Ian MacKaye Quotes

Direct action means resort to non-constitutional methods that can take any form which many suit the conditions under which we live. We cannot eliminate any methods.

Sometimes music isn't the way to talk politics, you know?

I knew Stokely [Carmichael] and them, but when you got to that, you saw that Nina Simone started to take up their burden. She started to preach for them. She was taking on the burden of "I want to tell the people."

It's not enough to say we need to love each other, you have to go behind that and say we need to change these policies, we need to fight, we need to protest, we need to agitate for change.

Freedom to rock, freedom to talk. Freedom, raise your fist and yell.

yeah me see myself as a revolutionary, would wouldn't want no help and imma take no bribe from no one and fight it single handed with music

If you were around in the '60s, you already know that music and art and love are a critical part of the revolution. This is how we fight.

When you're fighting for civil rights, it's sometimes two steps forward and one step back. Civil rights are an evolution; and you have to bring people along.

You've got to get people to believe that change is possible... You have to show that you can fight things successfully even if you don't win.

Men and people will fight you down when you see the light. Let me tell you if you are not wrong than everything is all right.

It seems acceptable today to scream for revolution, without any concept of what will follow it. This is just what the forces at large want, for who will follow a man who doesn't know where he's going?

I understand why people get desensitized and roll their eyes when they hear a protest song, or even a politician making some flowery speech. It doesn't really change anything.

Non-co-operation is the quickest method of creating public opinion.

Bands have always written songs against what they see as wrong. Ronald Reagan really made for a lot of songs.

The job is never done and every generation has to fight again.

Stop being a consumer, fight the power!

Upon the profound discontent of the young in every country do I set my faith. I beg you, the young, to be discontented. I pray that you may rebel against what is wrong, not with feeble negative complaining but with strong positive assertion of what is right for all humanity.

I rented a car. I didn't really need one, I just wanted to make one less available. I wanted one businessman on the bus with no car.

It's a bit difficult to get hippies organized into anything, but I think if they get annoyed enough with the stuff that's going down, they're capable of showing up. So anything they consider important, they'll be there.

A truly English protest march would see us all chanting: 'What do we want? GRADUAL CHANGE! When do we want it? IN DUE COURSE!

If you want to end war and stuff, you gotta sing loud.

If there are still men who really want to live in this world, they should first dare to speak out, to laugh, to cry, to be angry, to accuse, to fight-that they may at least cleanse this accursed place of its accursed atmosphere!

I favor massive civil disobedience, among other things. It is not the only thing that is used to protest any grievance in society. But it is one of the most effective under certain conditions.

For me, I'll always stand up for the disenfranchised, and I'm going to make a big point of that. I'm not a protest singer as such, you know? After the endurance course of the early 70s and 60s, I don't want to become one of them twats. But you got to learn to speak the truth.

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