--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you begin to suggest that dissent…" description: "\"When you begin to suggest that dissent, opposition, resistance, the only way to deal with it is not to listen to it and to engage in dialog with it, bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-giroux-945_anarchy_when-you-begin-to-suggest-that-dissent-o_473036.png" --- # When you begin to suggest that dissent, opposition… ![“When you begin to suggest that dissent, opposition, resistance, the only way to deal with it is not to listen to it and to engage in dialog with it, but basically to label it as anarchy and to repress it with the most violent, in the most violent means possible. I mean, that's essentially an…” quote by Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-giroux-945_anarchy_when-you-begin-to-suggest-that-dissent-o_473036.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-giroux-945_anarchy_when-you-begin-to-suggest-that-dissent-o_473036.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/henry-giroux-945_anarchy_when-you-begin-to-suggest-that-dissent-o_473036.png) > “When you begin to suggest that dissent, opposition, resistance, the only way to deal with it is not to listen to it and to engage in dialog with it, but basically to label it as anarchy and to repress it with the most violent, in the most violent means possible. I mean, that's essentially an element of neofascism. That's not about democracy.” [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement condemns labeling dissent as anarchy and suppressing it violently, equating such tactics with neofascism and a departure from democratic principles. **In simple terms:** Suppressing dissent with violence is anti‑democratic and akin to neofascism. Key Takeaway Protect free speech and dialogue. Themes democracy free speech authoritarianism political theory human rights Mood concerned analytical urgent Type political ethical When to use this quote - activism - policy making - education - media analysis Key Concepts political philosophy civil liberties social movements Questions to Reflect On - When is dissent a threat to society? - How can societies balance security and free expression? A Different Perspective It may simplify complex security concerns where dissent can be harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent/) [Dissent Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent-opposition-2904089/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Label Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/label-anarchy-4085150/) [Labels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labels/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Neofascism Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neofascism-democracy-4085148/) [Opposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposition/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Suggest Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggest-dissent-4085149/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Procedure is the bone structure of a democratic society. Our scheme of law affords great latitude for dissent and opposition. It compels wide tolerance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-fortas/procedure-is-the-bone-structure-of-a-democratic-society-our-scheme-of/) [Abe Fortas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-fortas/) > [Rejecting the notion that democracy and markets are the same, young people are calling for an end to the poverty, grotesque levels of economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/rejecting-the-notion-that-democracy-and-markets-are-the-same-young/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Of course, the new domestic paramilitary forces will also undermine free speech and dissent with the threat of force while simultaneously threatening core civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/of-course-the-new-domestic-paramilitary-forces-will-also-undermine/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [In any totalitarian society, dissent is viewed as a threat, civic literacy is denounced, and those public spheres that produce engage citizens are dismantled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/in-any-totalitarian-society-dissent-is-viewed-as-a-threat-civic/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The prevailing move in American society to a permanent war status does more than promote a set of unifying symbols that embrace a survival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-prevailing-move-in-american-society-to-a-permanent-war-status/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [In religion, it is not the sycophants or those who cling most faithfully to the status quo who are ultimately praised. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/in-religion-it-is-not-the-sycophants-or-those-who-cling-most/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lloyd-garrison/i-am-aware-that-many-object-to-the-severity-of-my-language-but-is/) [William Lloyd Garrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lloyd-garrison/) > [America was born of revolt, flourished in dissent, became great through experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/america-was-born-of-revolt-flourished-in-dissent-became-great-through/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [In America, you can segregate the people, but the problems will travel. From slavery to equal rights, from state suppression of dissent to crime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/in-america-you-can-segregate-the-people-but-the-problems-will-travel/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [It is dissent from government policies which defines the true Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/it-is-dissent-from-government-policies-which-defines-the-true-patriot/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The original crime of niggers and lesbians is that they prefer themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-original-crime-of-niggers-and-lesbians-is-that-they-prefer/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [I find myself frequently placed where I dare give neither assent nor dissent to propositions that are submitted to me; for there is danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/i-find-myself-frequently-placed-where-i-dare-give-neither-assent-nor/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [If you want to live a meaningfully better life, you're going to have to make the dangerous