--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Uninformed and yet open to appeals for…" description: "\"Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans are capable of reacting as they did to the ANC campaign against apartheid, which ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg" --- # Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they… ![“Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans are capable of reacting as they did to the ANC campaign against apartheid, which finally changed the balance of forces inside South Africa.” quote by Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg) > “Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans are capable of reacting as they did to the ANC campaign against apartheid, which finally changed the balance of forces inside South Africa.” [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Americans can be naive yet eager for justice, reacting strongly to moral causes like the ANC anti‑apartheid movement. **In simple terms:** People may support justice despite limited knowledge. Key Takeaway Recognize bias, seek informed activism. Themes justice politics activism historical memory Mood reflective concerned Type analytical historical When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - education campaigns - media literacy Key Concepts colonialism solidarity public opinion Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance empathy with critical inquiry? - What safeguards prevent tokenism? A Different Perspective Over‑enthusiasm can lead to superficial support without deep understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Americans Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americans-capable-3771594/) [Anc Campaign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anc-campaign-3771593/) [Apartheid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartheid/) [Apartheid Finally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartheid-finally-3771595/) [Appeals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appeals/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Campaign Apartheid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaign-apartheid-3771596/) [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice Americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-americans-3684869/) [Reacting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reacting/) [South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south/) [South africa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-africa/) [Uninformed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uninformed/) ## Related quotes > [“Regular adult Americans are no more capable of doing math than they are of photosynthesis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/regular-adult-americans-are-no-more-capable-of-doing-math-than-they/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Black lives matter' doesn't mean that all lives do not matter, rather it is a cry for equal treatment in the greater circle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-messam/black-lives-matter-doesn-t-mean-that-all-lives-do-not-matter-rather/) [Wayne Messam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-messam/) > [The longer I live, the more uninformed I feel. Only the young have an explanation for everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-longer-i-live-the-more-uninformed-i-feel-only-the-young-have-an/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I'm 53. I don't care about high school students. I find them irritating and uninformed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-m-53-i-don-t-care-about-high-school-students-i-find-them-irritating/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [Those who do not read the news are uninformed. Those who do are misinformed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/those-who-do-not-read-the-news-are-uninformed-those-who-do-are/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Education without social action is a one-sided value because it has no true power potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/education-without-social-action-is-a-one-sided-value-because-it-has/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-do-read-the-newspaper-you-are-misinformed/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The primary, the most urgent requirement is the promotion of education. It is inconceivable that any nation should achieve prosperity and success unless this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/the-primary-the-most-urgent-requirement-is-the-promotion-of-education/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [The irony of the information age is that it lends credibility to uninformed opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-coonts/the-irony-of-the-information-age-is-that-it-lends-credibility-to/) [Stephen Coonts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-coonts/) > [“On the subject of Carrie White, we're all relatively uninformed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/on-the-subject-of-carrie-white-we-re-all-relatively-uninformed/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The only thing that can be expected from the next US president is more war, more murder, and more oppression of the gullible American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-only-thing-that-can-be-expected-from-the-next-us-president-is/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) > [Politicians and bureaucrats are substituting their uninformed, largely political decisions for those of the marketplace. Their past miscalculations demonstrate that they do not and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-levin/politicians-and-bureaucrats-are-substituting-their-uninformed-largely/) [Mark Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-levin/) > [Uninformed people can be easily manipulated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/uninformed-people-can-be-easily-manipulated/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-talk-i-realized-that-my-usual/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [Anybody who pretends that how you read the 10th and 11th Amendment doesn't have a fundamental impact on the things we care about is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/anybody-who-pretends-that-how-you-read-the-10th-and-11th-amendment/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) ## More by Edward Said > [Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/beginning-is-not-only-a-kind-of-action-it-is-also-a-frame-of-mind-a/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [It's very hard, for example, to justify the thirty-four-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It's very hard to justify 140 Israeli settlements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/it-s-very-hard-for-example-to-justify-the-thirty-four-year-occupation/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[9/11\] was bloody-minded destruction for no other reason than to do it. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/9-11-was-bloody-minded-destruction-for-no-other-reason-than-to-do-it/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Look at situations as contingent, not as inevitable, look at them as the result of a series of historical choices made by men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/look-at-situations-as-contingent-not-as-inevitable-look-at-them-as/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I was one of the first people in the Palestinian world, in the late 1970s, to say that there is no military option, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-was-one-of-the-first-people-in-the-palestinian-world-in-the-late/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Take a young man from Gaza living in the most horrendous conditions - most of it imposed by Israel - who straps dynamite around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/take-a-young-man-from-gaza-living-in-the-most-horrendous-conditions/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ \[One task of intellectuals is\] to break down the stereotypes and reductive categories that are . . . limiting to human thought and communication. