I have never had a vote, and I have raised hell all over this country. You don't need a vote to raise hell! You need convictions and a voice!
Mary Harris JonesRead
The miners lost because they had only the constitution. The other side had bayonets. In the end, bayonets always win.
Interpretation
Power and force often overpower legal rights and principles.
This quote by Mary Harris Jones highlights the harsh reality that, in conflicts, sheer force and might can triumph over lawful and constitutional rights. It reflects on the struggles faced by miners in their fight for justice, suggesting that without the power to enforce their rights, they remain vulnerable to oppression.
In practice
In a discussion about labor rights, I would use this quote to illustrate the struggles workers face.
There is a kind of strength that is almost frightening in Black women. It's as if a steel rod runs right through the head down to the feet.
As long as a man had the courage to reject what society told him to do, he could live life on his own terms. To what end? To be free. But free to what end? To read books, to write books, to think.
Only cowards hide behind silence.
When I was depressed, nobody expected anything of me, nor did I expect anything of myself. I was exempt from life's demands and risks. But if I were to find new life, who knows what daunting tasks I might be required to take on?
Stop, look, investigate, ask the right questions, come to the right conclusions and have the courage to act on them and see what happens. The first steps may bring the roof down on your head, but soon the commotion will clear and there will be peace and joy.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
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