Richard Stallman Quotes

There are good reasons for being in jail - for protesting.

You know, I was a community activist, so I'm used to standing out in front of an elected official's office and protesting.

Silence never won rights. They are not handed down from above; they are forced from pressures from below.

I think there is a role for non-violent direct action when democratic channels have failed.

Sometimes things need to get really bad before they can ever get better. Really bad can become untenable if enough people get sick of it. That was a big thing about why I ended up taking part in that rally [against police brutality] and ended up voicing my opinion and declaring what side I was standing on.

I love the protests. And if you think about it, what better way to send a message to Wall Street than by sitting in a pup tent banging on a drum.

It's important that people press from the outside. It's important that people are able to make change from the inside. Both of those things are important. Protest is fundamentally a political act.

I think the greatest legacy of the 1960s was the general feeling that not only can you fight the powers that be, but you can win.

If I wasn't a singer, I'd be a bloodclaat revolutionary.

I think direct political action, civil disobedience, in particular, is something to be taken very seriously.

I hope lots of people will join the solidarity march on May 7th and I hope things will change.

If the government fails to listen to your demands, then you will decide what is best for you.

We can all become activists and raise questions.

Solidarity is an attitude of resistance, I suppose, or it should be.

There is no degree of human suffering which in and of itself is going to bring about change. Only organisation can change things.

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!

I'm an anarchist and I do think things such as Occupy Wall Street are about getting a little closer to the solution.

How many of you are willing to go to jail for freedom?

If you don't like what's going on, you have to get involved.

Rights are to be taken, not requested; seized, not begged for.

Protest is when I say this does not please me. Resistance is when I ensure what does not please me occurs no more.

Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry.

I'm a person who's always been politically active and passionate about people's rights.

There is a need for a movement of non-violent direct action.

I want to act, if I can, as a bridge for people who read 'Shock Doctrine' or 'No Logo'. People who are sitting out for whatever reasons.