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/one-task-of-intellectuals-is-to-break-down-the-stereotypes-and/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [I have never known what is Arabic or English, or which one was really mine beyond any doubt. What I do know, however, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/i-have-never-known-what-is-arabic-or-english-or-which-one-was-really/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/every-single-empire-in-its-official-discourse-has-said-that-it-is-not/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [ The just response to this terrible event \[9/11\] should be to go immediately to the world community, the United Nations. The rule of international… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/the-just-response-to-this-terrible-event-9-11-should-be-to-go/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Since when does a militarily occupied people have the responsibility for a peace movement?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/since-when-does-a-militarily-occupied-people-have-the-responsibility/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Refuse to allow yourself to become a vegetable that simply absorbs information, pre-packaged, pre-ideologized , because no message.. is anything but an ideological package…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/refuse-to-allow-yourself-to-become-a-vegetable-that-simply-absorbs/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [No cause, no God, no abstract idea can justify the mass slaughter of innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/no-cause-no-god-no-abstract-idea-can-justify-the-mass-slaughter-of/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [What we must eliminate are systems of representation that carry with them the authority which has become repressive because it doesn't permit or make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/what-we-must-eliminate-are-systems-of-representation-that-carry-with/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) > [Part of the main plan of imperialism... is that we will give you your history, we will write it for you, we will re-order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/part-of-the-main-plan-of-imperialism-is-that-we-will-give-you-your/) [Edward Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) [Explore all 97 Edward Said quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/) ## More Apartheid quotes > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [If apartheid is removed, then the violence that is necessary to maintain it will be removed along with the pressures from apartheid which create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/if-apartheid-is-removed-then-the-violence-that-is-necessary-to/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [I try not to get too political. But coming from South Africa, where apartheid was a huge problem, and there was lots of inequality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-anderson/i-try-not-to-get-too-political-but-coming-from-south-africa-where/) [Kevin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-anderson/) > [I grew up under Thatcher; the era of apartheid; the era of the poll tax; the era of riots. I remember Neil Kinnock was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lammy/i-grew-up-under-thatcher-the-era-of-apartheid-the-era-of-the-poll-tax/) [David Lammy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lammy/) > [When I talk about the end of apartheid, I prefer not to claim the honor that I have ended it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-w-de-klerk/when-i-talk-about-the-end-of-apartheid-i-prefer-not-to-claim-the/) [F. W. de Klerk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-w-de-klerk/) > [ We \[ with Brian Mulroney and Rajiv Gandhi\] went to the meeting in Canada \[the 1987 Vancouver CHOGM\] and I said to them there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/we-with-brian-mulroney-and-rajiv-gandhi-went-to-the-meeting-in-canada/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) > [My time in prison only deepened my resolve against apartheid. Even while I was in prison, I fought against it, teaching my cellmates about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/my-time-in-prison-only-deepened-my-resolve-against-apartheid-even/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [But I think I'm on track to do something even bigger. I liberate minds with my music. That's more important than liberating a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/but-i-think-i-m-on-track-to-do-something-even-bigger-i-liberate-minds/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [The mistake the apartheid government made was they gave the black people nothing, so they had nothing to lose. But now a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/the-mistake-the-apartheid-government-made-was-they-gave-the-black/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [HEAVEN: The big apartheid in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-appleman/heaven-the-big-apartheid-in-the-sky/) [Philip Appleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-appleman/) > [I have no doubt that in the future, the laws that criminalize human love and commitment will look the way the apartheid laws do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-have-no-doubt-that-in-the-future-the-laws-that-criminalize-human/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going-2/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [The violence associated with the A.N.C. is minimal, infinitesimal next to the violence of the apartheid regime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-tambo/the-violence-associated-with-the-a-n-c-is-minimal-infinitesimal-next/) [Oliver Tambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-tambo/) > [Imagine if your kids had to carry a ladder to climb an apartheid wall to get to school everyday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-suleiman/imagine-if-your-kids-had-to-carry-a-ladder-to-climb-an-apartheid-wall/) [Omar Suleiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-suleiman/) > [The private schools and the independent schools like Oprah's are really doing well because they've got the best of everything but it certainly puts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlayne-hunter-gault/the-private-schools-and-the-independent-schools-like-oprah-s-are/) [Charlayne Hunter-Gault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlayne-hunter-gault/) [Browse all 299 Apartheid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartheid/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans are capable of reacting as they did to the ANC campaign against apartheid, which finally changed the balance of forces inside South Africa.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Said" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-justice-as-they-are-americans/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apartheid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-justice-as-they-are-americans/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/edward-said-6412_apartheid_uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-j_1225955.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Uninformed and yet open to appeals for justice as they are, Americans are capable of reacting as they did to…” — Edward Said", "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": "Edward Said", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-said/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Uninformed and yet open to appeals...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-justice-as-they-are-americans/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-said/uninformed-and-yet-open-to-appeals-for-justice-as-they-are-americans/#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 } } ] } ```