If you are going to organize and ask for commitment, you cannot go to the most desperately poor. They are not likely to take action. If you stand on a man's head and push it into the dirt, he may not even see the heel of your boot. But if his whole face is already above ground, he can see your heel and he can see freedom ahead.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- You cannot organize the most desperate poor because survival consumes their attention; hope requires some stability.
- In plain terms
- People who are too poor to eat cannot organize for change; they need some hope and safety first.
- What can you take from it?
- Basic needs must be met before people can engage in organizing.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you reach people in extreme poverty?
- What conditions make change possible?
Another view
This may justify delaying action until people are less desperate.
More from Cesar Chavez
I've always maintained that it isn't the form that's going to make the difference. It isn't the rule or the procedure or the ideology, but it's human beings th…
Permalink to quote #53 If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him...The people who give you their food give you their heart.
Permalink to quote #55 I'm not going to ask for anything unless the workers want it. If they want it, they'll ask for it.
Permalink to quote #52
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