--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Did you really think that we want those…" description: "\"“Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c46/ayn-rand-59_boy-scout_did-you-really-think-that-we-want-those_2313973.jpg" --- # Did you really think that we want those laws to be… ![“Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against—then you’ll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We’re after power and we mean it. You fellows…” quote by Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c46/ayn-rand-59_boy-scout_did-you-really-think-that-we-want-those_2313973.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c46/ayn-rand-59_boy-scout_did-you-really-think-that-we-want-those_2313973.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c46/ayn-rand-59_boy-scout_did-you-really-think-that-we-want-those_2313973.jpg) > ““Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?” said Dr. Ferris. “We want them broken. You’d better get it straight that it’s not a bunch of boy scouts you’re up against—then you’ll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We’re after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you’d better get wise to it. There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them.”” [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker argues that power is exercised by creating criminals, not by protecting innocents, rejecting idealistic gestures. **In simple terms:** Power is built on controlling threats, not protecting the innocent. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of manufactured threats. Themes power control politics Mood cynical provocative Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government policy - law enforcement - activism - media narratives Key Concepts realpolitik ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - Is it ever justified to create enemies? - What are the consequences of such a strategy? A Different Perspective It normalizes oppression as a means to power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boy scout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boy-scout/) ## Related quotes > [“Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/did-you-really-think-we-want-those-laws-observed-said-dr-ferris-we/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-s-no-way-to-rule-innocent-men-the-only-power-any-government-has-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-s-no-way-to-rule-innocent-men-the-only-power-any-government-has/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/the-only-power-any-government-has-is-the-power-to-crack-down-on-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Cops and criminals aren't that different. They just play by different sets of rules. And the lines get blurred. There's no such thing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/cops-and-criminals-aren-t-that-different-they-just-play-by-different/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Like it or not the American people support the term 'background check,' they support the concept of it even though they know it won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gottlieb/like-it-or-not-the-american-people-support-the-term-background-check/) Alan Gottlieb > [Because just as good morals, if they are to be maintained, have need of the laws, so the laws, if they are to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-just-as-good-morals-if-they-are-to-be-maintained-have-need-of/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [For as good habits of the people require good laws to support them, so laws, to be observed, need good habits on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/for-as-good-habits-of-the-people-require-good-laws-to-support-them-so/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“When a fixed code of laws, which must be observed to the letter, leaves no further care to the judge than to examine the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-beccaria/when-a-fixed-code-of-laws-which-must-be-observed-to-the-letter-leaves/) [Cesare Beccaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-beccaria/) > [Propriety is the least of all laws, and the most observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/propriety-is-the-least-of-all-laws-and-the-most-observed/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [I stand ready to negotiate, but I want no part of laws: I acknowledge none; I protest against every order with which some authority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/i-stand-ready-to-negotiate-but-i-want-no-part-of-laws-i-acknowledge/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [The French want to regain control of their own country. They want to determine the course of their own economy and their immigration policies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/the-french-want-to-regain-control-of-their-own-country-they-want-to/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [The Tea Partiers don't want all regulations eliminated. They just want laws that can be understood and regulations that aren't going to destroy businesses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/the-tea-partiers-don-t-want-all-regulations-eliminated-they-just-want/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [We want laws to be applied predictably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/we-want-laws-to-be-applied-predictably/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [I want almost no laws, I want the smallest government possible. I don't want anyone telling anyone what to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-mcinnes/i-want-almost-no-laws-i-want-the-smallest-government-possible-i-don-t/) [Gavin McInnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-mcinnes/) ## More by Ayn Rand > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“This was reality, she thought, this sense of clear outlines, of purpose, of lightness, of hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-was-reality-she-thought-this-sense-of-clear-outlines-of-purpose/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A “collective” mind does not exist. It is merely the sum of endless numbers of individual minds. If we have an endless number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-collective-mind-does-not-exist-it-is-merely-the-sum-of-endless/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Lobbying' is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators. It