So long as we only believe in the justice of the state, of the law-made by those in power, to serve those in power-so long will we continue to be exploited by those in power.
Derrick JensenRead
No matter what we call it, poison is still poison, death is still death, and industrial civilization is still causing the greatest mass extinction in the history of the planet.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the inevitability and harsh reality of the consequences of industrial civilization on the environment and life on Earth.
Derrick Jensen's quote serves as a stark reminder that regardless of the terminology we use to describe harmful practices or their impacts, the underlying reality remains unchanged; destructive actions associated with industrial civilization are leading to severe environmental degradation and species extinction. It calls for an acknowledgment of the serious consequences of our actions and a recognition of the urgency needed to address these issues.
Themes
EnvironmentExtinctionIndustrial CivilizationAwarenessConsequences
In practice
Example use cases
In an environmental conference when discussing climate change impacts.
More from Derrick Jensen
All quotes →The stories we are told shape the way we see the world, which shapes the way we experience the world.
Derrick JensenRead
Those in power have made it so we have to pay simply to exist on the planet. We have to pay for a place to sleep, and we have to pay for food. If we don't, people with guns come and force us to pay. That's violent.
Derrick JensenRead
So many indigenous people have said to me that the fundamental difference between Western and indigenous ways of being is that even the most open-minded westerners generally view listening to the natural world as a metaphor, as opposed to the way the world really is. Trees and rocks and rivers really do have things to say to us.
Derrick JensenRead
When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We too must hurl ourselves against and through the literal and metaphorical concrete that contains and constrains us, that keeps us from talking about what is most important to us, that keeps us from living the way our bones know we can, that bars us from our home. It only takes one person to bring down a dam.
Derrick JensenRead
The big dividing line is not and has never been between those who advocate more or less militant forms of resistance, or between mainstream and grassroots activists. The dividing line is between those who do something and those who do nothing.
Derrick JensenRead
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Many things are mechanical and should remain mechanical. But mechanical thoughts, mechanical feelings—that is what has to be studied and can and should be changed. Mechanical thinking is not worth a penny. You can think about many things mechanically, but you will get nothing from it.
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There are lots of research, of course, saying that a vast majority of us have been exposed to racial biases and stereotypes and, to some extent, we've internalized them, because that's so ubiquitous. That's why I'm so bored with the conversation about who's a racist and who's not.
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[I]n the American soul there is a lonely individual standing in a vast landscape. He is either on a horse or driving a car, depending, and either way he’s carrying a gun. This is one of the essential images in American mythology.
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