--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That force - which the system tried to…" description: "\"That force - which the system tried to laugh at - when it finally broke through and the movement was recognized, the media said they were \"just a bunch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/haskell-wexler-18987_broke_that-force-which-the-system-tried-to-lau_1882249.jpg" --- # That force - which the system tried to laugh at - when it… ![“That force - which the system tried to laugh at - when it finally broke through and the movement was recognized, the media said they were "just a bunch of spoiled kids, dope smokers [who] don't know what the hell they want." To demean it as something laughable - but that didn't work for very long…” quote by Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/haskell-wexler-18987_broke_that-force-which-the-system-tried-to-lau_1882249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/haskell-wexler-18987_broke_that-force-which-the-system-tried-to-lau_1882249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/haskell-wexler-18987_broke_that-force-which-the-system-tried-to-lau_1882249.jpg) > “That force - which the system tried to laugh at - when it finally broke through and the movement was recognized, the media said they were "just a bunch of spoiled kids, dope smokers \[who\] don't know what the hell they want." To demean it as something laughable - but that didn't work for very long. It's still an ongoing struggle; they're trying to find out how to fight. It's very exciting times.” [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The system mocked a rebellious movement, labeling its members as spoiled, but the movement persisted and sought ways to resist, indicating ongoing struggle and excitement. **In simple terms:** People tried to dismiss a protest, yet it kept fighting and growing. Key Takeaway Recognize and support genuine activism. Themes activism media perception resistance youth culture social change Mood defiant hopeful urgent Type inspirational political When to use this quote - protest planning - community organizing - media strategy - public speaking Key Concepts identity formation collective action media framing social movements Questions to Reflect On - How can marginalized groups shape their own narrative? - What strategies help sustain activist momentum? A Different Perspective Media often oversimplifies complex movements, risking misrepresentation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke/) [Broke Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke-movement-2664786/) [Bunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bunch/) [Dope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dope/) [Dope Smokers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dope-smokers-2664783/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Force Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force-tried-2664785/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Laughable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughable/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Movement Recognized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement-recognized-2664784/) [Ongoing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ongoing/) [Ongoing Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ongoing-struggle-2331627/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Smokers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smokers/) [Spoiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spoiled/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [In me, speaking psychologically, there is always an ongoing struggle between my enormously self-regarding, almost delusionally aspirational, Napoleonic personality and a marginalized one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/in-me-speaking-psychologically-there-is-always-an-ongoing-struggle/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [There's always been an ongoing struggle between commerce and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-schlamme/there-s-always-been-an-ongoing-struggle-between-commerce-and-art/) [Thomas Schlamme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-schlamme/) > [It was an ongoing struggle to say no, I don't want to be a part of the perpetuation of this stereotype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amos/it-was-an-ongoing-struggle-to-say-no-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-part-of-the/) [John Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amos/) > [Small actions are at the heart of kaizen. 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But isn't it? That's what separates us from the animals. We laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/comedy-exists-to-laugh-at-things-that-aren-t-laughable-but-isn-t-it/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [A good laugh is a mighty good thing, a rather too scarce a good thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/a-good-laugh-is-a-mighty-good-thing-a-rather-too-scarce-a-good-thing/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [The idea that money is corrupting innocent politicians would be laughable if it did not lead to such dangerous legislation...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-idea-that-money-is-corrupting-innocent-politicians-would-be/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/men-show-their-characters-in-nothing-more-clearly-than-in-what-they/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [What's really interesting about that is that a lot of these words that were incendiary in their time now seem almost harmless and laughable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kaufman/what-s-really-interesting-about-that-is-that-a-lot-of-these-words/) [Philip Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kaufman/) > [“What is so often laughable, in the stories of Kundera's Czechoslovakia, is how grimly serious just about everything turns out to be, jokes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-so-often-laughable-in-the-stories-of-kundera-s-czechoslovakia/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Batroc is a laughable character. I'm the one who always makes fun of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeph-loeb/batroc-is-a-laughable-character-i-m-the-one-who-always-makes-fun-of/) [Jeph Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeph-loeb/) > [Even