is the result and creation of a mixed economy-of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/lobbying-is-the-activity-of-attempting-to-influence-legislation-by/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She moved her hand and let it rest against his. He did not withdraw his fingers and he did not pretend indifference. She bent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-moved-her-hand-and-let-it-rest-against-his-he-did-not-withdraw/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-miracle-of-me-is-mine-to-own-and-keep-and-mine-to-guard-and-mine/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“There was still one response, the greatest, that she had missed. She thought: To find a feeling that would hold, as their sum, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-was-still-one-response-the-greatest-that-she-had-missed-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“We are fornicating in the sight of six billion people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-fornicating-in-the-sight-of-six-billion-people/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Fransisco, you're some kind of very high nobility, aren't you?" He answered, "Not yet. The reason my family has lasted for such a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/fransisco-you-re-some-kind-of-very-high-nobility-aren-t-you-he/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Have you felt it too? Have you seen how your best friends love everything about you- except the things that count? And your most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/have-you-felt-it-too-have-you-seen-how-your-best-friends-love/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Every coercive monopoly was created by government intervention into the economy: by special privileges, such as franchises or subsidies, which closed the entry of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/every-coercive-monopoly-was-created-by-government-intervention-into/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [We are all brothers under the skin - and I, for one, would be willing to skin humanity to prove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/we-are-all-brothers-under-the-skin-and-i-for-one-would-be-willing-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) [Explore all 1,777 Ayn Rand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More Boy scout quotes > [“What have you been doing to yourself, Belinda? Girl, you’ve got more knots in your shoulders than are listed in the Boy Scout handbook.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-johnson/what-have-you-been-doing-to-yourself-belinda-girl-you-ve-got-more/) [Cat Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-johnson/) > [“He shifts so that I can see him better, then draws an "x" over his heart. I raise a brow, and he lifts two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenner/he-shifts-so-that-i-can-see-him-better-then-draws-an-x-over-his-heart/) [J. Kenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenner/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [“ Today You Soar "Like the grand eagle, you spread your wings And put forth the effort to do great things. Looking skyward you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/today-you-soar-like-the-grand-eagle-you-spread-your-wings-and-put/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I never had any interest in being involved with the Boy Scouts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-never-had-any-interest-in-being-involved-with-the-boy-scouts/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I drove my Mum crazy, because I wouldn't go out and play football or join the Boy Scouts, I'd just sit at home and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-moore/i-drove-my-mum-crazy-because-i-wouldn-t-go-out-and-play-football-or/) [Gary Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-moore/) > [“Why the fuck did I know what any of these terms meant, you might wonder? Because my soulless arse did Armani and Balmain campaigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-shen/why-the-fuck-did-i-know-what-any-of-these-terms-meant-you-might/) [L.J. Shen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-shen/) > [A fisherman does not bait his hook with food he likes. He uses food the fish likes. So with boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baden-powell-de-aquino/a-fisherman-does-not-bait-his-hook-with-food-he-likes-he-uses-food/) [Baden Powell de Aquino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baden-powell-de-aquino/) > [In the past, children learned their values at home, reinforced by organizations such as the Boy Scouts and, of course, their church or synagogue,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weyrich/in-the-past-children-learned-their-values-at-home-reinforced-by/) [Paul Weyrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weyrich/) > [Films like 'True Romance' and 'The Last Boy Scout' stuck with me since I saw them when I was young, on every different format.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-evans/films-like-true-romance-and-the-last-boy-scout-stuck-with-me-since-i/) [Gareth Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-evans/) > [I had lots of fun; I was in the boy scouts, I went camping. I just used to mess around like a normal kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-manuwa/i-had-lots-of-fun-i-was-in-the-boy-scouts-i-went-camping-i-just-used/) [Jimi Manuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-manuwa/) > [Any man who has ever led an army, an expedition, or a group of Boy Scouts has sadism in his bones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/any-man-who-has-ever-led-an-army-an-expedition-or-a-group-of-boy/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [In sixth grade, my status as a Boy Scout was not something I went out of my way to share. In fact, I spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/in-sixth-grade-my-status-as-a-boy-scout-was-not-something-i-went-out/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [“All kidding aside, this is a new beginning for Kate and me. A fresh start. I’ll be a perfect gentleman. Scout’s honor. 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