We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in any society – a life free from violence and fear.
Nelson MandelaRead
A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle,and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor.At a point, one can only fight fire with fire
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses the harsh reality that in a struggle against oppression, the oppressed may feel compelled to adopt the same brutal tactics as their oppressors.
Nelson Mandela highlights the painful truth that in a struggle for freedom, often it is the oppressor who shapes the conflict and determines the moral landscape. This can lead the oppressed to resort to similar methods as their oppressors, suggesting that the fight for liberty can involve difficult and morally challenging choices, making it essential to understand the dynamics of power and resistance.
Themes
OppressionFreedomStruggleResistanceMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about social justice, one might use this quote to highlight the complexity of fighting against systemic oppression.
More from Nelson Mandela
All quotes →What freedom am I being offered while the organization of the people remains banned? Only free men can negotiate. A prisoner cannot enter into contracts.
Nelson MandelaRead
The past is a rich resource on which we can draw in order to make decisions for the future, but it does not dictate our choices. We should look back at the past and select what is good, and leave behind what is bad.
Nelson MandelaRead
We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.
Nelson MandelaRead
After one has been in prison, it is the small things that one appreciates: being able to take a walk whenever one wants, going into a shop and buying a newspaper, speaking or choosing to remain silent. The simple act of being able to control one's person.
Nelson MandelaRead
I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent. I dream of our vast deserts, of our forests, of all our great wildernesses.
Nelson MandelaRead
Similar quotes
When you come from a background like mine, where you're entering worlds that are so different than your own, you have to be afraid.
Sonia SotomayorRead
To break a Navy Seal, you have to kill us. That's why we can make it into our training. That's why we can call ourselves Seals because the only way your gonna break us is to kill us.
Marcus LuttrellRead
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered.
James Weldon JohnsonRead
Nobody cares if you're black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. When you step on that field, you're a member, in my case, the 49ers. That's your job, your occupation.
Colin KaepernickRead
...as your father, my instinct is to protect you ... Other people will want to protect you too. But remember that you are not a damsel in distress, waiting for some prince to rescue you. Forget the prince. With your brain and your resourcefulness, you can rescue yourself.
Brad MeltzerRead
First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead