--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Larry Kramer] got really mad at me once…" description: "\"[Larry Kramer] got really mad at me once. The precipitating incident was a speech at Yale by the first President Bush's Secretary of Heath and Human Se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg" --- # \[Larry Kramer\] got really mad at me once. The… ![“[Larry Kramer] got really mad at me once. The precipitating incident was a speech at Yale by the first President Bush's Secretary of Heath and Human Services, Louis Sullivan, against which Larry led a demonstration. He got the demonstrators to drown out Sullivan's speech, which wasn't allowed.” quote by Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg) > “\[Larry Kramer\] got really mad at me once. The precipitating incident was a speech at Yale by the first President Bush's Secretary of Heath and Human Services, Louis Sullivan, against which Larry led a demonstration. He got the demonstrators to drown out Sullivan's speech, which wasn't allowed.” [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Larry Kramer’s protest at Yale shows how activists sometimes use disruptive tactics to oppose political speeches, reflecting tension between free speech and protest. **In simple terms:** Activist disruption of a political speech Key Takeaway Balance protest with respect for speech venues Themes activism free speech conflict Mood tense critical Type political historical When to use this quote - college campuses - public demonstrations - media coverage Key Concepts Civil disobedience political protest Questions to Reflect On - When is disruption justified? - How to protest without silencing dialogue? A Different Perspective Disruption can alienate potential allies ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Demonstration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demonstration/) [Human service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-service/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kramer/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Larry Kramer\] thinks Charles de Gaulle was gay. He thinks Max Schmeling was gay. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-thinks-charles-de-gaulle-was-gay-he-thinks-max-schmeling/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I was so unhappy as a child in Washington I figured if I'm going to Yale, I am going to start a new life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-was-so-unhappy-as-a-child-in-washington-i-figured-if-i-m-going-to/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ Those people are seen, I assume, by Larry \[Kramer\] as writing partly about gay issues and problems, whether it's on the surface or not,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/those-people-are-seen-i-assume-by-larry-kramer-as-writing-partly/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ I talked to \[Larry\] Kramer a little bit about it while I was writing 'Remembering Denny' . Denny was one of those people who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-talked-to-larry-kramer-a-little-bit-about-it-while-i-was-writing/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ I could appear in this million-word book \[Larry Kramer\] are working on. Nobody would even notice me. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-could-appear-in-this-million-word-book-larry-kramer-are-working-on/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ \[Larry Kramer\] even wrote this angry letter to the president of Yale, and in it he said what he said to us, that he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-even-wrote-this-angry-letter-to-the-president-of-yale/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ Tony Kushner has said that Larry \[Kramer\] thinks everyone always has to agree with him. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/tony-kushner-has-said-that-larry-kramer-thinks-everyone-always-has-to/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ There was a Yale even before Larry \[Kramer\] and I got there, and there were three designations of students: "white shoe," "brown shoe," and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/there-was-a-yale-even-before-larry-kramer-and-i-got-there-and-there/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ When I graduated \[from Yale\], I went back to Larry \[Kramer\]. But when I go to Yale reunions, there are still people who call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/when-i-graduated-from-yale-i-went-back-to-larry-kramer-but-when-i-go/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ Everyone disappoints \[Larry Kramer\]. So it's not a problem for him either way. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/everyone-disappoints-larry-kramer-so-it-s-not-a-problem-for-him/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ Larry \[Kramer\] had already experienced so much loss by then from the AIDS epidemic. But I don't think it changed anything between us. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-had-already-experienced-so-much-loss-by-then-from-the/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I wrote an essay too, and mine started something like, "When I was asked to contribute to this book, I said, 'I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-wrote-an-essay-too-and-mine-started-something-like-when-i-was-asked/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ I believe we really became friends \[with Larry Kramer\] when we bonded at our fifteenth class reunion in 1972. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-believe-we-really-became-friends-with-larry-kramer-when-we-bonded/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ We didn't know each other \[with Larry Kramer at Yale\], but we had a lot of mutual friends. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/we-didn-t-know-each-other-with-larry-kramer-at-yale-but-we-had-a-lot/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ Larry \[Kramer\] and I often disagree. There was the whole meshuggaas we went through about his donating his papers to Yale, and I disagreed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-and-i-often-disagree-there-was-the-whole-meshuggaas-we/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) ## More by Kevin Sessums > [ \[Calvin Trilllin\] is not writing about things that I can criticize. I can call these other people out for what I think they are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/calvin-trilllin-is-not-writing-about-things-that-i-can-criticize-i/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I get rejections from the New Yorker. When I had to give a little talk to the people graduating from the MBA program at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-get-rejections-from-the-new-yorker-when-i-had-to-give-a-little-talk/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ \[Larry Kramer\] thinks Charles de Gaulle was gay. He thinks Max Schmeling was gay. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-thinks-charles-de-gaulle-was-gay-he-thinks-max-schmeling/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I was raped. That was a hard thing to write about. I never owned that part of it. Guys don't look at themselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-was-raped-that-was-a-hard-thing-to-write-about-i-never-owned-that/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ Sometimes if I am walking down the street and thinking about my panoply of God, Ganesha, Parvati \[Ganesha's mother\], I say "Lucifer," because he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/sometimes-if-i-am-walking-down-the-street-and-thinking-about-my/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [To some people, knowledge and science are everything. To me, God is everything I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/to-some-people-knowledge-and-science-are-everything-to-me-god-is/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I was not "shoe." That's a misuse of the term "shoe," which is derived from "white shoe."