--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A young woman: “As a white middle class…" description: "\"“A young woman: “As a white middle class person I’ve never felt discriminated against at all. But I’ll say this: If anyone ever tried to make me sit in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_justice_a-young-woman-as-a-white-middle-class-pe_2614305.jpg" --- # A young woman: “As a white middle class person I’ve never… ![“A young woman: “As a white middle class person I’ve never felt discriminated against at all. But I’ll say this: If anyone ever tried to make me sit in a different schoolroom, use a different bathroom, or anything like that, I would knock them right on their ass. . . . The people are the last ones…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_justice_a-young-woman-as-a-white-middle-class-pe_2614305.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_justice_a-young-woman-as-a-white-middle-class-pe_2614305.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ba/howard-zinn-576_justice_a-young-woman-as-a-white-middle-class-pe_2614305.jpg) > ““A young woman: “As a white middle class person I’ve never felt discriminated against at all. But I’ll say this: If anyone ever tried to make me sit in a different schoolroom, use a different bathroom, or anything like that, I would knock them right on their ass. . . . The people are the last ones that need their rights stated on paper, for if they’re abused or injusticed by government or authority, they can act on the injustice directly. . . . When you look at the . . . statements of rights and laws, it’s really government and authority and institutions and corporations that need laws and rights to insulate them from the physicality, the directness of the people.”” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that rights are needed to protect institutions, not just individuals, because people can directly confront injustice. **In simple terms:** Rights protect institutions more than individuals. Key Takeaway Focus on institutional accountability. Themes justice rights power institutional accountability Mood critical reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - community organizing - legal advocacy Key Concepts social contract civil disobedience Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can ensure institutions respect people’s rights? - How do you balance individual liberty with institutional protection? A Different Perspective Rights alone cannot stop personal prejudice or systemic bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Young woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-woman/) ## Related quotes > [ \[You have Rights\] antecedent to all earthly governments: Rights, that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; Rights, derived from the Great Legislator… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/you-have-rights-antecedent-to-all-earthly-governments-rights-that/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“In the Orwellian dystopia the original sin was thoughtcrime, but in our new corporate dystopia the secret inner crime is need, particularly financial need.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/in-the-orwellian-dystopia-the-original-sin-was-thoughtcrime-but-in/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of white men and do not apply to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-frances-berry/civil-rights-laws-were-not-passed-to-protect-the-rights-of-white-men/) [Mary Frances Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-frances-berry/) > [No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another; and this is all from which the laws ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/no-man-has-a-natural-right-to-commit-aggression-on-the-equal-rights/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“I know what science this has come to be. All rights and laws are still transmitted Like an eternal sickness of the race,— From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-know-what-science-this-has-come-to-be-all-rights-and-laws-are-still/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [If you only make fights that you're going to win, there would be no women's vote in America, there would be no civil rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/if-you-only-make-fights-that-you-re-going-to-win-there-would-be-no/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [“When people are forced to respect civil rights and human rights or face legal consequences, they don't like it. Civil rights laws will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-gandhi/when-people-are-forced-to-respect-civil-rights-and-human-rights-or/) [Arun Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-gandhi/) > [Jim Crow laws stripped blacks of basic rights. 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The AIDS orphans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/it-has-been-hard-to-muster-the-resources-to-support-fledgling/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [What truly gives me joy is when I get a letter from a young woman who says they saw a programme, then read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-worsley/what-truly-gives-me-joy-is-when-i-get-a-letter-from-a-young-woman-who/) [Lucy Worsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-worsley/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Whither have you been rambling so early?" said Madame Cheron, as her niece entered the breakfast-room. "I don't approve of these solitary walks;" and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-parsons/whither-have-you-been-rambling-so-early-said-madame-cheron-as-her/) [Eliza Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-parsons/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More Justice quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. 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