Skip to content
quotesby

[At the Grand Olympic Auditorium, September 13 2000 - the last RATM show before their 2007 reunion] 'So who went out and joined us for the Democratic National Convention? I've never seen so many fucking cops in my whole life. It's like everybody knows when everybody went out there, the only thing we were out there to do is express how much we hate both the Democrats and Republicans because they sold this fucking country out. And by expressing our rights to resist, what do they do?...they open fire on the crowd. I don't care what fucking television station said the violence was caused by the people at the concert, those motherfuckers unloaded on this crowd. And I think it's ridiculous, considering none of us had rubber bullets, none of us had M16s, none of us had billy clubs, none of us had face shields. All we had was our fists, our voices, our microphones, our guitars, our drums, and anytime we get beaten in the streets for protesting, we take it to the court system, and the court system don't wanna hear it. Look what happened to Amadou Diallo in New York, they shot that brother 41 times and let all four officers go. It's time for a new type of action in this country.'

Zack de la Rocha#8

PoliticsProtestViolencePoliceState power

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker recounts police violence at a political protest to highlight state overreach.
In plain terms
Police used weapons against unarmed protesters.
What can you take from it?
Remember the imbalance of power during protests.

Where it applies

  • political conventions
  • large protests

Putting it to work

  • observe protests
  • document misconduct
  • protect legal rights

Questions to consider

  • Who controls public space?
  • How do you stay safe?

Another view

This account is one-sided and lacks independent verification of specific events.

More from Zack de la Rocha

  1. 'America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom that you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace.…

    Permalink to quote #7
  2. 'We were witnesses to that. We saw how the soldiers burned and razed the fields, threw the children out of schools, and turned the schools into barracks... And…

    Permalink to quote #9
  3. 'It is important for me, as a popular artist, to make clear to the governments of the United States and Mexico that despite the strategy of fear and intimidati…

    Permalink to quote #6

Related quotes

  1. 'He has the nerve to call us violent when last year there were 80,000 cases of police brutality filed against departments all over the country this sheriff pig…

    Zack de la RochaZack de la Rocha quote #15
  2. Personally I wish the police had truncheoned the English fans to death, but I can't really say that on the record.

    Tony BanksTony Banks quote #13
  3. A belligerent state permits itself every such misdeed, every such act of violence, as would disgrace the individual.

    Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud quote #34