We believe, in fact, that the one act of respect has little force unless matched by the other - in balance with it... The acting out of that dual respect I would name as precisely the source of our power. Barbara Deming actbalancedual share on social
I think the only choice that will enable us to hold to our vision... is one that abandons the concept of naming enemies and adopts a concept familiar to the nonviolent tradition: naming behavior that is oppressive. Barbara Deming abandonadoptbehavior share on social
All prisons that have existed in our society to date put people away as no human being should ever be put away. Barbara Deming dateexisthuman Change image and share on social
After the revolution, let us hope, prisons simply would not exist - if by prisons we mean places that could be experienced by the men and women in them at all as every place that goes by that name now is bound to be experienced. Barbara Deming bindexistexperience share on social
This is the heart of my argument: We can put more pressure on the antagonist for whom we show human concern. Barbara Deming antagonistargumentconcern Change image and share on social
The injunction that we should love our neighbors as ourselves means to us equally that we should love ourselves as we love our neighbors. Barbara Deming equallyinjunctionlove Change image and share on social
We learn best to listen to our own voices if we are listening at the same time to other women - whose stories, for all our differences, turn out, if we listen well, to be our stories also. Barbara Deming differencelearnlisten Change image and share on social
To resort to power one need not be violent, and to speak to conscience one need not be meek. The most effective action both resorts to power and engages conscience. Barbara Deming actionconscienceeffective Change image and share on social
Our task, of course, is to transmute the anger that is affliction into the anger that is determination to bring about change. I think, in fact, that one could give that as a definition of revolution. Barbara Deming afflictionangerbring Change image and share on social
The free man must be born before freedom can be won, and the brotherly man must be born before full brotherhood can be won. It will come into being only if we build it out of our very muscle and bone - by trying to act it out. Barbara Deming actbearbone share on social
