--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am not arguing that we should never use…" description: "\"I am not arguing that we should never use legal reform as a tactic. Instead, I argue that it should not be a goal.\" — Dean Spade" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg" --- # I am not arguing that we should never use legal reform as… ![“I am not arguing that we should never use legal reform as a tactic. Instead, I argue that it should not be a goal.” quote by Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg) > “I am not arguing that we should never use legal reform as a tactic. Instead, I argue that it should not be a goal.” [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Legal reform should be a means, not an end goal, to achieve broader social change. **In simple terms:** Use reform as a tool, not a destination. Key Takeaway Focus on ultimate outcomes, not just policy changes. Themes activism strategy policy social change Mood critical reflective Type analytical strategic When to use this quote - advocacy campaigns - community organizing - legislative lobbying - grassroots movements Key Concepts means-ends instrumentalism political theory Questions to Reflect On - What deeper goals do you aim to achieve? - How can you measure success beyond policy change? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on reform can stall deeper cultural shifts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reform/) [Tactics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactics/) ## Related quotes > [In addition to encouraging us to participate in narratives of "deservingness" that cast large parts of our constituencies as "undeserving," legal reform strategies encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/in-addition-to-encouraging-us-to-participate-in-narratives-of/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [When we approach legal reform work, we can ask questions like: Will this provide actual relief to people facing violence or harm or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/when-we-approach-legal-reform-work-we-can-ask-questions-like-will/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [We must experiment, fail, and try again, but beginning with a critique of legal reform and a commitment to center the most vulnerable moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/we-must-experiment-fail-and-try-again-but-beginning-with-a-critique/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [We should interact with legal reform tactically, knowing that it will not meet our ultimate goals but asking whether there are ways that engaging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/we-should-interact-with-legal-reform-tactically-knowing-that-it-will/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Legal reform has significant dangers: changing only the window-dressing of harmful systems but leaving the violence of the systems in tact, failing to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/legal-reform-has-significant-dangers-changing-only-the-window/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Legal reform in Russia is a must. And I keep track of it daily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitry-medvedev/legal-reform-in-russia-is-a-must-and-i-keep-track-of-it-daily/) [Dmitry Medvedev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitry-medvedev/) > [Moreover, from reforming the tax code to our immigration system, to commonsense legal reform, President Bush put America on notice that he will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sensenbrenner/moreover-from-reforming-the-tax-code-to-our-immigration-system-to/) [Jim Sensenbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-sensenbrenner/) > [Work for legal reform takes place only within the framework of the social form created by the last revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-luxemburg/work-for-legal-reform-takes-place-only-within-the-framework-of-the/) [Rosa Luxemburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-luxemburg/) > [There was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyway always yield to the stronger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/there-was-no-point-in-seeking-to-convert-the-intellectuals-for/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [Tactics flow from a superior position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/tactics-flow-from-a-superior-position/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [I think being born in America and growing up exclusively within the American boundaries of race and race oppression is a very different experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-think-being-born-in-america-and-growing-up-exclusively-within-the/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [A thorough understanding of the typical mating continuations makes the most complicated sacrificial combinations leading up to them not only not difficult, but almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegbert-tarrasch/a-thorough-understanding-of-the-typical-mating-continuations-makes/) [Siegbert Tarrasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegbert-tarrasch/) > [Players lose you games, not tactics. There's so much crap talked about tactics by people who barely know how to win at dominoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-clough/players-lose-you-games-not-tactics-there-s-so-much-crap-talked-about/) [Brian Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-clough/) > [Nonviolent tactics can move into action on our behalf men not naturally inclined to act for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-deming/nonviolent-tactics-can-move-into-action-on-our-behalf-men-not/) [Barbara Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-deming/) > [Ally MacLeod thinks that tactics are a new kind of mint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/ally-macleod-thinks-that-tactics-are-a-new-kind-of-mint/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) ## More by Dean Spade > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [One of the concepts I was having trouble illustrating was the concept that administrative systems create narrow categories of gender and force people into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/one-of-the-concepts-i-was-having-trouble-illustrating-was-the-concept/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Let’s be gentle with ourselves and each other and fierce as we fight oppression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/let-s-be-gentle-with-ourselves-and-each-other-and-fierce-as-we-fight/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [More conservative advocacy work often encourages portrayals of trans people as people who deserve rights. Deservingness, of course, corresponds to national racial, gender and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/more-conservative-advocacy-work-often-encourages-portrayals-of-trans/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Instead of focusing on what the law says about trans people, which is really what the law is saying about itself as a protector…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/instead-of-focusing-on-what-the-law-says-about-trans-people-which-is/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [In addition to encouraging us to participate in narratives of "deservingness" that cast large parts of our constituencies as "undeserving," legal reform strategies encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/in-addition-to-encouraging-us-to-participate-in-narratives-of/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > ["Oppression" or "systems of oppression" operate as a shorthand terms in much writing and speaking so that we do not have to list all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/oppression-or-systems-of-oppression-operate-as-a-shorthand-terms-in/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [I am interested in recent scholarly work examining the emergence of women's studies and ethnic studies departments and the development of the neoliberal university.