--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My own experience has taught me not to…" description: "\"My own experience has taught me not to underestimate the power of those who protest against cruelty. I'd also say that there may be a tendency to view ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/bette-ford-28154_animal_my-own-experience-has-taught-me-not-to-u_1800574.jpg" --- # My own experience has taught me not to underestimate the… ![“My own experience has taught me not to underestimate the power of those who protest against cruelty. I'd also say that there may be a tendency to view the animal-rights opposition in somewhat distorted fashion as a new development, as the product of a very recent enlightenment about the rights due…” quote by Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/bette-ford-28154_animal_my-own-experience-has-taught-me-not-to-u_1800574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/bette-ford-28154_animal_my-own-experience-has-taught-me-not-to-u_1800574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/bette-ford-28154_animal_my-own-experience-has-taught-me-not-to-u_1800574.jpg) > “My own experience has taught me not to underestimate the power of those who protest against cruelty. I'd also say that there may be a tendency to view the animal-rights opposition in somewhat distorted fashion as a new development, as the product of a very recent enlightenment about the rights due to animals.” [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Protesters against cruelty can be powerful, and animal‑rights activism, though sometimes seen as new, stems from a longer tradition of defending vulnerable beings. **In simple terms:** Animal‑rights protests are impactful and historically rooted. Key Takeaway Support and understand activism for vulnerable beings. Themes activism animal rights history Mood concerned motivational Type ethical historical When to use this quote - policy change - public awareness - community organizing Key Concepts social movements ethical advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How can we better recognize the history of animal advocacy? - What drives people to protest cruelty? A Different Perspective Some view animal‑rights activism as a recent trend, overlooking its deeper roots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-rights-2/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) ## Related quotes > [There is animal rights and animals rights organizations like PETA, then there's animal welfare, which is very different than animal rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-goode/there-is-animal-rights-and-animals-rights-organizations-like-peta/) [Eric Goode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-goode/) > [Something I have "authority" on is animal rights. If I were not already so deep into the path I've taken, deep in the woods,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucie-brock-broido/something-i-have-authority-on-is-animal-rights-if-i-were-not-already/) [Lucie Brock-Broido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucie-brock-broido/) > [Christianity is our foe. If animal rights is to succeed, we must destroy the Judeo-Christian religious tradition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/christianity-is-our-foe-if-animal-rights-is-to-succeed-we-must/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [The way you really find out about the performer's seriousness about the cause is how long they stay with it when the spotlight gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-redford/the-way-you-really-find-out-about-the-performer-s-seriousness-about/) [Robert Redford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-redford/) > [We cannot talk simultaneously about animal rights and the 'humane' slaughter of animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/we-cannot-talk-simultaneously-about-animal-rights-and-the-humane/) [Gary L. 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I always try to illustrate how environmentalism, humanitarianism, animal rights - all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hannah/it-s-really-important-to-me-to-show-the-interconnectedness-of-things/) [Daryl Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hannah/) > [I'm such an advocate for animal rights and environmental rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-garrett/i-m-such-an-advocate-for-animal-rights-and-environmental-rights/) [Beau Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-garrett/) > [If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don’t look at where you stand on slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/if-you-want-to-know-where-you-would-have-stood-on-slavery-before-the/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [It won't ruin our movement if someone gets killed in an animal rights action. It's going to happen sooner or later. The Animal Liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-vlasak/it-won-t-ruin-our-movement-if-someone-gets-killed-in-an-animal-rights/) [Jerry Vlasak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-vlasak/) > [My life is a tsunami of inspirations. Number one is that I really do just love my BBQ. I mean it's the sustenance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/my-life-is-a-tsunami-of-inspirations-number-one-is-that-i-really-do/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) ## More by Bette Ford > [A bull will try to outwit you. It will stop and hook when the last thing you expect from it is that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/a-bull-will-try-to-outwit-you-it-will-stop-and-hook-when-the-last/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [For me, bullfighting was this very spiritual engagement with power, with power and death. You're pitting yourself against a force that's stronger than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/for-me-bullfighting-was-this-very-spiritual-engagement-with-power/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Cooking certainly has some of the elements of an art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/cooking-certainly-has-some-of-the-elements-of-an-art-form/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Madrid reacting with the forceful protection of bullfighting as an art form is an example of the survival of the old values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/madrid-reacting-with-the-forceful-protection-of-bullfighting-as-an/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [It's almost impossible to imagine bullfighting abolished from Spain entirely. Values do change, though.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/it-s-almost-impossible-to-imagine-bullfighting-abolished-from-spain/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Acting requires focus, too, but acting doesn't, you might say, demand focus. When you're in the ring you don't even have to think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/acting-requires-focus-too-but-acting-doesn-t-you-might-say-demand/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [If you fear something, walk into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/if-you-fear-something-walk-into-it/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Bullfighting has some of the elements of a sport or contest, and in the United States most people think of it as a sport,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/bullfighting-has-some-of-the-elements-of-a-sport-or-contest-and-in/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [In one era the majority puts its faith and sympathy with the bullfighter, in another with the bull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/in-one-era-the-majority-puts-its-faith-and-sympathy-with-the/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [I'm good at killing, I'm known as a bullfighter who kills well, and that I can kill well, that I can compete technically with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/i-m-good-at-killing-i-m-known-as-a-bullfighter-who-kills-well-and/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [One of the things I've been thinking about lately is how the change in values makes the survival of the old values, where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/one-of-the-things-i-ve-been-thinking-about-lately-is-how-the-change/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [I never took pleasure in seeing a bull die. Relief, but certainly not pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/i-never-took-pleasure-in-seeing-a-bull-die-relief-but-certainly-not/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Bullfighting is anachronistic - you enter into a bullring and you're leaving behind the values of the world outside the ring. I suppose that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/bullfighting-is-anachronistic-you-enter-into-a-bullring-and-you-re/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [I was a bullfighter. I'd like to see the tradition continue. I'm sorry that Catalonia is robbing itself of a tradition that belongs in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/i-was-a-bullfighter-i-d-like-to-see-the-tradition-continue-i-m-sorry/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) > [Animals are complicated and so is the animal-rights opposition. It's hard to read motives in animals, and hard to read motives in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-ford/animals-are-complicated-and-so-is-the-animal-rights-opposition-it-s/) [Bette Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) [Explore all 19 Bette Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-ford/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My own experience has taught me not to underestimate the power of those who protest against cruelty. 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