--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first principal of nonviolent action…" description: "\"The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating.\" — Cesar Chavez" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/cesar-chavez-2137_action_the-first-principal-of-nonviolent-action_564107.png" --- # The first principal of nonviolent action is that of… ![“The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating.” quote by Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/cesar-chavez-2137_action_the-first-principal-of-nonviolent-action_564107.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/cesar-chavez-2137_action_the-first-principal-of-nonviolent-action_564107.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/cesar-chavez-2137_action_the-first-principal-of-nonviolent-action_564107.png) > “The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating.” [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) This quote is also attributed to [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) in other sources. Attributions for famous quotes are often disputed. ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nonviolent action requires refusing any humiliating cooperation, emphasizing dignity over submission. **In simple terms:** Refuse humiliating cooperation to maintain dignity. Key Takeaway Choose dignity over humiliation. Themes nonviolence dignity activism human rights ethical resistance Mood determined hopeful Type activist ethical When to use this quote - labor strikes - human rights campaigns - personal moral decisions Key Concepts civil disobedience ethical protest personal integrity Questions to Reflect On - What forms of cooperation are currently humiliating? - How can we sustain nonviolent resistance? A Different Perspective Nonviolent tactics may be less effective against deeply entrenched power structures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Action Noncooperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-noncooperation-4669690/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Noncooperation Humiliating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noncooperation-humiliating-4669688/) [Nonviolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolence/) [Nonviolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolent/) [Nonviolent Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolent-action-1363272/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Principal Nonviolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principal-nonviolent-4669689/) [Rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebellion/) ## Related quotes > [“Nonviolent action on behalf of justice is no automatic forumla with promise of success: but neither is war. After all, at least half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nonviolent-action-on-behalf-of-justice-is-no-automatic-forumla-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nonviolent action involves opposing the opponent's power, including his police and military capacity, not with the weapons chosen by him but by quite different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/nonviolent-action-involves-opposing-the-opponent-s-power-including/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Nonviolent action, born of the awareness of suffering and nurtured by love, is the most effective way to confront adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nonviolent-action-born-of-the-awareness-of-suffering-and-nurtured-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first essential characteristics of nonviolent action is that it is creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hildegard-goss-mayr/the-first-essential-characteristics-of-nonviolent-action-is-that-it/) [Hildegard Goss-Mayr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hildegard-goss-mayr/) > [Nonviolent action means mobilization of world opinion in our favour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolent-action-means-mobilization-of-world-opinion-in-our-favour/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Nonviolent action without the co-operation of the heart and the head cannot produce the intended result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolent-action-without-the-co-operation-of-the-heart-and-the-head/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [A nonviolent action accompanied by nonviolence in thought and word should never produce enduring violent reaction upon the opponent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-nonviolent-action-accompanied-by-nonviolence-in-thought-and-word/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The maintenance of high standards of behavior in nonviolent action is necessary at all stages of the conflict.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/the-maintenance-of-high-standards-of-behavior-in-nonviolent-action-is/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [Nonviolent action, the Negro saw, was the way to supplement, not replace, the progress of change. It was the way to divest himself of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolent-action-the-negro-saw-was-the-way-to-supplement-not-replace/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Time and time again we forget all too easily that nonviolent action embraces a wide and imaginative range of behavior which can always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-kelly/time-and-time-again-we-forget-all-too-easily-that-nonviolent-action/) [Petra Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-kelly/) > [Nonviolent action does not have to get others to be nice. It can in effect force them to consult their consciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/nonviolent-action-does-not-have-to-get-others-to-be-nice-it-can-in/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Nonviolent nationalism is a necessary condition of corporate or civilized life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolent-nationalism-is-a-necessary-condition-of-corporate-or/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Disobedience to be civil has to be open and nonviolent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/disobedience-to-be-civil-has-to-be-open-and-nonviolent/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Himsa does not need to be taught, Man as animal is violent, but as spirit is nonviolent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/himsa-does-not-need-to-be-taught-man-as-animal-is-violent-but-as/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The nation cannot be kept on the nonviolent path by violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-nation-cannot-be-kept-on-the-nonviolent-path-by-violence/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Cesar Chavez > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [If you win non-violently, then you have a double victory, you have not only won your fight, but you remain free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/if-you-win-non-violently-then-you-have-a-double-victory-you-have-not/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/when-we-are-really-honest-with-ourselves-we-must-admit-our-lives-are/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [We know we cannot be kind to animals until we stop exploiting them -- exploiting animals in the name of science, exploiting animals in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-know-we-cannot-be-kind-to-animals-until-we-stop-exploiting-them/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Non-violence has suffered its biggest defeat in the hands of people who most want to talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/non-violence-has-suffered-its-biggest-defeat-in-the-hands-of-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [it is clearly evident that our path travels through a valley of teas well known to all farm workers, because in all valleys the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/it-is-clearly-evident-that-our-path-travels-through-a-valley-of-teas/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [The people who give you their food give you their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-people-who-give-you-their-food-give-you-their-heart/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [The name of the game is to talk to people. If you don't talk to people, you can't get started...You knock on twenty doors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/the-name-of-the-game-is-to-talk-to-people-if-you-don-t-talk-to-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [...people think non-violence is really weak and non-militant. These are misconceptions that people have because they don't understand what non-violence means. Non-violence takes more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/people-think-non-violence-is-really-weak-and-non-militant-these-are/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [We shall strike. We shall organize boycotts. We shall demonstrate and have political campaigns. We shall pursue the revolution we have proposed. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-shall-strike-we-shall-organize-boycotts-we-shall-demonstrate-and/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [There are vivid memories from my childhood - what we had to go through because of low wages and the conditions, basically because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/there-are-vivid-memories-from-my-childhood-what-we-had-to-go-through/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Self dedication is a spiritual experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/self-dedication-is-a-spiritual-experience/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for others in a totally nonviolent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/i-am-convinced-that-the-truest-act-of-courage-the-strongest-act-of/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/you-cannot-oppress-the-people-who-are-not-afraid-anymore/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [When workers fall back on violence, they are lost. Oh, they might win some of their demands and might end a strike a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/when-workers-fall-back-on-violence-they-are-lost-oh-they-might-win/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) [Explore all 183 Cesar Chavez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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