--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the people did get it. They had lost…" description: "\"But the people did get it. They had lost something -- not exactly their fear, but their patience. Suddenly it seemed unbearable to go on accepting thes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/neal-ascherson-24717_accepting_but-the-people-did-get-it-they-had-lost_1505551.jpg" --- # But the people did get it. They had lost something -- not… ![“But the people did get it. They had lost something -- not exactly their fear, but their patience. Suddenly it seemed unbearable to go on accepting these systems, these portly little idiots in their blue suits, for another year, and then for another day, another hour. That special sort of…” quote by Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/neal-ascherson-24717_accepting_but-the-people-did-get-it-they-had-lost_1505551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/neal-ascherson-24717_accepting_but-the-people-did-get-it-they-had-lost_1505551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba7/neal-ascherson-24717_accepting_but-the-people-did-get-it-they-had-lost_1505551.jpg) > “But the people did get it. They had lost something -- not exactly their fear, but their patience. Suddenly it seemed unbearable to go on accepting these systems, these portly little idiots in their blue suits, for another year, and then for another day, another hour. That special sort of impatience is the power-surge of revolution.” [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When people’s patience runs out, they become driven by a restless urgency that fuels revolutionary change. **In simple terms:** Patience loss sparks revolutionary energy. Key Takeaway Channel impatience into constructive action. Themes revolution patience urgency social change Mood frustrated hopeful determined Type political inspirational When to use this quote - protest movements - political campaigns - social activism - organizational reform Key Concepts political theory psychology of crowds collective action Questions to Reflect On - What can you do to harness impatience productively? - How does patience affect long‑term change? A Different Perspective Revolutionary fervor can turn into chaos if not guided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-year/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Impatience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impatience/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) ## Related quotes > [In any situation you can think of, impatience is a source of weakness and fear, while patience represents substance and strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/in-any-situation-you-can-think-of-impatience-is-a-source-of-weakness/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“Boredom is fear's patience. Fear doesn't want to exaggerate. Only on occasion--and fear considers this very important--does it want to know how things stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/boredom-is-fear-s-patience-fear-doesn-t-want-to-exaggerate-only-on/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“People did terrible things to each other- and half the time they did it by accident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-lanyon/people-did-terrible-things-to-each-other-and-half-the-time-they-did/) [Josh Lanyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-lanyon/) > [For me, I already fought some of the best people there are. I already did, you know, what I need to do for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-diaz/for-me-i-already-fought-some-of-the-best-people-there-are-i-already/) [Nick Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-diaz/) > [Donald Trump connected in ways with people no one else did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/donald-trump-connected-in-ways-with-people-no-one-else-did/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) > [“They would drift away like people did if there was nothing to tie them down or hold them steady.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-forster/they-would-drift-away-like-people-did-if-there-was-nothing-to-tie/) [Rebecca Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-forster/) > [Not everything people did could be in a correct, logical order, especially when they were alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/not-everything-people-did-could-be-in-a-correct-logical-order/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“I realized there were assumptions we made about people, and once we did, that was all we could see”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/i-realized-there-were-assumptions-we-made-about-people-and-once-we/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [“Everyone knew the way to dance was like black people did and they all danced that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/everyone-knew-the-way-to-dance-was-like-black-people-did-and-they-all/) [Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/) > [The Nazis victimized some people for what they did, some for what they refused to do, some for what they were, and some for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-horton-conway/the-nazis-victimized-some-people-for-what-they-did-some-for-what-they/) John Horton Conway > [A lot of people got in at the wrong time. A lot of people did very well and some people said, "This is it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/a-lot-of-people-got-in-at-the-wrong-time-a-lot-of-people-did-very/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [“These were the world’s first people. Everything they did, every action and decision, was entirely new, without precedent. They had no larger society to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-wecker/these-were-the-world-s-first-people-everything-they-did-every-action/) [Helene Wecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-wecker/) > [I didn't get down on myself even when a lot of people did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-hood/i-didn-t-get-down-on-myself-even-when-a-lot-of-people-did/) [Rodney Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-hood/) > [If people did not love one another, I really don't see what use there would be in having any spring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/if-people-did-not-love-one-another-i-really-don-t-see-what-use-there/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Prayer. That was what people did when there was nothing else left to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/prayer-that-was-what-people-did-when-there-was-nothing-else-left-to-do/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) ## More by Neal Ascherson > [It was a real revolution. But with one missing feature. That is the feeling in a people that "We have done it once, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/it-was-a-real-revolution-but-with-one-missing-feature-that-is-the/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [History--the product, not the raw material--is a bottle with a label. For many years now, the emphasis of historical discussion has been laid upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/history-the-product-not-the-raw-material-is-a-bottle-with-a-label-for/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/who-invented-political-tolerance-the-english-invented-it-it-s/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [The way that words mutate reminds me of fashions in music. The word--the note--is a constant. But the setting and chord in which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/the-way-that-words-mutate-reminds-me-of-fashions-in-music-the-word/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/to-be-defeated-but-not-to-give-in-is-victory/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [Well, if there is a spectrum between ethnic and civic forms of nationalism, which is a rather schematic way of looking at it, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/well-if-there-is-a-spectrum-between-ethnic-and-civic-forms-of/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [Broadly speaking, most people lived their lives in a kind of unwilling conformity. The thing was that they were offered, as time went by,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/broadly-speaking-most-people-lived-their-lives-in-a-kind-of-unwilling/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [In Moscow, dim and green under the summer rain, columns of armour were waiting in the side-roads off the long avenue from Vnukovo airport.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/in-moscow-dim-and-green-under-the-summer-rain-columns-of-armour-were/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [“To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory. - Jósef Piłsudski”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/to-be-defeated-but-not-to-give-in-is-victory-j-sef-pi-sudski/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-term-damaged-by-britishness/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [When Tony Benn became a minister in the 1960s -- and I think this must be apocryphal -- he had a huge map of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/when-tony-benn-became-a-minister-in-the-1960s-and-i-think-this-must/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [There are many kinds of revelation. But the most powerful is the vision which transcends the mental boundary between life and non-life, and Scotland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/there-are-many-kinds-of-revelation-but-the-most-powerful-is-the/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [The very word "change" has changed. When I was young--and not just because I was young--we looked forward with confident impatience to change. Planned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/the-very-word-change-has-changed-when-i-was-young-and-not-just/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [English stupidity is an organism so primitive that it is apparently impossible to kill off. It reminds me of Physarum Polycephalum, the gigantic slime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/english-stupidity-is-an-organism-so-primitive-that-it-is-apparently/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [I'm always interested in debunking myths if they are untrue. But it's also important to identify myths and how they function, what value they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-m-always-interested-in-debunking-myths-if-they-are-untrue-but-it-s/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) [Explore all 24 Neal Ascherson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the people did get it. They had lost something -- not exactly their fear, but their patience. Suddenly it seemed unbearable to go on accepting these systems, these portly little idiots in their blue suits, for another year, and then for another day, another hour. 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