--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only people who have never had a…" description: "\"The only people who have never had a problem with me speaking in their venues are independent bookstores and libraries. Universities and humanities cou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/bill-ayers-1848_bookstores_the-only-people-who-have-never-had-a-pro_2785927.png" --- # The only people who have never had a problem with me… ![“The only people who have never had a problem with me speaking in their venues are independent bookstores and libraries. Universities and humanities councils have canceled me, but never an independent bookstore.” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/bill-ayers-1848_bookstores_the-only-people-who-have-never-had-a-pro_2785927.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/bill-ayers-1848_bookstores_the-only-people-who-have-never-had-a-pro_2785927.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/bill-ayers-1848_bookstores_the-only-people-who-have-never-had-a-pro_2785927.png) > “The only people who have never had a problem with me speaking in their venues are independent bookstores and libraries. Universities and humanities councils have canceled me, but never an independent bookstore.” [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. Independent bookstores and libraries support free speech when larger institutions censor. **In simple terms:** Small venues protect speech. Key Takeaway Seek platforms that value open dialogue. Themes free speech independence censorship community literature Mood defiant hopeful critical Type political social cultural When to use this quote - author talks - community panels - bookstore events - library readings Key Concepts public sphere institutional power grassroots support Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose venues that align with your values? - What responsibilities do independent spaces have? A Different Perspective Larger institutions may have legitimate concerns about content. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bookstores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookstores/) [Canceled Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canceled-independent-3344744/) [Council](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/council/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Independent bookstores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent-bookstores/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-speaking-626378/) [Speaking Venues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking-venues-3344743/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Venues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venues/) [Venues Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venues-independent-3344742/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not too bad at reading, but I've got a bit of a confidence problem with speaking, with going from Scouse to Spanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-duggan/i-m-not-too-bad-at-reading-but-i-ve-got-a-bit-of-a-confidence-problem/) [Toni Duggan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-duggan/) > [If I'm throwing a no-hitter and someone says, 'Hey, you've got a no-hitter,' obviously I'd be like, 'Yeah, I know.' I just try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-gostkowski/if-i-m-throwing-a-no-hitter-and-someone-says-hey-you-ve-got-a-no/) [Stephen Gostkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-gostkowski/) > [I don't know if it's because I'm Latina or something, but I have no problem speaking my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-g/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-because-i-m-latina-or-something-but-i-have-no/) [Becky G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-g/) > [Barnes & Noble, along with other independent bookstores, are refusing to stock Amazon Publishing titles. They'll order books from the online retail giant if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-shaffer/barnes-noble-along-with-other-independent-bookstores-are-refusing-to/) [Andrew Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-shaffer/) > [Don't patronize the chain bookstores. Every time I see some author scheduled to read and sign his books at a chain bookstore, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/don-t-patronize-the-chain-bookstores-every-time-i-see-some-author/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [Decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/decorating-consists-mostly-of-building-enough-bookshelves/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I think it's crazy, crazy that book tours lose so much money. They shouldn't. Book tours should be part of what keeps independent bookstores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-it-s-crazy-crazy-that-book-tours-lose-so-much-money-they/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“The cultural critic Leon Wieseltier angrily noted, “The streets of American cities are haunted by the ghosts of bookstores and record stores, which have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/the-cultural-critic-leon-wieseltier-angrily-noted-the-streets-of/) [Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/) > [My first signing was at my hometown independent bookstore and everyone in the world came. It was so nice. My family was there, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/my-first-signing-was-at-my-hometown-independent-bookstore-and/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Between the passage of the ITFA and 2015, Amazon essentially managed to wipe out the local bookstore and, to some extent, the local record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-taplin/between-the-passage-of-the-itfa-and-2015-amazon-essentially-managed/) [Jonathan Taplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-taplin/) > [I didn't know how many independent bookstores had amazing wine lists until I toured with 'Another Brooklyn.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-didn-t-know-how-many-independent-bookstores-had-amazing-wine-lists/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for independent bookstores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-wouldn-t-have-a-career-if-it-weren-t-for-independent-bookstores/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“The replacement of independent bookstores by firms such as Barnes & Noble, Waterstones or Borders superficially provided a wide range of reading, but their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ayad/the-replacement-of-independent-bookstores-by-firms-such-as-barnes/) [Sara Ayad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ayad/) > [There's nothing like getting feedback that's positive and supportive. That's what I'm all about. I'm really just genuinely doing good music. I'm not looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-villarreal/there-s-nothing-like-getting-feedback-that-s-positive-and-supportive/) [Tiffany Villarreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-villarreal/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) ## 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 Bookstores quotes > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Intercourse is one thing, Intimacy is everything. Be encouraged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-e-wagner/intercourse-is-one-thing-intimacy-is-everything-be-encouraged/) [Kerry E. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-e-wagner/) > [Evangelical Christians and I can sit down and talk one on one about how much we love Jesus, and yet I'm not carried in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/evangelical-christians-and-i-can-sit-down-and-talk-one-on-one-about/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [We should all miss bookstores. They let you discover things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-hefner/we-should-all-miss-bookstores-they-let-you-discover-things/) [Christie Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-hefner/) > [My main interest was finding boyfriends. I'd park myself in the bookstore and read with one eye on everyone coming in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mann/my-main-interest-was-finding-boyfriends-i-d-park-myself-in-the/) [Sally Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-mann/) > [At one time in my career, Barnes and Noble bookstores categorized my books as religious fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/at-one-time-in-my-career-barnes-and-noble-bookstores-categorized-my/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [...bookstores, libraries... they're the closest thing I have to a church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-c-hines/bookstores-libraries-they-re-the-closest-thing-i-have-to-a-church/) [Jim C. Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-c-hines/) > [Here, you can walk into a bookstore and pick up a Bible or Christian literature and learn. Over there, they are lucky if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/here-you-can-walk-into-a-bookstore-and-pick-up-a-bible-or-christian/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [In turbulent times, in times of great change, people head for the two extremes: fundamentalism and personal, spiritual experience...With no membership lists or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-naisbitt/in-turbulent-times-in-times-of-great-change-people-head-for-the-two/) [John Naisbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-naisbitt/) > [“Judge not the value of a friend by the number of boy- or girlfriends they helped you get. But by the number of books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/judge-not-the-value-of-a-friend-by-the-number-of-boy-or-girlfriends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Your reciept is your library card." -- On what killed the brick and mortar bookstores.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-p-naughton/your-reciept-is-your-library-card-on-what-killed-the-brick-and-mortar/) [Michael P. Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-p-naughton/) > [“Readership is highly dependent upon format and distribution as much as it is on content.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/readership-is-highly-dependent-upon-format-and-distribution-as-much/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If Im in the bookstore, and I see a 700-page novel, my first thought is, Ooh, how could you cut this down to size…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-helgeland/if-im-in-the-bookstore-and-i-see-a-700-page-novel-my-first-thought-is/) [Brian Helgeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-helgeland/) > [Out of the closets and into the museums, libraries, architectural monuments, concert halls, bookstores, recording studios and film studios of the world. Everything belongs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-the-closets-and-into-the-museums-libraries-architectural/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Printed books usually outlive bookstores and the publishers who brought them out. They sit around, demanding nothing, for decades. That's one of their nicest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/printed-books-usually-outlive-bookstores-and-the-publishers-who/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Browse all 307 Bookstores quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookstores/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only people who have never had a problem with me speaking in their venues are independent bookstores and libraries. 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