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-was-not-shoe-that-s-a-misuse-of-the-term-shoe-which-is-derived-from/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [My father always wanted me to be president of the United States, and his fallback position was that I not become a ward of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/my-father-always-wanted-me-to-be-president-of-the-united-states-and/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I just so desperately wanted to be published in New Yorker, and I'd so desperately try to get something in it. But I'd always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-just-so-desperately-wanted-to-be-published-in-new-yorker-and-i-d-so/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ We didn't know each other \[with Larry Kramer at Yale\], but we had a lot of mutual friends. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/we-didn-t-know-each-other-with-larry-kramer-at-yale-but-we-had-a-lot/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ David Remnick \[the New Yorker's editor in chief\]is about as interested in anything gay as I am interested in anything to do with baseball.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/david-remnick-the-new-yorker-s-editor-in-chief-is-about-as-interested/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ I believe we really became friends \[with Larry Kramer\] when we bonded at our fifteenth class reunion in 1972. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-believe-we-really-became-friends-with-larry-kramer-when-we-bonded/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [ One of the few nice things about \[time in Yale\] was you got to know people before there were labels on them, so you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/one-of-the-few-nice-things-about-time-in-yale-was-you-got-to-know/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [I wrote an essay too, and mine started something like, "When I was asked to contribute to this book, I said, 'I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/i-wrote-an-essay-too-and-mine-started-something-like-when-i-was-asked/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [When one person mentors, two lives are changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/when-one-person-mentors-two-lives-are-changed/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) [Explore all 72 Kevin Sessums quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) ## More Demonstration quotes > [Every demonstration of God's faithfulness to us is an opportunity for us to testify of Him to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/every-demonstration-of-god-s-faithfulness-to-us-is-an-opportunity-for/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [I liked wrestling a lot better than boxing. I remember thinking at that time that wrestling was a pure demonstration of strength, which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-carpenter/i-liked-wrestling-a-lot-better-than-boxing-i-remember-thinking-at/) [Scott Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-carpenter/) > [The method of not erring is sought by all the world. The logicians profess to guide it, the geometricians alone attain it, and apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-method-of-not-erring-is-sought-by-all-the-world-the-logicians/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Religion is the fear of God, and its demonstration good works; and faith is the root of both: For without faith we cannot please…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/religion-is-the-fear-of-god-and-its-demonstration-good-works-and/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [When the students were killed at Kent State, the cast voted to do a demonstration from the stage, and I abstained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-near/when-the-students-were-killed-at-kent-state-the-cast-voted-to-do-a/) [Holly Near](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-near/) > [Helen Crawfurd and the Women's Peace Crusade, made a march on the City Chambers, distributing an illegal leaflet in front of police and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-gallacher/helen-crawfurd-and-the-women-s-peace-crusade-made-a-march-on-the-city/) Willie Gallacher > [The only way to meet the modern demon-stration of the powers of darkness is by a demonstration of the power of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-only-way-to-meet-the-modern-demon-stration-of-the-powers-of/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [But it is impossible to divide a cube into two cubes, or a fourth power into fourth powers, or generally any power beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-fermat/but-it-is-impossible-to-divide-a-cube-into-two-cubes-or-a-fourth/) [Pierre de Fermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-de-fermat/) > [The world out there is not waiting for a new definition of Christianity; it's waiting for a new demonstration of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/the-world-out-there-is-not-waiting-for-a-new-definition-of/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [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/) > [The questioning is a stupid formality aimed exclusively at preventing us from speaking at the demonstration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-navalny/the-questioning-is-a-stupid-formality-aimed-exclusively-at-preventing/) [Alexei Navalny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-navalny/) > [He that is to govern a whole Nation , must read in himself, not this, or that particular man; but Mankind; which though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/he-that-is-to-govern-a-whole-nation-must-read-in-himself-not-this-or/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [There is one characteristic of the present direction of public opinion, peculiarly calculated to make it intolerant of any marked demonstration of individuality. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-is-one-characteristic-of-the-present-direction-of-public/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Israel should have exploited the repression of the demonstrations in China, when world attention focused on that country, to carry out mass expulsions among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/israel-should-have-exploited-the-repression-of-the-demonstrations-in/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [ We see it \[the as-yet unseen, probable new planet, Neptune\] as Columbus saw America from the coast of Spain. Its movements have been felt,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-herschel/we-see-it-the-as-yet-unseen-probable-new-planet-neptune-as-columbus/) [William Herschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-herschel/) [Browse all 411 Demonstration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demonstration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Larry Kramer] got really mad at me once. The precipitating incident was a speech at Yale by the first President Bush's Secretary of Heath and Human Services, Louis Sullivan, against which Larry led a demonstration. He got the demonstrators to drown out Sullivan's speech, which wasn't allowed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kevin Sessums" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-the-precipitating-incident-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Demonstration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-the-precipitating-incident-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/kevin-sessums-9486_demonstration_larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-t_2757406.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Larry Kramer] got really mad at me once. The precipitating incident was a speech at Yale by the first…” — Kevin Sessums", "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": "Kevin Sessums", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "[Larry Kramer] got really mad at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-the-precipitating-incident-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/larry-kramer-got-really-mad-at-me-once-the-precipitating-incident-was/#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 } } ] } ```