--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If America oppresses, why do so many…" description: "\"If America oppresses, why do so many people risk their lives coming here to be oppressed?\" — Greg Gutfeld" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png" --- # If America oppresses, why do so many people risk their… ![“If America oppresses, why do so many people risk their lives coming here to be oppressed?” quote by Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png) > “If America oppresses, why do so many people risk their lives coming here to be oppressed?” [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the paradox of seeking freedom in a nation perceived as oppressive, questioning motivations and systemic issues. **In simple terms:** People risk oppression for hope of better life. Key Takeaway Examine why people pursue risky opportunities. Themes immigration paradox hope risk Mood reflective critical inquisitive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - seeking asylum - economic opportunity - family reunification - political refuge Key Concepts political economy human rights migration theory Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to risk oppression for potential freedom? - How do perceptions of oppression differ among migrants? A Different Perspective Overlooks that many view America as a land of opportunity despite flaws. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) ## Related quotes > [One who, while seeking happiness, oppresses with violence other living beings who also desire happinesss, will not find happiness hereafter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/one-who-while-seeking-happiness-oppresses-with-violence-other-living/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [ In Cuba, His Holiness \[Pope Francis\] won't find a government that protects its people and their God-given rights. Instead, he will find a regime… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/in-cuba-his-holiness-pope-francis-won-t-find-a-government-that/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Do not imagine you can exorcise what oppresses you in life by giving vent to it in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-imagine-you-can-exorcise-what-oppresses-you-in-life-by-giving/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When I was in South Korea, the books that I read about Americans were actually Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama. If this country actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/park-yeon-mi/when-i-was-in-south-korea-the-books-that-i-read-about-americans-were/) [Park Yeon-mi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/park-yeon-mi/) > [Thank God when he oppresses you, and again when he releases you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/thank-god-when-he-oppresses-you-and-again-when-he-releases-you/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Those tears, that anger, cast into the past, deplete our moral energy for the present. And the lines are not always clear. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/those-tears-that-anger-cast-into-the-past-deplete-our-moral-energy/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [When you enter into a struggle, and you genuinely believe in what you are doing, and you live under injustice, and you live under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bennett/when-you-enter-into-a-struggle-and-you-genuinely-believe-in-what-you/) [Roy Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bennett/) > [Something happened during the 1980s - perhaps the political climate of that time - that caused me to ask how a people would become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/something-happened-during-the-1980s-perhaps-the-political-climate-of/) [Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/) > [Solitude desolates me; company oppresses me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/solitude-desolates-me-company-oppresses-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [An artist, in my understanding of the word, should side with the people against the Emperor that oppresses his or her people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/an-artist-in-my-understanding-of-the-word-should-side-with-the-people/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Poor and afflicted and oppressed people have faces, and we are required to look squarely into them. We can't love what we won't experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mairs/poor-and-afflicted-and-oppressed-people-have-faces-and-we-are/) [Nancy Mairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mairs/) > [The oppressed martyrs of our culture have shed blood that nourish the red tulips of our nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmud-tarzi/the-oppressed-martyrs-of-our-culture-have-shed-blood-that-nourish-the/) Mahmud Tarzi > [There remains an experience of incomparable value . . . to see the great events of world history from below; from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-remains-an-experience-of-incomparable-value-to-see-the-great/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) ## More by Greg Gutfeld > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [America is like the greatest hit of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/america-is-like-the-greatest-hit-of-the-world/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [What begins as a Utopian vision, always - always - ends in bloodshed. Because you have to force a utopia on a free people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/what-begins-as-a-utopian-vision-always-always-ends-in-bloodshed/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [“Politics is way cool, as long as it’s progressive. Conservatives by nature hate politics and politicians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/politics-is-way-cool-as-long-as-it-s-progressive-conservatives-by/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I haven't used that word since I was 7 years old. I don't understand Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-haven-t-used-that-word-since-i-was-7-years-old-i-don-t-understand/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I don't understand why a 40 is a quarter of beer when a 40 is 40 ounces. It's time to embrace the metric system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-don-t-understand-why-a-40-is-a-quarter-of-beer-when-a-40-is-40/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [At a certain point, we need to figure out how to reward those who choose a path that offers, often, almost no reward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/at-a-certain-point-we-need-to-figure-out-how-to-reward-those-who/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [There's always something heroic and romantic about taking a stand against the powers that be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/there-s-always-something-heroic-and-romantic-about-taking-a-stand/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [How odd that the proponents of free expression think 'free' only applies to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/how-odd-that-the-proponents-of-free-expression-think-free-only/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [“separately.) The truth is that conservatives do have the cool message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/separately-the-truth-is-that-conservatives-do-have-the-cool-message/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [You can't get more racist than hating black conservatives just because they're black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/you-can-t-get-more-racist-than-hating-black-conservatives-just/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [When one becomes a liberal, he or she pretends to advocate tolerance, equality and peace, but hilariously, they’re doing so for purely selfish reasons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/when-one-becomes-a-liberal-he-or-she-pretends-to-advocate-tolerance/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I have to say that Adam Levine is truly a daring young man to go on Twitter to bash Fox News. He's so rebellious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-have-to-say-that-adam-levine-is-truly-a-daring-young-man-to-go-on/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Actors seem brave and unpredictable, but they're spontaneous as a tax return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/actors-seem-brave-and-unpredictable-but-they-re-spontaneous-as-a-tax/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Al Gore completely lied about climate change in an effort to make a lot of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/al-gore-completely-lied-about-climate-change-in-an-effort-to-make-a/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) [Explore all 286 Greg Gutfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If America oppresses, why do so many people risk their lives coming here to be oppressed?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Greg Gutfeld" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-people-risk-their-lives-coming/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-people-risk-their-lives-coming/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/greg-gutfeld-1129_america_if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-peop_432943.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If America oppresses, why do so many people risk their lives coming here to be oppressed?” — Greg Gutfeld", "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": "Greg Gutfeld", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If America oppresses, why do so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-people-risk-their-lives-coming/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/if-america-oppresses-why-do-so-many-people-risk-their-lives-coming/#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 } } ] } ```