--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Large numbers of people are broken from…" description: "\"Large numbers of people are broken from the notion that the system is working for people, that the system is just or humane or peaceful.\" — Bill Ayers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png" --- # Large numbers of people are broken from the notion that… ![“Large numbers of people are broken from the notion that the system is working for people, that the system is just or humane or peaceful.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png) > “Large numbers of people are broken from the notion that the system is working for people, that the system is just or humane or peaceful.” [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many feel the system fails to serve or protect them, leading to distrust and disillusionment. **In simple terms:** People often see institutions as unjust or ineffective. Key Takeaway Address systemic inequities to rebuild trust. Themes trust justice systemic society Mood critical hopeful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - community organizing - government reform - public discourse Key Concepts political theory social contract public policy Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could make the system feel fair? - How can individuals regain faith in institutions? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated beliefs is difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Humane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humane/) [Humane Peaceful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humane-peaceful-1962827/) [Just Humane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-humane-906677/) [Large numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-numbers/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Peaceful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-broken-245519/) [People Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-just-240146/) [Working people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-people/) ## Related quotes > [My commitment to a humane and peaceful world continues to this day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kohn/my-commitment-to-a-humane-and-peaceful-world-continues-to-this-day/) [Walter Kohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kohn/) > [There is no place for the death penalty in a just, humane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cori-bush/there-is-no-place-for-the-death-penalty-in-a-just-humane-society/) [Cori Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cori-bush/) > [At all events, arbitration is more rational, just, and humane than the resort to the sword.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cobden/at-all-events-arbitration-is-more-rational-just-and-humane-than-the/) [Richard Cobden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cobden/) > [One can not be just if one is not humane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/one-can-not-be-just-if-one-is-not-humane/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [God loves broken people because broken people are all that there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/god-loves-broken-people-because-broken-people-are-all-that-there-are/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. Continue to share your heart with people even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/blessed-are-they-who-see-beautiful-things-in-humble-places-where/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Everybody knows something's broken in the world. But illogically, foolishly, we are looking for fixes from broken people with broken ideas in broken places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/everybody-knows-something-s-broken-in-the-world-but-illogically/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [“I realized that once people are broken in certain ways they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-realized-that-once-people-are-broken-in-certain-ways-they-can-t/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“But some people are broken. They don't know anything other than hatred... It's like their heart gets going in the wrong direction early on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-hilmo/but-some-people-are-broken-they-don-t-know-anything-other-than-hatred-2/) [Tess Hilmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-hilmo/) > [And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-then-i-felt-sad-because-i-realized-that-once-people-are-broken-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“people can be broken. And they could cut you on the shards of their toxicity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/people-can-be-broken-and-they-could-cut-you-on-the-shards-of-their/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [To be broken is usually a bad thing, but there is a good way for people to be broken. Just as seeds cant sprout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-broken-is-usually-a-bad-thing-but-there-is-a-good-way-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There always seemed to be a better way, except when it came to people. Once broken, people couldn't be repaired.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-sullivan/there-always-seemed-to-be-a-better-way-except-when-it-came-to-people/) [Michael J. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-sullivan/) > [“But some people are broken. They don't know anything other than hatred… It's a sad thing and we should have compassion for them. Think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-hilmo/but-some-people-are-broken-they-don-t-know-anything-other-than-hatred/) [Tess Hilmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-hilmo/) > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) ## More by Bill Ayers > [ It wasn't \[Barack\] Obama per se; it was the feeling on the ground; it was seeing an old black woman in a wheelchair being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/it-wasn-t-barack-obama-per-se-it-was-the-feeling-on-the-ground-it-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I didn't respond to people thrusting microphones at me and asking me questions that were unanswerable in a sound bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-didn-t-respond-to-people-thrusting-microphones-at-me-and-asking-me/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I haven't been silent. I teach, I lecture at universities, I write, I'm not silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-haven-t-been-silent-i-teach-i-lecture-at-universities-i-write-i-m/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ One of the great crimes of the Bloomberg/Klein administration \[in New York City\] is that they've removed themselves from communities, as if communities have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/one-of-the-great-crimes-of-the-bloomberg-klein-administration-in-new/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was involved in the anti-war movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-involved-in-the-anti-war-movement/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[Lyndon \] Johnson was responding to a black freedom movement that was tearing the country open and he did what he had to do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/lyndon-johnson-was-responding-to-a-black-freedom-movement-that-was/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'm wary of government. Part of \[the Tea Party\] impulse is to dislike and be worried about the rich. I'm that way too. So… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-m-wary-of-government-part-of-the-tea-party-impulse-is-to-dislike/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ I'd been arrested many times by then. I'd been an organizer, so many things had changed over those three years \[from 1965 till 1968\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-d-been-arrested-many-times-by-then-i-d-been-an-organizer-so-many/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [You cannot live a political life, you cannot live a moral life if you're not willing to open your eyes and see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/you-cannot-live-a-political-life-you-cannot-live-a-moral-life-if-you/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [I was a good liberal in some sense at that point. I wanted to end a war. I wanted to support the civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/i-was-a-good-liberal-in-some-sense-at-that-point-i-wanted-to-end-a/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The fact is that in my prep school, I went to a boarding school, 39 young men graduated from that prep school. Five years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-fact-is-that-in-my-prep-school-i-went-to-a-boarding-school-39/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [ \[The whole first year at university\] was a great time for me and great time of awakening. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-whole-first-year-at-university-was-a-great-time-for-me-and-great/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [The truth is that the antiwar movement was powered by the working class. The students were the ones that got the media and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/the-truth-is-that-the-antiwar-movement-was-powered-by-the-working/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [There was one moment when J. Edgar Hoover and us had the same distorted lens about who we were - "a real threat," you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/there-was-one-moment-when-j-edgar-hoover-and-us-had-the-same/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [Every politician - FDR, Lyndon Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama - they're all conservative by nature. They are part of the big thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/every-politician-fdr-lyndon-johnson-abraham-lincoln-barack-obama-they/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) [Explore all 204 Bill Ayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) ## More Broken quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [You don't want to fix things that aren't broken, so that kind of stops you from make changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-weidman/you-don-t-want-to-fix-things-that-aren-t-broken-so-that-kind-of-stops/) [Chris Weidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-weidman/) > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [There is no pain like the first time you get your heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/there-is-no-pain-like-the-first-time-you-get-your-heart-broken/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [Broken china lasts longer than unbroken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/broken-china-lasts-longer-than-unbroken/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Don't fix what's not broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atkins/don-t-fix-what-s-not-broken/) [Robert Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-atkins/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Rome, believe me, my friend, is like its own Monte Testaceo, Merelya marvellous mass of broken and castaway wine-pots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/rome-believe-me-my-friend-is-like-its-own-monte-testaceo-merelya/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [Its funny how someone breaks your heart but you still love them with all those broken pieces..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-funny-how-someone-breaks-your-heart-but-you-still-love-them-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Browse all 5,851 Broken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Large numbers of people are broken from the notion that the system is working for people, that the system is just or humane or peaceful.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Ayers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from-the-notion-that-the-system-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broken" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from-the-notion-that-the-system-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/bill-ayers-1848_broken_large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from_1471682.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Large numbers of people are broken from the notion that the system is working for people, that the system is…” — Bill Ayers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Ayers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Large numbers of people are broken...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from-the-notion-that-the-system-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/large-numbers-of-people-are-broken-from-the-notion-that-the-system-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```