--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: O.K., helplessness is repugnant to me, as…" description: "\"O.K., helplessness is repugnant to me, as a father, as a piece of protoplasm. My parents were activists. I don't believe you can't do anything.\" — Mars..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marshall-brickman-32016_activists_o-k-helplessness-is-repugnant-to-me-as-a_27263.png" --- # O.K., helplessness is repugnant to me, as a father, as a… ![“O.K., helplessness is repugnant to me, as a father, as a piece of protoplasm. My parents were activists. I don't believe you can't do anything.” quote by Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marshall-brickman-32016_activists_o-k-helplessness-is-repugnant-to-me-as-a_27263.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marshall-brickman-32016_activists_o-k-helplessness-is-repugnant-to-me-as-a_27263.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/marshall-brickman-32016_activists_o-k-helplessness-is-repugnant-to-me-as-a_27263.png) > “O.K., helplessness is repugnant to me, as a father, as a piece of protoplasm. My parents were activists. I don't believe you can't do anything.” [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) ## 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 rejects the notion of powerlessness, insisting that even at a fundamental biological level, agency and responsibility persist, especially as a parent. **In simple terms:** Rejects helplessness; affirms agency. Key Takeaway Powerlessness is unacceptable. Themes agency responsibility parenthood activism determination Mood defiant reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - parenting challenges - activist family dynamics - personal setbacks - career obstacles Key Concepts personal identity biological metaphor social influence Practical Applications - motivational coaching - leadership development Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing agency change your response to adversity? - In what ways can parental identity shape one's sense of responsibility? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activists/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Helplessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helplessness/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Repugnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repugnant/) ## Related quotes > [My parents were activists and my mother was hugely involved with the anti-Vietnam War protests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanna-arquette/my-parents-were-activists-and-my-mother-was-hugely-involved-with-the/) [Rosanna Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanna-arquette/) > [With my family background - my parents were both activists - writing about culture and politics came naturally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/with-my-family-background-my-parents-were-both-activists-writing/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [“The first chapter of Matthew begins with giving a genealogy of Jesus Christ; and in the third chapter of Luke there is also given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-first-chapter-of-matthew-begins-with-giving-a-genealogy-of-jesus/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Keep on acquiring a taste for what is naturally repugnant; this is an unfailing source of pleasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/keep-on-acquiring-a-taste-for-what-is-naturally-repugnant-this-is-an/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [It's hard to penetrate characters who are very cut off and lack empathy and to do it with sympathy. It's so easy to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/it-s-hard-to-penetrate-characters-who-are-very-cut-off-and-lack/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Plunder, ravage and kill; the secret works of the repugnant. Since the fall of man and brother killing brother, evil has owned the night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-f-larsen/plunder-ravage-and-kill-the-secret-works-of-the-repugnant-since-the/) Dennis F. Larsen > [What is repugnant to every human being is to be reckoned always as a member of a class and not as an individual person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/what-is-repugnant-to-every-human-being-is-to-be-reckoned-always-as-a/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Republican comes in the dictionary just after reptile and just above repugnant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/republican-comes-in-the-dictionary-just-after-reptile-and-just-above/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [I think social and moral disengagement is repugnant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-think-social-and-moral-disengagement-is-repugnant/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I find capitalism repugnant. It is filthy, it is gross, it is alienating... because it causes war, hypocrisy and competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/i-find-capitalism-repugnant-it-is-filthy-it-is-gross-it-is-alienating/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [A new society cannot be created by reproducing the repugnant past, however refined or enticingly repackaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/a-new-society-cannot-be-created-by-reproducing-the-repugnant-past/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“We are alien to each other, and their virtues are even more repugnant to my taste than their falsehoods and false dice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-are-alien-to-each-other-and-their-virtues-are-even-more-repugnant/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society. ... There is little value in ensuring the survival of our nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-very-word-secrecy-is-repugnant-in-a-free-and-open-society-there/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > ['Death with dignity' is our society's expression of the universal yearning to achieve a graceful triumph over the stark and often repugnant finality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/death-with-dignity-is-our-society-s-expression-of-the-universal/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) ## More by Marshall Brickman > [You can't really think about more than one movie at a time. You're thinking about it consciously, and the subconscious is working too, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/you-can-t-really-think-about-more-than-one-movie-at-a-time-you-re/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [I think there's just too much comedy. Sometimes I get requests from people: 'How do I get into comedy?' And I always say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/i-think-there-s-just-too-much-comedy-sometimes-i-get-requests-from/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [There's something mystical and wonderful about being in the room with the actual live performer s on stage that works. In film, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/there-s-something-mystical-and-wonderful-about-being-in-the-room-with/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [If I weren't a film maker, I'd probably be a handyman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/if-i-weren-t-a-film-maker-i-d-probably-be-a-handyman/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [New York and Los Angeles are really one city, and the rest of the country is America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/new-york-and-los-angeles-are-really-one-city-and-the-rest-of-the/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [Comedy comes easily to me, and so for me, comedy is suspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/comedy-comes-easily-to-me-and-so-for-me-comedy-is-suspect/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [As I started to develop as a director, I wanted to do projects that were inherently more cinematic, where the freight was not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/as-i-started-to-develop-as-a-director-i-wanted-to-do-projects-that/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [I don't believe in jogging. It extends your life - but by exactly the amount of time you spend jogging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/i-don-t-believe-in-jogging-it-extends-your-life-but-by-exactly-the/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [When something good happens it's a miracle and you should wonder what God is saving up for you later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/when-something-good-happens-it-s-a-miracle-and-you-should-wonder-what/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [After college, rather than pursue real work, I joined a folk group and sang in coffee houses and nightclubs, an occupation that does little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/after-college-rather-than-pursue-real-work-i-joined-a-folk-group-and/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [There is a pool of references in New York and Los Angeles that are almost exclusively drawn from the media, from the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/there-is-a-pool-of-references-in-new-york-and-los-angeles-that-are/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [Wanting to be a screenwriter is like wanting to be a co-pilot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/wanting-to-be-a-screenwriter-is-like-wanting-to-be-a-co-pilot/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [I now believe that there's only a certain amount of good luck in the world, and so if something good happens to me, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/i-now-believe-that-there-s-only-a-certain-amount-of-good-luck-in-the/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [I secrete jokes like the pancreas secretes... whatever the pancreas secretes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/i-secrete-jokes-like-the-pancreas-secretes-whatever-the-pancreas/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) > [Music pulled me like a gravitational force. I entered college as a physics major but left as a Bachelor of Music, a degree with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-brickman/music-pulled-me-like-a-gravitational-force-i-entered-college-as-a/) [Marshall Brickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) [Explore all 16 Marshall Brickman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-brickman/) ## More Activists quotes > [We must always refill and ensure there is a critical mass of leaders and activists committed to nonviolence and racial and economic justice who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/we-must-always-refill-and-ensure-there-is-a-critical-mass-of-leaders/) [Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/) > [I think that compared to other politicians who have been put in jail in the past, compared to the human-rights activists in history who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-think-that-compared-to-other-politicians-who-have-been-put-in-jail/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Some kinds of activists are more willing to try stuff out, see if works and think on their feet, but some of the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-green/some-kinds-of-activists-are-more-willing-to-try-stuff-out-see-if/) [Duncan Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-green/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. 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