We can't get at crime unless we know what language it speaks. Otherwise, we are just suppressing the cough, not curing the disease.
Greg BoyleRead
Homeboy Industries has chosen to stand with the 'demonized' so that the demonizing will stop; it stands with the 'disposable' so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away.
Interpretation
The quote advocates for supporting marginalized individuals to end societal prejudice and disposability.
Greg Boyle highlights the importance of standing in solidarity with those who are often marginalized or deemed as 'disposable' by society. By choosing to uplift and defend these individuals, the hope is to foster a culture of dignity and respect, ultimately leading to a transformation in how society views and treats its most vulnerable members. The call to action is not only to stop the demonization of these people, but to recognize their humanity and worth.
In practice
This quote can be shared at a community rally advocating for social justice.
We can't get at crime unless we know what language it speaks. Otherwise, we are just suppressing the cough, not curing the disease.
If there is a fundamental challenge within these stories, it is simply to change our lurking suspicion that some lives matter less than other lives.
Relapse happens, especially when you're dealing with folks who are frankly the least likely to succeed based on their own pasts and difficulties. We can work with the most likely to succeed. I'm not interested in that.
We ought not to demonize a single gang member, and we ought not to romanticize a single gang.
Anyone who knows gangs knows that lawmakers cannot conceive of a law that would lead a hard-core gang member to 'think twice.'
The idea that any law enforcement agency or person would ever know these gang members better than Homeboy Industries is impossible.
We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.
The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.
I will never tire of repeating this: what the poor need the most is not pity but love. They need to feel respect for their human dignity, which is neither less nor different from the dignity of any other human being.
We have a shared destiny, a shared responsibility to save the world from those who attempt to destroy it.
Human beings are complicated and flawed and unique, but we all have a story to tell. Gone are the days where our lead characters can only look like somebody else. Heroes look like all of us. We see ourselves in each others' stories. We see who we are. We see who we want to be. Sometimes we see who we don't want to be. And through that we have a greater understanding of ourselves and acceptance of each other.
In countries where people have to flee their homes because of persecution and violence, political solutions must be found, peace and tolerance restored, so that refugees can return home. In my experience, going home is the deepest wish of most refugees.
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