choice to dissent. A life lived meaningfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/if-you-want-to-live-a-meaningfully-better-life-you-re-going-to-have/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Henry Giroux > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [As politics is disconnected from its ethical and material moorings, it becomes easier to punish and imprison young people than to educate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/as-politics-is-disconnected-from-its-ethical-and-material-moorings-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [What must be addressed in the most immediate sense is the threat that the emerging police state in the United States poses not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/what-must-be-addressed-in-the-most-immediate-sense-is-the-threat-that/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Today's neoliberalism has a number of byproducts. We have massive forms of inequality developing because there are no longer any concessions. There's a war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/today-s-neoliberalism-has-a-number-of-byproducts-we-have-massive/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [At the start of the second decade of the 21st century, young people all over the world are demonstrating against a variety of issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/at-the-start-of-the-second-decade-of-the-21st-century-young-people/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [America is at war with itself because it's basically declared war not only on any sense of democratic idealism, but it's declared war on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/america-is-at-war-with-itself-because-it-s-basically-declared-war-not/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [All too often the worst thing that can happen to the young is to depoliticize them. When that happens, not only are young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/all-too-often-the-worst-thing-that-can-happen-to-the-young-is-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The generation of youth in the early 21st century has no way of grasping if they will ever be free from the gnawing sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-generation-of-youth-in-the-early-21st-century-has-no-way-of/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [History remains an open horizon that cannot be dismissed through appeals to the end of history or end of ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/history-remains-an-open-horizon-that-cannot-be-dismissed-through/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [I mean, we're not talking about simply racism, we're taking about white supremacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/i-mean-we-re-not-talking-about-simply-racism-we-re-taking-about-white/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Historical memory is a potent weapon in fighting against the desert of organized forgetting and implies a rethinking of the role that artists, intellectuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/historical-memory-is-a-potent-weapon-in-fighting-against-the-desert/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [The fight for education and justice is inseparable from the struggle for economic equality, human dignity and security, and the challenge of developing American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-fight-for-education-and-justice-is-inseparable-from-the-struggle/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [If the ongoing struggles waged by young people are to matter, demonstrations and protests must give way to more sustainable organizations that develop alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/if-the-ongoing-struggles-waged-by-young-people-are-to-matter/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Many conservatives see higher education as a threat to their reactionary and corporate oriented interests and would like to defund higher education, privatize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/many-conservatives-see-higher-education-as-a-threat-to-their/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Everyone is now a customer or client, and every relationship is ultimately judged in bottom-line, cost-effective terms. Freedom is no longer about equality, social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/everyone-is-now-a-customer-or-client-and-every-relationship-is/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) [Explore all 323 Henry Giroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More Anarchy quotes > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/) [Mitch Pileggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-pileggi/) > [“Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science and Bad Religion in a World Without God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/anarchy-evolution-faith-science-and-bad-religion-in-a-world-without/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [I think that if you run a big company, you've got to, four or five times a year, just say, 'Hey team, look, here's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/i-think-that-if-you-run-a-big-company-you-ve-got-to-four-or-five/) [Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/) > [Where you have no religion, you are sure to have no government, for as religion disappears, anarchy takes place and fixes a compleat Hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-morgan/where-you-have-no-religion-you-are-sure-to-have-no-government-for-as/) [Daniel Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-morgan/) > [What a comfort it is to feel that amid the chaos and anarchy which sweep the surface, God is holding fast the foundations on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/what-a-comfort-it-is-to-feel-that-amid-the-chaos-and-anarchy-which/) [F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [“twenty-three years of RFRAs to produce anarchy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/twenty-three-years-of-rfras-to-produce-anarchy/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 795 Anarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you begin to suggest that dissent, opposition, resistance, the only way to deal with it is not to listen to it and to engage in dialog with it, but basically to label it as anarchy and to repress it with the most violent, in the most violent means possible. 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