“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
“A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.”
What is the source of our first suffering? It lies in the fact that we hesitated to speak. It was born in the moment when we accumulated silent things within us.”
“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” — Elie Wiesel
“Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”
“You can’t be neutral on a moving train.”
“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on.”
“Silence becomes cowardice when occasion demands speaking out the whole truth and acting accordingly.”
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”
“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”
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Richard Gere has made a rare remark about being banned from the Oscars for 20 years after he went off-script at the live show.
The 76-year-old actor, known for being an outspoken human rights activist, recently said he was unfazed by the controversy he sparked by denouncing China’s “horrendous, horrendous human rights issue” in Tibet while presenting at the 1993 Academy Awards.
“I didn’t take it particularly personally,” Gere said in an interview. “I didn’t think there were any bad guys in the situation. I do what I do and I certainly don’t mean anyone any harm. I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion.”
"And anyway - who cares about the Oscars. It is all hype. A bunch of boring old-fogeys vote on their favorite movies. Like - who cares! The ban was good. Instead of wasting my night at that silly show i could do things MUCH more productive like clean out the basement or go to the gym."
