...the workers aren't going to stop struggling. They're going to struggle to have a union and they have the right to have it. The police repression and the grower indifference to the workers' demands for recognition cannot go unheard so we're going to keep on struggling until we get that recognition.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of workers' rights and their relentless struggle for recognition and unionization despite facing repression.
Cesar Chavez's quote highlights the unwavering determination of workers to fight for their rights, particularly the right to form unions. He acknowledges the challenges they face, including police repression and indifference from growers, yet affirms that their struggle will continue until they achieve the recognition they deserve, underscoring the need for justice and solidarity in the labor movement.
In practice
Using this quote during a labor rights rally to inspire participants.
I became a vegetarian after realizing that animals feel afraid, cold, hungry and unhappy like we do. I feel very deeply about vegetarianism and the animal kingdom. It was my dog Boycott who led me to question the right of humans to eat other sentient beings.
I think one of the great, great problems...is confusing people to the point where they become immobile. In fact, the more things people can find out for themselves, the more vigor the organization is going to have.
In the final analysis it doesn't really matter what the political system is...We don't need perfect political systems; we need perfect participation.
There is enough love and good will in our movement to give energy to our struggle and still have plenty left over to break down and change the climate of hate and fear around us.
Our union represents a breaking away...represents sharing a power, represent questioning, represents a new force...however long it takes, we are geared for a struggle.
Every time we sit at a table at night or in the morning to enjoy the fruits and grain and vegetables from our good earth, remember that they come from the work of men and women and children who have been exploited for generations.
The more incompetent one feels, the more eager he is to fight.
Activism that challenges the status quo, that attacks deeply rooted problems, is not for the faint of heart.
Any coward can sit in his home and criticize a pilot for flying into a mountain in a fog. But I would rather, by far, die on a mountainside than in bed. What kind of man would live where there is no daring? And is life so dear that we should blame men for dying in adventure? Is there a better way to die?
At sixteen I get drafted. When I read the draft notice, I cry. Not because I'm a coward - I'm not afraid of anyone. But I don't want to kill or be killed.
In times of stress, be bold and valiant.
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart
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