--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We hoped against hope that what we had…" description: "\"We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was enough to prevent a riot. It was not enough.\" — Jerome Cavanagh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/jerome-cavanagh-76583_afterlife_we-hoped-against-hope-that-what-we-had-b_2504286.png" --- # We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was… ![“We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was enough to prevent a riot. It was not enough.” quote by Jerome Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/jerome-cavanagh-76583_afterlife_we-hoped-against-hope-that-what-we-had-b_2504286.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/jerome-cavanagh-76583_afterlife_we-hoped-against-hope-that-what-we-had-b_2504286.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/jerome-cavanagh-76583_afterlife_we-hoped-against-hope-that-what-we-had-b_2504286.png) > “We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was enough to prevent a riot. It was not enough.” [Jerome Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-cavanagh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits that their attempts to prevent a riot were insufficient, highlighting the limits of hope and the need for more effective action. **In simple terms:** Hope alone didn't stop the riot. Key Takeaway Hope is insufficient without concrete measures. Themes hope failure social unrest Mood cautious realistic Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - public safety planning - community outreach - policy making Key Concepts risk assessment preventive strategies Questions to Reflect On - What concrete steps could have been taken? - How does hope influence decision‑making in crises? A Different Perspective It may underestimate structural causes of unrest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hoped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoped/) [Hoped Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hoped-hope-997542/) [Prevent Riot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevent-riot-1091706/) [Riot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riot/) ## Related quotes > [“She had hoped. And hope broke more hearts than any man ever could.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/she-had-hoped-and-hope-broke-more-hearts-than-any-man-ever-could/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [“Memory is for what is hoped; hope is for what is remembered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-keen/memory-is-for-what-is-hoped-hope-is-for-what-is-remembered/) [Craig Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-keen/) > [“...hope is never wasted. Even if what I hoped for did not come to fruition as I had imagined, as I had hoped. Hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-brenner/hope-is-never-wasted-even-if-what-i-hoped-for-did-not-come-to/) [Natalie Brenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-brenner/) > [“He hoped wherever he was going that there'd still be the sun and the moon and the stars. He'd spent a majority of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/he-hoped-wherever-he-was-going-that-there-d-still-be-the-sun-and-the/) [T.J. Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/) > [Jerry and I hoped that it would be a popular bestseller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/jerry-and-i-hoped-that-it-would-be-a-popular-bestseller/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [I had hoped you would protest, but please don't argue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lotte-lehmann/i-had-hoped-you-would-protest-but-please-don-t-argue/) [Lotte Lehmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lotte-lehmann/) > [It's my firm conclusion that human meaning comes from humans, not from a supernatural source. After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“Go find someone who will care for ye good, to sit quiet by yore side at the fire, an' if he treats ye decent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-jacques/go-find-someone-who-will-care-for-ye-good-to-sit-quiet-by-yore-side/) [Brian Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-jacques/) > [Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/nothing-you-write-if-you-hope-to-be-good-will-ever-come-out-as-you/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [“I hoped his last sensation was the euphoria. The peace. The love. I had to believe it was the love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-hoped-his-last-sensation-was-the-euphoria-the-peace-the-love-i-had/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [“I hoped he was right. I’d never heard of a university refusing money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-hoped-he-was-right-i-d-never-heard-of-a-university-refusing-money/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [My parents prepared me for the worst, hoped for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darci-lynne-farmer/my-parents-prepared-me-for-the-worst-hoped-for-the-best/) [Darci Lynne Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darci-lynne-farmer/) > [“At the bottom of her heart, however, she was waiting for something to happen. Like shipwrecked sailors, she turned despairing eyes upon the solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/at-the-bottom-of-her-heart-however-she-was-waiting-for-something-to/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [My intent was to gain experience for fiction I eventually hoped to write. But there's no question I was drawn in by the hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-intent-was-to-gain-experience-for-fiction-i-eventually-hoped-to/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [Everything that I have ever hoped to accomplish, she has done and done better than anyone I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/everything-that-i-have-ever-hoped-to-accomplish-she-has-done-and-done/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) ## More by Jerome Cavanagh > [He played football too long without a helmet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-cavanagh/he-played-football-too-long-without-a-helmet/) [Jerome Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-cavanagh/) > [What will it profit this country if we... put our man on the Moon by 1970 and at the same time you can't walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-cavanagh/what-will-it-profit-this-country-if-we-put-our-man-on-the-moon-by/) [Jerome Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-cavanagh/) [Explore all 3 Jerome Cavanagh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-cavanagh/) ## More Afterlife quotes > [I don't believe in an afterlife. 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After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We hoped against hope that what we had been doing was enough to prevent a riot. 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