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-am-interested-in-recent-scholarly-work-examining-the-emergence-of/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Choosing an agenda that supports the apparatuses of racial violence always pays better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/choosing-an-agenda-that-supports-the-apparatuses-of-racial-violence/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [My work is heavily influenced by critiques that many critical intellectual traditions, especially Critical Race Theory, have made of reform projects focused on legal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/my-work-is-heavily-influenced-by-critiques-that-many-critical/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Legal reform organizations are usually trying to portray their constituents as "hard workers," as "not criminals," as citizens, as part of normative family arrangements,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/legal-reform-organizations-are-usually-trying-to-portray-their/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [One particular debate that I have seen play out again and again is whether trans people who have more traditional gender expressions or who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/one-particular-debate-that-i-have-seen-play-out-again-and-again-is/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [There are sharply different, competing models of what trans advocacy looks like - those that seek to follow the path laid out by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/there-are-sharply-different-competing-models-of-what-trans-advocacy/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Legal reform has significant dangers: changing only the window-dressing of harmful systems but leaving the violence of the systems in tact, failing to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/legal-reform-has-significant-dangers-changing-only-the-window/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [Law reforms in the US, ostensibly enacted to prohibit racism, have proven ineffective because they focus on bad intentions of individuals and fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/law-reforms-in-the-us-ostensibly-enacted-to-prohibit-racism-have/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) [Explore all 49 Dean Spade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) ## More Arguing quotes > [I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-durrell/i-do-wish-you-wouldn-t-argue-with-me-when-i-m-knitting/) [Gerald Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-durrell/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/) [Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/) > [Men are fair, and they have learned not to personalize anger - they can disagree with you and argue to the bone, but afterward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-fair-and-they-have-learned-not-to-personalize-anger-they-can/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [When Eudæmonidas heard a philosopher arguing that only a wise man can be a good general, "This is a wonderful speech," said he; "but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/when-eud-monidas-heard-a-philosopher-arguing-that-only-a-wise-man-can/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [Fasting is required, staying away from fighting and arguing and bombing of masjids is still going on. Hatred is still manifested between Sunni and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/fasting-is-required-staying-away-from-fighting-and-arguing-and/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [The problem for the Left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the Right as vile, it has to argue the issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-problem-for-the-left-however-is-that-the-moment-it-stops-painting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [You can argue that the Terminator movies reboot their world each time they go back in time, but that doesn't negate the value of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hayter/you-can-argue-that-the-terminator-movies-reboot-their-world-each-time/) [David Hayter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hayter/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I'm a very serious person, but I don't take myself very seriously and I would rather laugh all day than argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/i-m-a-very-serious-person-but-i-don-t-take-myself-very-seriously-and/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Only fools argue whether to eat meat or not. They don't understand truth nor do they meditate on it. Who can define what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/only-fools-argue-whether-to-eat-meat-or-not-they-don-t-understand/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [The surest sign that you haven't any sense is to argue with one who hasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/the-surest-sign-that-you-haven-t-any-sense-is-to-argue-with-one-who/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) Browse all 1,908 Arguing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am not arguing that we should never use legal reform as a tactic. Instead, I argue that it should not be a goal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dean Spade" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-use-legal-reform-as-a-tactic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arguing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-use-legal-reform-as-a-tactic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/546/dean-spade-13866_arguing_i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-us_2055393.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am not arguing that we should never use legal reform as a tactic. Instead, I argue that it should not be a…” — Dean Spade", "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": "Dean Spade", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am not arguing that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-use-legal-reform-as-a-tactic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/i-am-not-arguing-that-we-should-never-use-legal-reform-as-a-tactic/#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 } } ] } ```