--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was a gangster when I was young. I had…" description: "\"I was a gangster when I was young. I had a Robin Hood mentality and tended to always want to support the weak against the strong, but sometimes it was ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/cornel-west-708_education_i-was-a-gangster-when-i-was-young-i-had_2176774.jpg" --- # I was a gangster when I was young. I had a Robin Hood… ![“I was a gangster when I was young. I had a Robin Hood mentality and tended to always want to support the weak against the strong, but sometimes it was cohesive and I really needed to fall in love with the power of education to find the right venue to express my rage. I still have a righteous…” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/cornel-west-708_education_i-was-a-gangster-when-i-was-young-i-had_2176774.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/cornel-west-708_education_i-was-a-gangster-when-i-was-young-i-had_2176774.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/cornel-west-708_education_i-was-a-gangster-when-i-was-young-i-had_2176774.jpg) > “I was a gangster when I was young. I had a Robin Hood mentality and tended to always want to support the weak against the strong, but sometimes it was cohesive and I really needed to fall in love with the power of education to find the right venue to express my rage. I still have a righteous indignation at injustice, no matter what form it takes.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A youthful rebellious spirit seeks justice, but true change requires embracing education to channel that anger constructively. **In simple terms:** Rage fuels justice, but education guides it. Key Takeaway Learn to use knowledge to fight injustice. Themes justice education personal growth Mood thoughtful inspirational Type social philosophical When to use this quote - activism - community organizing - academic study - personal mentorship Key Concepts righteous indignation social change self‑development Questions to Reflect On - What role does formal education play in activism? - How can anger be transformed into productive action? A Different Perspective Education may not fully resolve systemic oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Fall in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-in-love/) [Falling in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-in-love/) [Gangster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gangster/) [Gangsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gangsters/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentality/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Righteous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteous/) [Righteous indignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteous-indignation/) [Robin hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robin-hood/) [Robins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robins/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) ## Related quotes > [I still have a righteous indignation at injustice, no matter what form it takes. It could be homophobia, it could be white supremacy, male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-still-have-a-righteous-indignation-at-injustice-no-matter-what-form/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“we fought injustice wherever we found it, no matter how large, or how small, and we fought injustice to preserve our own humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/we-fought-injustice-wherever-we-found-it-no-matter-how-large-or-how/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > ['Bonnie and Clyde,' while one of the best movies ever made, was far more interested in portraying Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker as romantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-burrough/bonnie-and-clyde-while-one-of-the-best-movies-ever-made-was-far-more/) [Bryan Burrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-burrough/) > [This Hollywood ain't no good, I would rather be like Robin Hood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/this-hollywood-ain-t-no-good-i-would-rather-be-like-robin-hood/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I used to write my own versions of famous tales, such as William Tell or Robin Hood, and illustrate them myself, too. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-robinson/i-used-to-write-my-own-versions-of-famous-tales-such-as-william-tell/) [Peter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-robinson/) > [I loved Laurel and Hardy and TV shows like 'Robin Hood' and 'Rama of the Jungle'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-loved-laurel-and-hardy-and-tv-shows-like-robin-hood-and-rama-of-the/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [Trying to please everyone can be very hard, but, like 'Shrek' or 'The Simpsons,' 'Robin Hood' manages to entertain adults and children at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/trying-to-please-everyone-can-be-very-hard-but-like-shrek-or-the/) [Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/) > [People look up to Jacques Mesrine as if he were a Robin Hood, stealing from the rich, but he never gave anything back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/people-look-up-to-jacques-mesrine-as-if-he-were-a-robin-hood-stealing/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) > [This is Robin Hood in reverse. These tax cap proposals favor those with the most expensive properties. We are spreading the taxes to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clementa-c-pinckney/this-is-robin-hood-in-reverse-these-tax-cap-proposals-favor-those/) Clementa C. Pinckney > [It doth make a man better,' quoth Robin Hood, 'to bear of those noble men so long ago. When one doth list to such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-pyle/it-doth-make-a-man-better-quoth-robin-hood-to-bear-of-those-noble-men/) [Howard Pyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-pyle/) > [If you open the door and realize things like the fact that Batman is occupying the same narrative space that Robin Hood used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/if-you-open-the-door-and-realize-things-like-the-fact-that-batman-is/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [My agent asked if I fancied Robin Hood and I thought: 'Yeah, why not?' I hadn't watched it, to be honest, but I'd seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-froggatt/my-agent-asked-if-i-fancied-robin-hood-and-i-thought-yeah-why-not-i/) [Joanne Froggatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-froggatt/) > [A famous man is Robin Hood, The English ballad-singer's joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/a-famous-man-is-robin-hood-the-english-ballad-singer-s-joy/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Like Robin Hood…Not real, but true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janette-rallison/like-robin-hood-not-real-but-true/) [Janette Rallison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janette-rallison/) > [I always wanted to be Robin Hood or John the Baptist when I was growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/i-always-wanted-to-be-robin-hood-or-john-the-baptist-when-i-was/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. Otherwise the world would be full of millionaires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwanandeke-kindembo/in-school-you-are-taught-to-obey-and-not-to-think-straight-for-your/) [Mwanandeke Kindembo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mwanandeke-kindembo/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) Ioannes Amos Commenius > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) H.D. (Hilda Doolittle > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was a gangster when I was young. 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