--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I see policemen on horses galloping…" description: "\"“I see policemen on horses galloping through the crowd, and hitting people. While I'm just taking this in, I am spun around and hit, on the side of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg" --- # I see policemen on horses galloping through the crowd, and… ![“I see policemen on horses galloping through the crowd, and hitting people. While I'm just taking this in, I am spun around and hit, on the side of the head, and knocked out. It had suddenly come home to me that, hey, I guess the police are not neutral. I guess the government is not neutral…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg) > ““I see policemen on horses galloping through the crowd, and hitting people. While I'm just taking this in, I am spun around and hit, on the side of the head, and knocked out. It had suddenly come home to me that, hey, I guess the police are not neutral. I guess the government is not neutral. . . . It was a turning point in my political consciousness.”” [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. A violent police encounter shattered the narrator’s belief in neutrality, sparking political awakening. **In simple terms:** Police are not neutral; personal experience can trigger activism. Key Takeaway Question authority and seek justice. Themes politics justice police awakening activism Mood defiant inspired Type historical activist When to use this quote - protests - community organizing - legal reform - education - media analysis Key Concepts critical theory social movements personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - How do personal traumas shape political views? - What steps can individuals take after such realizations? A Different Perspective May generalize a single event to all law enforcement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Turning point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-point/) ## Related quotes > [“Remember, the police are neutral - they hate everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard-2/remember-the-police-are-neutral-they-hate-everybody/) [J.G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard-2/) > [The role of the federal government should be neutral toward culture just as it is toward religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preston-manning/the-role-of-the-federal-government-should-be-neutral-toward-culture/) [Preston Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preston-manning/) > [If God is sovereign, then it is impossible for civil government to be neutral on issues of law. All law is based in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/if-god-is-sovereign-then-it-is-impossible-for-civil-government-to-be/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) > [We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by expanding themWe should take our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-liberties-as-some-of-our/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“He firmly pulled her body against his and he brushed her lips with his. Staring into her eyes, he lightly slid his tongue across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laney-smith/he-firmly-pulled-her-body-against-his-and-he-brushed-her-lips-with/) Laney Smith > [One policeman may be a friend, but two are the Law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-allingham/one-policeman-may-be-a-friend-but-two-are-the-law/) [Margery Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-allingham/) > [I have never paid a policeman myself. I have never sanctioned, knowingly sanctioned, a payment to a police officer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebekah-brooks/i-have-never-paid-a-policeman-myself-i-have-never-sanctioned/) [Rebekah Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebekah-brooks/) > [I know the police cause you trouble They cause trouble everywhere But when you die and go to heaven You find no policeman there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-guthrie/i-know-the-police-cause-you-trouble-they-cause-trouble-everywhere-but/) [Woody Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-guthrie/) > [Policemen, like red squirrels, must be protected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-orton/policemen-like-red-squirrels-must-be-protected/) [Joe Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-orton/) > [TV is a huge draw. It's a magnet. Even when I was a policeman, if I was on a police scene and the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-springer/tv-is-a-huge-draw-it-s-a-magnet-even-when-i-was-a-policeman-if-i-was/) [Jerry Springer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-springer/) > [“Police not enforcing laws results in a high crime rate that is formally reported as a low crime rate in police statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-not-enforcing-laws-results-in-a-high-crime-rate-that-is/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Some of my best sources are ex-policemen, just to get a feeling of what it's like to be one. And it's quite different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/some-of-my-best-sources-are-ex-policemen-just-to-get-a-feeling-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The policeman on the beat or in the patrol car makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-policeman-on-the-beat-or-in-the-patrol-car-makes-more-decisions/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) > [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) ## 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 Police quotes > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. We just have to revoke the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-johnson/in-the-battle-for-police-reform-accountability-and-justice-americans/) [Jason Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-johnson/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [It's very hard to be a kid, especially in a predominantly white school or white town where other people want to police your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-lelia-bundles/it-s-very-hard-to-be-a-kid-especially-in-a-predominantly-white-school/) [A'Lelia Bundles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-lelia-bundles/) > [“The police ultimately pay the price for poor customer service when citizens become fearful of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-police-ultimately-pay-the-price-for-poor-customer-service-when/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) > [When I get bored I say fck the police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-get-bored-i-say-fck-the-police/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [If legislators come to believe that police power is an ever-present constitutional trump card they can play whenever it suits them, overreaching is inexorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-willett/if-legislators-come-to-believe-that-police-power-is-an-ever-present/) [Don Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-willett/) > [I think the only thing that's really going to make a change in terms of how we feel as citizens in terms of safety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chance-the-rapper/i-think-the-only-thing-that-s-really-going-to-make-a-change-in-terms/) [Chance The Rapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chance-the-rapper/) > [“police cars, but since he was driving”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-cole/police-cars-but-since-he-was-driving/) [Bobby Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-cole/) > [You build the bonds through the community and police force, build bonds of understanding, and then when people feel comfortable in their communities, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/you-build-the-bonds-through-the-community-and-police-force-build/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [“Sam’s eyes wandered up to the camera again. “Are we being recorded?” “Yes.” “Who’s watching us right now?” The detective sighed. “A couple of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hillier/sam-s-eyes-wandered-up-to-the-camera-again-are-we-being-recorded-yes/) [Jennifer Hillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hillier/) > [Being a woman, we talk about equal pay all the time. We're not talking about if you're black or if you are Latina. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-rapinoe/being-a-woman-we-talk-about-equal-pay-all-the-time-we-re-not-talking/) [Megan Rapinoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-rapinoe/) [Browse all 3,520 Police quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I see policemen on horses galloping through the crowd, and hitting people. While I'm just taking this in, I am spun around and hit, on the side of the head, and knocked out. It had suddenly come home to me that, hey, I guess the police are not neutral. I guess the government is not neutral. . . . It was a turning point in my political consciousness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-through-the-crowd-and-hitting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Police" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-through-the-crowd-and-hitting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/610/howard-zinn-576_turning-point_i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-thro_233535.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I see policemen on horses galloping through the crowd, and hitting people. While I'm just taking this in, I…” — Howard Zinn", "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": "Howard Zinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I see policemen on horses galloping...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-through-the-crowd-and-hitting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-see-policemen-on-horses-galloping-through-the-crowd-and-hitting/#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 } } ] } ```