Jesus Christ cannot conduct a free and fair election in Nigeria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olusegun-obasanjo/even-jesus-christ-cannot-conduct-a-free-and-fair-election-in-nigeria/) [Olusegun Obasanjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olusegun-obasanjo/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) ## More by Haskell Wexler > [From my image of digging around in the mud like a grunt, I preferred fighting the war from ships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/from-my-image-of-digging-around-in-the-mud-like-a-grunt-i-preferred/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [I used it in a shot where Richard Burton goes down the hall to get a gun in a closet. And I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-used-it-in-a-shot-where-richard-burton-goes-down-the-hall-to-get-a/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [I was shooting all this time. And there was only one guy who helped to pull him. And I had to think whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-was-shooting-all-this-time-and-there-was-only-one-guy-who-helped-to/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [Lighting was very primitive. And still it was really the way to learn because sometimes some of the modern technology is so extreme and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/lighting-was-very-primitive-and-still-it-was-really-the-way-to-learn/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [I rationalize out, well, how much help could you really be, you know? And maybe if people saw this, they'd realize the brutality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-rationalize-out-well-how-much-help-could-you-really-be-you-know-and/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [When I search myself carefully I do think it's from my mother. I even feel strange saying that. Most people, I believe, when they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/when-i-search-myself-carefully-i-do-think-it-s-from-my-mother-i-even/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [The helicopter was a U.S. Navy helicopter. There were no civilian helicopters available to film companies, so they just made some stuff out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/the-helicopter-was-a-u-s-navy-helicopter-there-were-no-civilian/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [There was no actually stock footage in "Medium Cool." I wrote the script. I wrote the riots. And I integrated the actors in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/there-was-no-actually-stock-footage-in-medium-cool-i-wrote-the-script/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [Well, of course the general idea was dreamed up by the advertising agency and so my job was to realize that. And we down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/well-of-course-the-general-idea-was-dreamed-up-by-the-advertising/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [Now, I have to - in my defense, I have the say that general knowledge of the deadly nature of cigarettes was not primarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/now-i-have-to-in-my-defense-i-have-the-say-that-general-knowledge-of/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [There is a very particular feeling I get when I have the camera in my hand, looking at an actor talk, knowing that what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/there-is-a-very-particular-feeling-i-get-when-i-have-the-camera-in-my/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [Well, there is a contradiction in a sense. If you're making commercials which sell products which are unhealthy or which are unnecessary, I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/well-there-is-a-contradiction-in-a-sense-if-you-re-making-commercials/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [My mother let me know that we're all connected. If some of us become more affluent it's not because we're better or even smarter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/my-mother-let-me-know-that-we-re-all-connected-if-some-of-us-become/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [When I was in Vietnam with Jane Fonda, I was shooting a farmer in a field - just a pastoral scene. And while I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/when-i-was-in-vietnam-with-jane-fonda-i-was-shooting-a-farmer-in-a/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [I felt that that experience, because of the responsible nature that I found I acted all during that traumatic time, that I felt that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-felt-that-that-experience-because-of-the-responsible-nature-that-i/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) [Explore all 33 Haskell Wexler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) ## More Broke quotes > [I rap when I'm rich. I rap when I'm broke. I rap when I'm bullshit in the street. I rap about only having one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/killer-mike/i-rap-when-i-m-rich-i-rap-when-i-m-broke-i-rap-when-i-m-bullshit-in/) [Killer Mike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/killer-mike/) > [At least I'm not a celebrity and if I was, the whole world would have known that I broke up with my girlfriend last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/at-least-i-m-not-a-celebrity-and-if-i-was-the-whole-world-would-have/) [Simphiwe Scientist Dumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe-scientist-dumi/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [Nothing is really broke, so it's not like I can fix it. 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Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) [Browse all 2,091 Broke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broke/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That force - which the system tried to laugh at - when it finally broke through and the movement was recognized, the media said they were \"just a bunch of spoiled kids, dope smokers [who] don't know what the hell they want.\" To demean it as something laughable - but that didn't work for very long. It's still an ongoing struggle; they're trying to find out how to fight. 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