--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Law and justice are not always the same…" description: "\"Law and justice are not always the same. When they aren't, destroying the law may be the first step toward changing it.\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/gloria-steinem-277_destroying_law-and-justice-are-not-always-the-same_2599217.jpg" --- # Law and justice are not always the same. When they aren't… ![“Law and justice are not always the same. When they aren't, destroying the law may be the first step toward changing it.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/gloria-steinem-277_destroying_law-and-justice-are-not-always-the-same_2599217.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/gloria-steinem-277_destroying_law-and-justice-are-not-always-the-same_2599217.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/929/gloria-steinem-277_destroying_law-and-justice-are-not-always-the-same_2599217.jpg) > “Law and justice are not always the same. When they aren't, destroying the law may be the first step toward changing it.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When law and justice diverge, breaking the law can be a first step toward reform. **In simple terms:** Law may conflict with justice. Key Takeaway Challenge unjust laws. Themes justice law activism Mood determined inspirational Type activist philosophical When to use this quote - protests - legal reform - community organizing Key Concepts political theory civil disobedience Questions to Reflect On - When is breaking law justified? - What alternatives exist for change? A Different Perspective May ignore consequences of lawbreaking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [First step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-step/) [First steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-steps/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Law and justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-and-justice/) [Law Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law-justice/) [Laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws/) ## Related quotes > [Law and justice are not always the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/law-and-justice-are-not-always-the-same/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“there is very little connection between law and justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-masters/there-is-very-little-connection-between-law-and-justice/) [Alexander Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-masters/) > [Let the force of arms give place to law and justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-the-force-of-arms-give-place-to-law-and-justice/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I know a lot of law officers, and every single one of them faces a moment - usually after about three hours on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/i-know-a-lot-of-law-officers-and-every-single-one-of-them-faces-a/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [No one could, therefore, rely on the law, and justice no longer existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-waller/no-one-could-therefore-rely-on-the-law-and-justice-no-longer-existed/) William Waller > [But by this time I was acutely conscious of the gap between law and justice. I knew that the letter of the law was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/but-by-this-time-i-was-acutely-conscious-of-the-gap-between-law-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I liked discussion and debate and thought that these skills fit well with law. I also had an interest in justice - and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-h-greene/i-liked-discussion-and-debate-and-thought-that-these-skills-fit-well/) [Harold H. Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-h-greene/) > [Law and justice are from time to time inevitably in conflict ... . The jury ... adjusts the general rule of law to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-wigmore/law-and-justice-are-from-time-to-time-inevitably-in-conflict-the-jury/) [John Henry Wigmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-wigmore/) > [For man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all; since armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-man-when-perfected-is-the-best-of-animals-but-when-separated-from/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/man-when-perfected-is-the-best-of-animals-but-when-separated-from-law/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“I’ve come to recognize that questions of law and justice are at the same time questions of power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-ve-come-to-recognize-that-questions-of-law-and-justice-are-at-the/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [The choice between law and justice is an easy one for courageous minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-choice-between-law-and-justice-is-an-easy-one-for-courageous-minds/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [My friend said to me, 'You don't look good,' - because all the time I have to think about law and justice and courts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bikram-choudhury/my-friend-said-to-me-you-don-t-look-good-because-all-the-time-i-have/) [Bikram Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bikram-choudhury/) > [“Justice is like an invisible creature that flees before us. As long as we keep chasing it, we have it. It's the constant seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torgny-lindgren/justice-is-like-an-invisible-creature-that-flees-before-us-as-long-as/) [Torgny Lindgren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torgny-lindgren/) > [There are plenty of ways we can work together to improve the ACA, but destroying the law and leaving Americans at risk is unacceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacky-rosen/there-are-plenty-of-ways-we-can-work-together-to-improve-the-aca-but/) [Jacky Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacky-rosen/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Destroying quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Even if we are destroying this planet, we are playing our role perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/even-if-we-are-destroying-this-planet-we-are-playing-our-role/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [Love creates an "us" without destroying the "me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/love-creates-an-us-without-destroying-the-me/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) Browse all 983 Destroying quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Law and justice are not always the same. 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