--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't expect people who didn't exist…" description: "\"You can't expect people who didn't exist as a community at all until about twenty years ago to have formed a political movement. This attack on the LGB..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/masha-gessen-2322_activist_you-can-t-expect-people-who-didn-t-exist_963708.jpg" --- # You can't expect people who didn't exist as a community at… ![“You can't expect people who didn't exist as a community at all until about twenty years ago to have formed a political movement. This attack on the LGBT community was very shocking to the people who consider themselves to be activists. They're basically playing in the sandbox, and there's a tank…” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/masha-gessen-2322_activist_you-can-t-expect-people-who-didn-t-exist_963708.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/masha-gessen-2322_activist_you-can-t-expect-people-who-didn-t-exist_963708.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1b/masha-gessen-2322_activist_you-can-t-expect-people-who-didn-t-exist_963708.jpg) > “You can't expect people who didn't exist as a community at all until about twenty years ago to have formed a political movement. This attack on the LGBT community was very shocking to the people who consider themselves to be activists. They're basically playing in the sandbox, and there's a tank coming! And what are they supposed to do - use the plastic shovel to push the tank back? But since the homosexual propaganda legislation, people have really stepped up, educated themselves politically, and grown by leaps and bounds.” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Activists face unexpected challenges, yet recent legislation spurred political education and rapid community growth. **In simple terms:** Activists were unprepared but learned quickly. Key Takeaway Adapt and educate in the face of opposition. Themes activism LGBT rights political mobilization education resilience Mood hopeful determined critical Type social political When to use this quote - community meetings - online campaigns - public demonstrations - policy lobbying Key Concepts social movements grassroots organizing policy impact Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help movements stay resilient? - How does policy shape activist identity? A Different Perspective Progress can be uneven and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activist/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Homosexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexual/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Lgbt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lgbt/) [Lgbt community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lgbt-community/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Propaganda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/propaganda/) ## Related quotes > [Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-collins/openness-may-not-completely-disarm-prejudice-but-it-s-a-good-place-to/) [Jason Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-collins/) > [I think if you look at Hollywood as a whole and the type of content that they put out over the years, it's pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-jackson/i-think-if-you-look-at-hollywood-as-a-whole-and-the-type-of-content/) [Mike Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-jackson/) > [“Coming out of the closet feels liberating because you no longer have to carry all that crap around with you, in your mind, wherever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-thomas-malone/coming-out-of-the-closet-feels-liberating-because-you-no-longer-have/) [Ian Thomas Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-thomas-malone/) > [I think there is unnecessary conflict right now between the vehemently religious and the LGBT community. The extremes of religion I think and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-amaechi/i-think-there-is-unnecessary-conflict-right-now-between-the/) [John Amaechi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-amaechi/) > [I always feel that my whole life is representing the LGBT community. It's kind of what I do all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-always-feel-that-my-whole-life-is-representing-the-lgbt-community/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [Our government treats the LGBT community like second-class citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-mccain/our-government-treats-the-lgbt-community-like-second-class-citizens/) [Cindy McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-mccain/) > [Only the human mind invents categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeonholes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kinsey/only-the-human-mind-invents-categories-and-tries-to-force-facts-into/) [Alfred Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kinsey/) > [We still have gaps that are rooted in gender inequality. Certainly we have discrimination against the LGBT community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-still-have-gaps-that-are-rooted-in-gender-inequality-certainly-we/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [ \[Mark\] Lilla sees a deeper problem, and he wrote an article in The New York Times denouncing identity liberalism.He says liberals have appealed to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/mark-lilla-sees-a-deeper-problem-and-he-wrote-an-article-in-the-new/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) > [I have a half-brother who is very, very, very gay, many cousins, best friends who are all members of the LGBT community, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lea-salonga/i-have-a-half-brother-who-is-very-very-very-gay-many-cousins-best/) [Lea Salonga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lea-salonga/) > [It's not often that you get to read something that just feels very original for a star but also something that feels like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-irvine/it-s-not-often-that-you-get-to-read-something-that-just-feels-very/) [Jeremy Irvine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-irvine/) > [In all honesty I think, sometimes with the LGBT community, if you look at anything else surrounding it, there's always been this oddness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radical-face/in-all-honesty-i-think-sometimes-with-the-lgbt-community-if-you-look/) [Radical Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radical-face/) > [Is it different to come out now than it was to come out thirty-five years ago? Sometimes. But if you come out now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hollibaugh/is-it-different-to-come-out-now-than-it-was-to-come-out-thirty-five/) [Amber Hollibaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hollibaugh/) > [If we write our laws and design them around the most privileged members of society, i.e., billionaire football team owner, then we forget about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-tam/if-we-write-our-laws-and-design-them-around-the-most-privileged/) [Simon Tam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-tam/) > [ While the President \[Barack Obama\] did a good thing when he said he personally supported equal marriage, he then quickly backed away and said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/while-the-president-barack-obama-did-a-good-thing-when-he-said-he/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/trump-like-putin-has-a-demonstrably-thin-skin-and-short-temper-when/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [You risk everything if you so much as join a legal protest demonstration in Russia. It raises the stakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-risk-everything-if-you-so-much-as-join-a-legal-protest/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-that-is-awful-to-language/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [It is the first time since 1993 that Russians have come out into the streets without an explicit permission from the government to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/it-is-the-first-time-since-1993-that-russians-have-come-out-into-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think Donald Trump was brought to power by Americans. They voted for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-donald-trump-was-brought-to-power-by-americans-they-voted-for/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/in-the-1990s-there-was-a-lot-of-reform-and-there-was-a-lot-of-forward/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [For years I was the only publicly out gay person who was not a full-time gay activist: my position as a quasi-foreigner gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/for-years-i-was-the-only-publicly-out-gay-person-who-was-not-a-full/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Explore all 171 Masha Gessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## More Activist quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [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 have never been an activist for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/i-have-never-been-an-activist-for-anything/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/when-we-criticize-in-iran-the-actions-of-the-government-the/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [I've been an activist in the LGBT community for a long time. I think nothing's changed, I'm just a little bit more focused on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-bono/i-ve-been-an-activist-in-the-lgbt-community-for-a-long-time-i-think/) [Chaz Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-bono/) > [I've been an activist since I was a teenager. I was always curious about what we would now call social justice. I remember just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrisse-cullors/i-ve-been-an-activist-since-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-always-curious/) [Patrisse Cullors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrisse-cullors/) > [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/) > [Black gay activists should try to build coalitions of people for the elimination of all injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-rustin/black-gay-activists-should-try-to-build-coalitions-of-people-for-the/) [Bayard Rustin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-rustin/) > [You do what you know is good, because it's good, and then you have a certain peace of mind, saying, you've been an activist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-mcgovern/you-do-what-you-know-is-good-because-it-s-good-and-then-you-have-a/) [Ray McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-mcgovern/) > [Obviously the transgender movement has not progressed in the way that the gay and lesbian movement has. But Im an activist - thats just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-bono/obviously-the-transgender-movement-has-not-progressed-in-the-way-that/) [Chaz Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-bono/) > [“If you teach your children how to bully, or do nothing to stop them, teach them also how to die for their cause.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-lamont-walker/if-you-teach-your-children-how-to-bully-or-do-nothing-to-stop-them/) [Darnell Lamont Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-lamont-walker/) [Browse all 773 Activist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't expect people who didn't exist as a community at all until about twenty years ago to have formed a political movement. This attack on the LGBT community was very shocking to the people who consider themselves to be activists. 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