--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing we can do about the…" description: "\"There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.\" — Ida B. Wells" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/ida-b-wells-16137_arms_there-is-nothing-we-can-do-about-the-lyn_162838.jpg" --- # There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we… ![“There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.” quote by Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/ida-b-wells-16137_arms_there-is-nothing-we-can-do-about-the-lyn_162838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/ida-b-wells-16137_arms_there-is-nothing-we-can-do-about-the-lyn_162838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/ida-b-wells-16137_arms_there-is-nothing-we-can-do-about-the-lyn_162838.jpg) > “There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.” [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In the face of overwhelming oppression and lack of weapons, immediate action against lynching seems impossible. **In simple terms:** Powerlessness hinders direct resistance. Key Takeaway Seek alternative forms of resistance. Themes justice oppression powerlessness Mood determined somber Type historical activist When to use this quote - legal advocacy - education campaigns - community organizing Key Concepts civil rights historical trauma activism Questions to Reflect On - What non‑violent strategies can confront such injustice? - How can marginalized groups gain influence? A Different Perspective Violence may be necessary for change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lynching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lynching/) [Numbered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbered/) ## Related quotes > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Lynching is color line murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/lynching-is-color-line-murder/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/although-lynchings-have-steadily-increased-in-number-and-barbarity/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Thus lynch law held sway in the far West until civilization spread into the Territories and the orderly processes of law took its place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/thus-lynch-law-held-sway-in-the-far-west-until-civilization-spread/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Our country's national crime is lynching. It is not the creature of an hour, the sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury, or the unspeakable brutality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/our-country-s-national-crime-is-lynching-it-is-not-the-creature-of-an/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I am only a mouthpiece through which to tell the story of lynching and I have told it so often that I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-am-only-a-mouthpiece-through-which-to-tell-the-story-of-lynching/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I am writing a book. So far I have the pages numbered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-am-writing-a-book-so-far-i-have-the-pages-numbered/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Why are our days numbered and not, say, lettered?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/why-are-our-days-numbered-and-not-say-lettered/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I've worked on all sorts of things, like the sci-fi stuff for Vin Diesel, where the script is numbered and is in unphotocopy-able colours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-feore/i-ve-worked-on-all-sorts-of-things-like-the-sci-fi-stuff-for-vin/) [Colm Feore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-feore/) > [The holes are numbered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/the-holes-are-numbered/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [“Why do I go outside at one a.m. and search the stars as though I'd numbered them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-white/why-do-i-go-outside-at-one-a-m-and-search-the-stars-as-though-i-d/) Gail White > [The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/the-days-of-our-lives-for-all-of-us-are-numbered/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [The birth of the Savior into mortality is an event of immeasurable significance that occurred almost 2,000 years ago. In much of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-birth-of-the-savior-into-mortality-is-an-event-of-immeasurable/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [“If you, therefore, must be numbered among the great, you too must run for your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-therefore-must-be-numbered-among-the-great-you-too-must-run/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I do worry that the days of the physical paper are seriously numbered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/i-do-worry-that-the-days-of-the-physical-paper-are-seriously-numbered/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) ## More by Ida B. Wells > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The white man’s victory soon became complete by fraud, violence, intimidation and murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-white-man-s-victory-soon-became-complete-by-fraud-violence/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Lynching is color line murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/lynching-is-color-line-murder/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/although-lynchings-have-steadily-increased-in-number-and-barbarity/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [In slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/in-slave-times-the-negro-was-kept-subservient-and-submissive-by-the/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The appeal to the white man's pocket has ever been more effectual than all the appeals ever made to his conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-appeal-to-the-white-man-s-pocket-has-ever-been-more-effectual/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-people-must-know-before-they-can-act-and-there-is-no-educator-to/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this work can contribute in any way towards proving this, and at the same time arouse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-afro-american-is-not-a-bestial-race-if-this-work-can-contribute/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I had an instinctive feeling that the people who have little or no school training should have something coming into their homes weekly which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-had-an-instinctive-feeling-that-the-people-who-have-little-or-no/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Thus lynch law held sway in the far West until civilization spread into the Territories and the orderly processes of law took its place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/thus-lynch-law-held-sway-in-the-far-west-until-civilization-spread/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Virtue knows no color line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/virtue-knows-no-color-line/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The doors of churches, hotels, concert halls and reading rooms are alike closed against the Negro as a man, but every place is open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-doors-of-churches-hotels-concert-halls-and-reading-rooms-are/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [The alleged menace of universal suffrage having been avoided by the absolute suppression of the negro vote, the spirit of mob murder should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-alleged-menace-of-universal-suffrage-having-been-avoided-by-the/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [I am only a mouthpiece through which to tell the story of lynching and I have told it so often that I know it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/i-am-only-a-mouthpiece-through-which-to-tell-the-story-of-lynching/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Our country's national crime is lynching. It is not the creature of an hour, the sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury, or the unspeakable brutality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/our-country-s-national-crime-is-lynching-it-is-not-the-creature-of-an/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) [Explore all 40 Ida B. Wells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ida B. 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