random cruelty. And if impressionable adults can have false memories implanted in their brains, what are we implanting in our children when we expose them to some 100,000 acts of violence before they graduate from elementary school?
Carl Sagan in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Submitted by Catalin Popescu
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Basically there is no difference between whites and blacks, browns and yellows. I decided to think no more of people as Northerners and Southerners.
quote by Ethel Waters
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The rights of all are equal: justice, poised and balanced in eternal calm, will shake from the golden scales in which are weighed the acts of men, the very dust of prejudice and caste: No race, no color, no previous condition, can change the rights of men.
quote by Robert G. Ingersoll
Submitted by anonym
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Cruelty is, perhaps, the worst kid of sin. Intellectual cruelty is certainly the worst kind of cruelty.
quote by Gilbert K. Chesterton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Give Into Hate
Violence surrounds me
Violence in society
Violence in our eyes
Violence in their cries
Violence it's our fate?
Violence, it's too late?
Violence, no escape?
Violence, give into hate?
Is it human nature to act like animals?
We're all guilty, we're all criminals
Selfish species headed for a self destruction
Violent product of moral corruption
Violence for love
Violence because of hate
Violence, revolution
Violence of the state
Violence, you will find
Violence, it grips your mind
Violence, it's too late?
Violence, give into hate
song performed by by Unseen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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How Many Tears
(m&l - weikath)
A lot of things occur each day
Weve got to live with on our way
Theres so much misery on the screen
With commercials in between
And the russians wont be so late
Uncle samdont wanna wait
No matter if ypure black or white
You never ever had all right
And look up to the eternal skyes
See warfare even there
What once has been a paradise
Now destruction and despair
In other worlds the children die
Lacking food ill from a fly
Oppressed by troops to tame their land
Its all the same again
If any man is free on earth
Then tormentors steal his birth
They slam gun butts in his face
And leave his woman choked in mace
So stand up for our human rights
Push back this pest of hate
Raise your voice pass on the light
Unite! its not too late
How many tears flow away
To become a sea of fears
How many hearts are torn apart
Till another torment starts
But before the world
Turns into a sun
All cruelty and violence
On earth will be dead and gone
How many tears flow away
To become a sea of fears
How many hearts are torn apart
Till another torment starts
But before the world
Turns into a sun
All cruelty and violence
On earth will be dead and gone
song performed by by Helloween
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Common Sense (Truth)
wars are started by men
with agendas... usually profit,
or religious reasons, or both.
the men that start these wars
seldom fight these wars...
they manipulate the masses to
do their dirty work...
these are the elite people that
control our world. their weapons
for control include:
1. poverty
2. ignorance
3. prejudice
4. religion.
if you keep the people struggling
for food and shelter, they wont have
time to stand against you.
if you keep the people ignorant, they
will blindly follow without questioning.
if you divide the people by prejudice,
they will not unite to overthrow.
if you convince them that theirs is
the only true religion, and that God
is on their side, they will commit
unspeakable acts.
the time of wars is over... there can be
no future if we continue.
we must quit chasing riches, and find a
more equitable way to share what we have.
we must be responsible for each other...
we must lay down religious pretensions,
fears, and pride, and become the spiritual
people we are called to be.
we must be human!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Should Be Allowed To Think
I saw the best minds of my generation
Destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical
I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
And I should be allowed to blurt the merest idea
If by random whim, one occurs to me
If necessary, leave paper stains on the grey utility pole
I saw the worst bands of my generation
Applied by magic marker to dry wall
I should be allowed to shoot my mouth off
I should have a call in show
I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
And I should be allowed to blurt the merest idea
If by random whim, one occurs to me
If necessary, leave paper stains on the grey utility pole
I am not allowed
To ever come up with a single original thought
I am not allowed
To meet the criminal government agent who oppresses me
I was the worst hope of my generation
Destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical
I should be allowed to share my feelings
I should be allowed to feel
I should be allowed to glue my poster
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
I should be allowed to think
And I should be allowed to blurt the merest idea
If by random whim one occurs to me
But sadly, this can never be
I am not allowed to think
I am not allowed to think
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
I am not allowed to think (I am not allowed to think)
song performed by by They Might Be Giants
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Hear The Cry
i hear the cry....
oppression, enslavement,
beatings, torture, rapes,
and killings.
people of heart,
slaughtered like sheep.
monks self-immoliating,
crying out for justice,
and freedom,
for basic human dignity,
for basic human rights...
i hear the cry...
of Tibet on fire.
and am ashamed
to be part of a world
turned blind and deaf!
free Tibet!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Reason transformed into prejudice is the worst form of prejudice, because reason is the only instrument for liberation from prejudice.
quote by Allan Bloom
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Anyone who clings to the historically untrue - and thoroughly immoral - doctrine that violence never settles anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler would referee. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forgot this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and there freedoms.
quote by Robert Heinlein
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet-Don't Be Cruel
You hit a snake right on its head and kill;
Don't torture hitting it along its length;
For cruelty to man and beast by will;
Is unforgivable in any strength.
How can one torture creatures that are live;
You shouldn't cause pain by Third Degree Methods;
His basic rights, no one can man deprive;
You kill but never wound and watch the Birds.
How can a man be thrilled by causing pain?
To watch with joy a man suffer is sin;
A cruel man must be given the cane;
A heartless soul can Heaven never win.
A cruel heart gets cruelty in turn;
And when he dies, no one will take his urn.
poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Life is not a matter of place, things or comfort; rather, it concerns the basic human rights of family, country, justice and human dignity.
quote by Imelda Marcos
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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