Oppression Quote by Audre Lorde
““When a people share a common oppression, certain kinds of skills and joint defenses are developed. And if you survive you survive because those skills and defenses have worked. When you come into conflict over other existing differences, there is a vulnerability to each other which is desperate and very deep.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” by Audre Lorde, 1984
Shared oppression forces groups to create collective skills and defenses, which become vital for survival but also create deep vulnerabilities when conflicts shift to other differences.
In simple terms: Oppressed groups build strong mutual defenses, yet these can become points of fragility in new conflicts.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and address the hidden vulnerabilities that arise from past collective defenses.
Themes
oppression
solidarity
conflict
vulnerability
Mood
reflective
critical
hopeful
Type
philosophical
inspirational
sociopolitical
When to use this quote
- activist organizing
- community building
- intergroup negotiations
- policy making
- conflict resolution
Key Concepts
social cohesion
defensive mechanisms
intersectionality
Questions to Reflect On
- How can groups reframe defensive skills into inclusive bridges?
- What practices prevent past defenses from becoming new sources of conflict?
A Different Perspective
These defenses may reinforce division if not consciously transformed, limiting broader solidarity.
![“Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period and pursued unalterably through every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematic plan of reducing [a people] to slavery.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00c/thomas-jefferson-43_change_single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-t_5515.jpg)
![“[U]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle the apparatus of oppression.” quote by Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d7b/shulamith-firestone-12980_accomplished_u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together_5485.jpg)