--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must stop being polite and behaved…" description: "\"We must stop being polite and behaved, and find new inventive tactics to shift the paradigm. We are the majority.\" — Eve Ensler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/eve-ensler-1402_being-polite_we-must-stop-being-polite-and-behaved-an_1858278.jpg" --- # We must stop being polite and behaved, and find new… ![“We must stop being polite and behaved, and find new inventive tactics to shift the paradigm. We are the majority.” quote by Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/eve-ensler-1402_being-polite_we-must-stop-being-polite-and-behaved-an_1858278.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/eve-ensler-1402_being-polite_we-must-stop-being-polite-and-behaved-an_1858278.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c26/eve-ensler-1402_being-polite_we-must-stop-being-polite-and-behaved-an_1858278.jpg) > “We must stop being polite and behaved, and find new inventive tactics to shift the paradigm. We are the majority.” [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Calls for bold, creative strategies to change societal norms, urging collective action beyond polite conformity. **In simple terms:** Be bold, change norms. Key Takeaway Use inventive tactics. Themes social change activism collective power Mood determined urgent Type activist inspirational When to use this quote - political campaigns - grassroots movements - media activism Key Concepts paradigm shift innovation Questions to Reflect On - What new tactics could you try? - How to keep unity while disrupting norms? A Different Perspective Risk of alienating allies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-polite/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Paradigm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigm/) [Paradigm Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigm-majority-2484007/) [Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polite/) [Polite Behaved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polite-behaved-2484008/) [Shift Paradigm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shift-paradigm-493202/) [Stop Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-polite-2171538/) [Tactics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tactics/) ## Related quotes > [Women have got to stop being polite. If I ever had children, which I don't, the first thing I'd teach a girl of mine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/women-have-got-to-stop-being-polite-if-i-ever-had-children-which-i/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [You have to choose love ... in the most difficult of time to shift the paradigm to that which is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/you-have-to-choose-love-in-the-most-difficult-of-time-to-shift-the/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Have we failed to slow global warming pollution in part because climate and environmental activists have been too polite and well behaved?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/have-we-failed-to-slow-global-warming-pollution-in-part-because/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) > [“Finding that one person,” he added, touching her hand to bring her gaze back to him, “it’s a shift of paradigm that changes everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-w-hill/finding-that-one-person-he-added-touching-her-hand-to-bring-her-gaze/) [Joey W. Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-w-hill/) > [We must demilitarize the police. To do this, we must shift the paradigm of public safety, at home and abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/we-must-demilitarize-the-police-to-do-this-we-must-shift-the-paradigm/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [“Psy is the paradigm shift within the paradigm shift. And his life and bewildering rise to fame are an embodiment of the changes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euny-hong/psy-is-the-paradigm-shift-within-the-paradigm-shift-and-his-life-and/) [Euny Hong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euny-hong/) > [“Parenting has no guide book; we come to it with what came at us. It's only the conscious mind that can shift the paradigm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-sagal/parenting-has-no-guide-book-we-come-to-it-with-what-came-at-us-it-s/) [Katey Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-sagal/) > [Good is towing the line, being behaved, being quiet, being passive, fitting in, being liked, and great is being messy, having a belly, speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/good-is-towing-the-line-being-behaved-being-quiet-being-passive/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [There is a beautiful expression in Nicaragua: "struggle is the highest form of song". I love that. We are in the struggle. It's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/there-is-a-beautiful-expression-in-nicaragua-struggle-is-the-highest/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [We must recall the most important of humanity guidelines: Be polite. Being polite is possibly the greatest daily contribution everyone can make to life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/we-must-recall-the-most-important-of-humanity-guidelines-be-polite/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [The toughest thing about being a celebrity, I suppose, is being polite when I don't want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/the-toughest-thing-about-being-a-celebrity-i-suppose-is-being-polite/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [We're so concerned about being polite in society, and rightfully so, that it carries over onto a football team. But on a good football…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-frost/we-re-so-concerned-about-being-polite-in-society-and-rightfully-so/) [Scott Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-frost/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. Good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/lies-hold-civilization-together-if-people-ever-seriously-begin/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [Normally when people say they haven't decided, they're being polite but they're definitely not voting for you. I think it's different this time. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/normally-when-people-say-they-haven-t-decided-they-re-being-polite/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) ## More by Eve Ensler > [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. It seemed like the end of the world. Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-wrote-the-good-body-i-turned-40-and-suddenly-had-this-stomach/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cherish your solitude. Take trains by yourself to places you have never been. Sleep out alone under the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cherish-your-solitude-take-trains-by-yourself-to-places-you-have/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Why are women immobile? Because so many feel like they're waiting for someone to say, 'You're good, you're pretty, I give you permission'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/why-are-women-immobile-because-so-many-feel-like-they-re-waiting-for/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Terence McKenna says, "The culture is not your friend." I am not sure we can change this culture. But I think we can rise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/terence-mckenna-says-the-culture-is-not-your-friend-i-am-not-sure-we/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [What neo-capitalism does so brilliantly is that it's always subdividing and dividing, so that people are never able to be joined in their numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/what-neo-capitalism-does-so-brilliantly-is-that-it-s-always/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“De acordo com os congressistas, ouvir as experiências reais de mulheres vítimas de violência era diferente de ler as estatísticas de violência contra mulheres.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/de-acordo-com-os-congressistas-ouvir-as-experi-ncias-reais-de/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [The clitoris is pure in purpose. It is the only organ in the body designed purely for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-clitoris-is-pure-in-purpose-it-is-the-only-organ-in-the-body/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Anorexia was my attempt to have control over my body and manipulate my body and starve my body and shape my body. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/anorexia-was-my-attempt-to-have-control-over-my-body-and-manipulate/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I believe in irony. And if V-Day has taught me anything, it's that if you go out with artistic, outrageous irony and humor, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-believe-in-irony-and-if-v-day-has-taught-me-anything-it-s-that-if/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [People didn't feel so much shame around it and that they didn't feel so much humiliation around it. And the other thing that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/people-didn-t-feel-so-much-shame-around-it-and-that-they-didn-t-feel/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Cancer essentially lives in us and becomes activated at some point, and then cells begin to psychotically divide. Initially, the cancer cell looks like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/cancer-essentially-lives-in-us-and-becomes-activated-at-some-point/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Today the United States has the highest prison population in the world, over 2.1 million people. ... We lock people up at a rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/today-the-united-states-has-the-highest-prison-population-in-the/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) [Explore all 241 Eve Ensler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## More Being polite quotes > [Normally when people say they haven't decided, they're being polite but they're definitely not voting for you. I think it's different this time. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/normally-when-people-say-they-haven-t-decided-they-re-being-polite/) [David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/) > [Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-post/manners-are-a-sensitive-awareness-of-the-feelings-of-others/) [Emily Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-post/) > [Lies hold civilization together. If people ever seriously begin telling each other what they really think, there'd be no peace. Good-bye to tact. Good-bye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/lies-hold-civilization-together-if-people-ever-seriously-begin/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [We're so concerned about being polite in society, and rightfully so, that it carries over onto a football team. But on a good football…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-frost/we-re-so-concerned-about-being-polite-in-society-and-rightfully-so/) [Scott Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-frost/) > [The toughest thing about being a celebrity, I suppose, is being polite when I don't want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/the-toughest-thing-about-being-a-celebrity-i-suppose-is-being-polite/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [We must recall the most important of humanity guidelines: Be polite. Being polite is possibly the greatest daily contribution everyone can make to life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/we-must-recall-the-most-important-of-humanity-guidelines-be-polite/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [What have you done to my cat?" Magnus demanded... "You drank his blood, didn't you? You said you weren't hungry!" Simon was indignant. "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/what-have-you-done-to-my-cat-magnus-demanded-you-drank-his-blood-didn/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [A lot of our lives are about being polite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachelle-lefevre/a-lot-of-our-lives-are-about-being-polite/) [Rachelle Lefevre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachelle-lefevre/) > [You lose nothing by being polite. The answer is 'No', but please say it politely and give the reasons. ... Explain to me why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-lee/you-lose-nothing-by-being-polite-the-answer-is-no-but-please-say-it/) [Mr. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mr-lee/) > [After a while, being so honest and so vulnerable on the page ends up affecting my own kind of self possession in the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/after-a-while-being-so-honest-and-so-vulnerable-on-the-page-ends-up/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [Being polite to a person is not a sign of respect for them. It is merely a sign of a good upbringing and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/being-polite-to-a-person-is-not-a-sign-of-respect-for-them-it-is/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/children-are-natural-mimics-who-act-like-their-parents-despite-every/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Political correctness is what right-wing bigots call what everybody else calls being polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/political-correctness-is-what-right-wing-bigots-call-what-everybody/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Being polite is not only the right way to respond to people but also the easiest. Life is so filled with unavoidable conflict that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/being-polite-is-not-only-the-right-way-to-respond-to-people-but-also/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The trouble is, if you go too far towards being polite, the label that applies is "doormat".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/the-trouble-is-if-you-go-too-far-towards-being-polite-the-label-that/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) [Browse all 36 Being polite quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-polite/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must stop being polite and behaved, and find new inventive tactics to shift the paradigm. 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