The behavior of the oppressed is a prescribed behavior, following as it does the guidelines of the oppressor.
Paulo FreireRead
The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of action. What distinguishes revolutionary leaders from the dominant elite is not only their objectives, but their procedures.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the need for revolutionary leaders to understand and respond to the actions of the oppressed, contrasting their methods with those of the oppressors.
Paulo Freire suggests that the dynamic between the oppressed and the oppressors necessitates a thoughtful and distinct approach from revolutionary leaders. Unlike the dominant elite, these leaders must not only have a clear objective in mind but also adopt effective and intentional methods to address the issues faced by the oppressed, fostering genuine transformation and understanding in the social structure.
Themes
OppressionRevolutionLeadershipEducationActionTheory
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing social justice, one might quote Freire to highlight the importance of understanding the oppressed's perspective.
More from Paulo Freire
All quotes →How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation?
Paulo FreireRead
Critical and liberating dialogue, which presupposes action, must be carried on with the oppressed at whatever the stage of their struggle for liberation. The content of that dialogue can and should vary in accordance with historical conditions and the level at which the oppressed perceive reality.
Paulo FreireRead
This is the sense in which I am obliged to be a listener. To listen to the student's doubts, fears, and incompetencies that are part of the learning process. It is in listening to the student that I learn to speak with him or her.
Paulo FreireRead
This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation. And in the struggle this pedagogy will be made and remade
Paulo FreireRead
The oppressors do not perceive their monopoly on having more as a privilege which dehumanizes others and themselves. They cannot see that, in the egoistic pursuit of having as a possessing class, they suffocate in their own possessions and no longer are; they merely have.
Paulo FreireRead
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