--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the…" description: "\"“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”\" — Elie Wiesel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/elie-wiesel-341_neutrality_neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the_2880304.png" --- # Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence… ![“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” quote by Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/elie-wiesel-341_neutrality_neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the_2880304.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/elie-wiesel-341_neutrality_neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the_2880304.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/elie-wiesel-341_neutrality_neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the_2880304.png) > ““Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”” [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence supports oppressors, not victims; staying quiet aids tormentors, not the tormented. **In simple terms:** Speaking up opposes oppression. Key Takeaway Speak out against injustice. Themes justice silence oppression Mood serious urgent Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - social movements - workplace harassment - political dissent - community advocacy Key Concepts moral responsibility activism Questions to Reflect On - When is silence justified? - How can you safely intervene? A Different Perspective Silence can be a survival tactic for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Neutrality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutrality/) [Neutrality Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutrality-helps-1272711/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Silence Encourages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-encourages-1272713/) [Victim Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim-silence-1272712/) ## Related quotes > [“Luz Castro "And then i explain that the world did know and remained silent. and that is why I swore never to be silent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/luz-castro-and-then-i-explain-that-the-world-did-know-and-remained/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“i swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. we must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-swore-never-to-be-silent-whenever-human-beings-endure-suffering-and/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/we-must-always-take-sides-neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-swore-never-to-be-silent-whenever-and-wherever-human-beings-endure-2/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-weisel/neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the-victim-silence-encourages/) [Eli Weisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-weisel/) > [“--"And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/and-then-i-explained-to-him-how-naive-we-were-that-the-world-did-know-2/) [Élie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remained silent. And that is why I swore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/and-then-i-explained-to-him-how-naive-we-were-that-the-world-did-know/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/we-must-take-sides-neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the-victim-2/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/we-must-take-sides-neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the-victim/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/silence-encourages-the-tormentor-never-the-tormented/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silent encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/we-must-take-sides-neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the-victim-3/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-sides-neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the-victim/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/neutrality-helps-the-oppressor-never-the-victim/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/secrecy-and-silence-are-the-perpetrator-s-first-line-of-defense-if/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Herman’s Trauma and Recovery, which addresses rape, child molestation, and wartime trauma together, notes: Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator’s first line of defense.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/herman-s-trauma-and-recovery-which-addresses-rape-child-molestation/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More by Elie Wiesel > [A religious person answers to God, not to the elected or non-elected official.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/a-religious-person-answers-to-god-not-to-the-elected-or-non-elected/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [One more stab to the heart, one more reason to hate. One less reason to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/one-more-stab-to-the-heart-one-more-reason-to-hate-one-less-reason-to/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/what-all-these-victims-need-above-all-is-to-know-that-they-are-not/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I feel that books, just like people, have a destiny. Some invite sorrow, others joy, some both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-feel-that-books-just-like-people-have-a-destiny-some-invite-sorrow/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [ \[Chinese\] are a huge empire now, you'll soon be - in a few years two billion people in the world. So, you should be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/chinese-are-a-huge-empire-now-you-ll-soon-be-in-a-few-years-two/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Did I write it so as not to go mad or, on the contrary, to go mad in order to understand the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-i-write-it-so-as-not-to-go-mad-or-on-the-contrary-to-go-mad-in/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures; peace is our gift to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/mankind-must-remember-that-peace-is-not-god-s-gift-to-his-creatures/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [The world? The world is not interested in us. Today, everything is possible, even the crematoria...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-world-the-world-is-not-interested-in-us-today-everything-is/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [every question possessed a power that was lost in the answer . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-question-possessed-a-power-that-was-lost-in-the-answer/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [As you know, I describe Shirat ha-Yam as part of an epic story that has qualities of history and which also has qualities of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/as-you-know-i-describe-shirat-ha-yam-as-part-of-an-epic-story-that/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Every Jew, somewhere in his being, should set apart a zone of hate -healthy virile hate- for what the German personifies and for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/every-jew-somewhere-in-his-being-should-set-apart-a-zone-of-hate/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Did hope help us to survive, or not? Too many families clung to it all through the war, thus falling into the enemy's trap.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/did-hope-help-us-to-survive-or-not-too-many-families-clung-to-it-all/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Explore all 662 Elie Wiesel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) ## More Neutrality quotes > [“You can not have empty or neutral mind, as long as you work the mind will contain dreams, if you stop working it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-can-not-have-empty-or-neutral-mind-as-long-as-you-work-the-mind/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I believe people ought to be treated fairly under the law. I see no reason why if the marriage contract conveys certain things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-believe-people-ought-to-be-treated-fairly-under-the-law-i-see-no/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [There's always a fine line that divides hostility from neutrality, and I don't want to pass that line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-dwight/there-s-always-a-fine-line-that-divides-hostility-from-neutrality-and/) [Ed Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-dwight/) > [If you end internet neutrality and permit mergers of the big information technology corporations, that's a form of rent seeking. It's part of today's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/if-you-end-internet-neutrality-and-permit-mergers-of-the-big/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Net neutrality is at the core of what we love about the Internet. Put simply, it allows any individual or business equal access to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ro-khanna/net-neutrality-is-at-the-core-of-what-we-love-about-the-internet-put/) [Ro Khanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ro-khanna/) > [To go back to a 1950s voice mentality with Title II and net neutrality would be a tremendous mistake for our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-t-chambers/to-go-back-to-a-1950s-voice-mentality-with-title-ii-and-net/) [John T. Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-t-chambers/) > [My standpoint is armed neutrality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/my-standpoint-is-armed-neutrality/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Our impartiality is kept for abstract merit and demerit, which none of us ever saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/our-impartiality-is-kept-for-abstract-merit-and-demerit-which-none-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Power doesn't corrupt. It's neutral. Someone always wants to corrupt power. It's the way a shotgun is not a deadly weapon until someone chooses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ditko/power-doesn-t-corrupt-it-s-neutral-someone-always-wants-to-corrupt/) [Steve Ditko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ditko/) > [Net neutrality isn't a government takeover of the Internet, as many of my Republican colleagues have alleged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/net-neutrality-isn-t-a-government-takeover-of-the-internet-as-many-of/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [The current FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler, is highly regarded, but some distrust him because he is the former head lobbyist of both the cable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/the-current-fcc-chairman-tom-wheeler-is-highly-regarded-but-some/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [Charter hired me - which, to be honest, took some humility on its part, since I have helped lead public campaigns against cable companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-ammori/charter-hired-me-which-to-be-honest-took-some-humility-on-its-part/) [Marvin Ammori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-ammori/) > [“I hate neutrality becouse is the worst thing that ever happened”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamzatribah/i-hate-neutrality-becouse-is-the-worst-thing-that-ever-happened/) [Hamzatribah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamzatribah/) > [Unless your government is respectable, foreigners will invade your rights; and to maintain tranquillity you must be respectable; even to observe neutrality you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/unless-your-government-is-respectable-foreigners-will-invade-your/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/in-every-encounter-we-either-give-life-or-we-drain-it-there-is-no/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) [Browse all 275 Neutrality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neutrality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. 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