--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were very excited and we brought…" description: "\"We were very excited and we brought speakers in – then it so happened that there was a marine recruiter in the center of campus and one of our brothers..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png" --- # We were very excited and we brought speakers in – then it… ![“We were very excited and we brought speakers in – then it so happened that there was a marine recruiter in the center of campus and one of our brothers, one SDS person put up a sign with a quote from the Nuremberg trial and an arrow point at the marine recruiter, saying, "This man is a war…” quote by Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png) > “We were very excited and we brought speakers in – then it so happened that there was a marine recruiter in the center of campus and one of our brothers, one SDS person put up a sign with a quote from the Nuremberg trial and an arrow point at the marine recruiter, saying, "This man is a war criminal." My younger brother and I, he was freshman and I was a sophomore, got caught up in the debates that were swirling around the center of campus and the young Trotskyists had put out a fact sheet on Vietnam that was phenomenal.” [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. The speaker recounts a campus protest where a marine recruiter was labeled a war criminal, reflecting intense political activism and debate. **In simple terms:** Students labeled a recruiter as a war criminal during a protest. Key Takeaway Understand the power and risk of political labeling. Themes activism free speech political protest Mood provocative reflective Type political controversial When to use this quote - student activism - public demonstrations - media coverage - ethical discourse Key Concepts war crimes labeling campus debate Questions to Reflect On - Is labeling effective for change? - What are the consequences of such protests? A Different Perspective The accusation may inflame tensions and oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrows/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brother Freshman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother-freshman-5088879/) [Brought Speakers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brought-speakers-5088878/) [Campus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campus/) [Campus Brothers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campus-brothers-5088876/) [Caught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught/) [Caught up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught-up/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Excited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excited/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Freshman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freshman/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Happened Marine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-marine-5088880/) [Marine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marine/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nuremberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuremberg/) [Nuremberg Trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuremberg-trial/) [Nuremberg trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuremberg-trials/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Phenomenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenal/) [Sheets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheets/) [Sophomore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophomore/) [Speakers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speakers/) [Speakers Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speakers-happened-5088877/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Younger brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/younger-brother/) ## Related quotes > [The situation in Europe is much more advanced, in terms of pro-genocide trends, than in the United States, yet. But we're going very rapidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-larouche/the-situation-in-europe-is-much-more-advanced-in-terms-of-pro/) [Lyndon LaRouche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-larouche/) > [During the Nuremberg trials, Oswald Pohl, an SS Lieutenant General,...is shown here explaining how Farben operated such concentration camps as Auschwitz and Buchenwald.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-edward-griffin/during-the-nuremberg-trials-oswald-pohl-an-ss-lieutenant-general-is/) [G. Edward Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-edward-griffin/) > [“Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-lindauer/voice-or-no-voice-the-people-can-always-be-brought-to-the-bidding-of/) [Susan Lindauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-lindauer/) > [I don't mind if after the job is done you put me in front of a Nuremberg Trial and then jail me for life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/i-don-t-mind-if-after-the-job-is-done-you-put-me-in-front-of-a/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/even-today-i-am-willing-to-volunteer-to-do-the-dirty-work-for-israel-3/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [It is generally not known in the world that, in the years preceding 1916, there was a concerted effort made to eliminate all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/it-is-generally-not-known-in-the-world-that-in-the-years-preceding/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [The Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders, in open court before an international tribunal, had a profound long-term effect in bringing Germans back to democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lewis/the-nuremberg-trials-of-nazi-leaders-in-open-court-before-an/) [Anthony Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lewis/) > [Since Franklin Roosevelt's leadership in setting up the United Nations and the Nuremberg trials, the U.S. has promoted universal legal norms and the institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/since-franklin-roosevelt-s-leadership-in-setting-up-the-united/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“After World War II the Allies refused to recognize Karl Dönitz as the president or führer, Reichspräsident, of Germany. Instead they declared the complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-suppresed-i-rise/after-world-war-ii-the-allies-refused-to-recognize-karl-d-nitz-as-the/) [Captain Hank Bracker, "Suppresed I Rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-suppresed-i-rise/) > [ The \[Nuremberg Trial was\] the biggest legal farce in history... the legend about six million supposedly murdered Jews acquired a legal basis, even though… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-sanchez/the-nuremberg-trial-was-the-biggest-legal-farce-in-history-the-legend/) [Rick Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-sanchez/) > [We need a Nuremberg to put on trial the economic order that they have imposed on us, that every three years kills more men,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/we-need-a-nuremberg-to-put-on-trial-the-economic-order-that-they-have/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [We've committed many war crimes in Vietnam - but I'll tell you something interesting about that. We were committing war crimes in World War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/we-ve-committed-many-war-crimes-in-vietnam-but-i-ll-tell-you/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [You've gotta understand - when you interview someone, it's not an interrogation. It's not the Nuremberg Trials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/you-ve-gotta-understand-when-you-interview-someone-it-s-not-an/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [The Nuremberg Trial of the German war criminals was tacitly based on the recognition of the principle: criminal actions cannot be excused if committed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-nuremberg-trial-of-the-german-war-criminals-was-tacitly-based-on/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) ## 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 Arrows quotes > [With the arrival of electric technology, man has extended, or set outside himself, a live model of the central nervous system itself. To the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/with-the-arrival-of-electric-technology-man-has-extended-or-set/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I did archery when I was in high school. In our gym class we had two weeks of archery, and I remember taking the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/i-did-archery-when-i-was-in-high-school-in-our-gym-class-we-had-two/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) > [Game of Thrones. I'm all about it. I watch Arrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-r-mcqueen/game-of-thrones-i-m-all-about-it-i-watch-arrow/) [Steven R. McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-r-mcqueen/) > [I have shot mine arrow o'er the house And hurt my brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-have-shot-mine-arrow-o-er-the-house-and-hurt-my-brother/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I had a map on my wall that had a circle around Lubbock and then giant arrows pointing toward New York City and Los…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-corbin/i-had-a-map-on-my-wall-that-had-a-circle-around-lubbock-and-then/) [Barry Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-corbin/) > [An arrow may fly through the air and leave no trace; but an ill thought leaves a trail like a serpent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mackay/an-arrow-may-fly-through-the-air-and-leave-no-trace-but-an-ill/) [Charles Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mackay/) > [If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high... Hooray for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-corey/if-you-shoot-an-arrow-and-it-goes-real-high-hooray-for-you/) [Dorian Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-corey/) > [Our present time is indeed a criticizing and critical time, hovering between the wish, and the inability to believe. Our complaints are like arrows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/our-present-time-is-indeed-a-criticizing-and-critical-time-hovering/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [You took a poison arrow and you aimed it at my heart. It's heavy and it's bitter, and it's tearing me apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/you-took-a-poison-arrow-and-you-aimed-it-at-my-heart-it-s-heavy-and/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [How long the thick dark clouds can prevent the truth from shining? The truth is an arrow that can pass through any shield!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/how-long-the-thick-dark-clouds-can-prevent-the-truth-from-shining-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Vasic said the words on Aden’s tongue. “The Arrows expect mercy from no one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/vasic-said-the-words-on-aden-s-tongue-the-arrows-expect-mercy-from-no/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [Follow your arrow / Wherever it points,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/follow-your-arrow-wherever-it-points/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [If the errors of my life have profited me one great truth it is this: believe. Believe in your destiny and the star from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/if-the-errors-of-my-life-have-profited-me-one-great-truth-it-is-this/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [Philosophy alone makes the mind invincible, and places us out of the reach of fortune, so that all her arrows fall short of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/philosophy-alone-makes-the-mind-invincible-and-places-us-out-of-the/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) [Browse all 481 Arrows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were very excited and we brought speakers in – then it so happened that there was a marine recruiter in the center of campus and one of our brothers, one SDS person put up a sign with a quote from the Nuremberg trial and an arrow point at the marine recruiter, saying, \"This man is a war criminal.\" My younger brother and I, he was freshman and I was a sophomore, got caught up in the debates that were swirling around the center of campus and the young Trotskyists had put out a fact sheet on Vietnam that was phenomenal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Ayers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-speakers-in-then-it-so-happened/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrows" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-speakers-in-then-it-so-happened/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/bill-ayers-1848_arrows_we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-spea_3053356.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We were very excited and we brought speakers in – then it so happened that there was a marine recruiter in…” — 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": "We were very excited and we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-speakers-in-then-it-so-happened/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/we-were-very-excited-and-we-brought-speakers-in-then-it-so-happened/#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 } } ] } ```