--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even when they call us mad, when they…" description: "\"Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png" --- # Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives… ![“Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down.” quote by Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png) > “Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down.” [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when labeled mad or subversive, we continue to preach the radical message of the Beatitudes that overturns norms. **In simple terms:** Preach transformative truths despite criticism. Key Takeaway Stand firm in radical, compassionate teachings. Themes faith justice social change Mood courageous hopeful Type spiritual political When to use this quote - activism - community organizing - spiritual leadership Key Concepts subversive witness Beatitudes countercultural Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to being labeled? - What impact can subversive teachings have? A Different Perspective Opposition can marginalize and silence voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beatitudes Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beatitudes-turned-3501913/) [Civil disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) [Communist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communist/) [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Epithet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epithet/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad/) [Mad Subversives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad-subversives-3501909/) [Preach Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preach-subversive-3501911/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) [Subversive Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive-witness-3501912/) [Subversives Communists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversives-communists-3501910/) [Upside down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upside-down/) [Witness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witness/) ## Related quotes > [In art, all who have done something other than their predecessors have merited the epithet of revolutionary; and it is they alone who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/in-art-all-who-have-done-something-other-than-their-predecessors-have/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [“Some guy hit my fender the other day, and I said unto him, 'Be fruitful, and multiply'. But not in those words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/some-guy-hit-my-fender-the-other-day-and-i-said-unto-him-be-fruitful/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The use of 'conspiracy theory' as a derogatory - as an epithet almost - is something the propagandists have perfected over the decades, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sanders/the-use-of-conspiracy-theory-as-a-derogatory-as-an-epithet-almost-is/) [Chris Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sanders/) > [“Fuck a zombie!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/fuck-a-zombie/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [The typical atheist rebels against God as a teenager rebels against his parents. When his own desires or standards are not fulfilled in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-typical-atheist-rebels-against-god-as-a-teenager-rebels-against/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Ardent, intelligent, sweet, sensitive, cultivated, erudite. These are the adjectives of praise in an androgynous world. 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What reproach in the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/what-praise-is-implied-in-the-simple-epithet-useful-what-reproach-in/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Fascist is not just an epithet. Fascist is a proper noun that means a specific thing. It's a real thing. It's not always referring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/fascist-is-not-just-an-epithet-fascist-is-a-proper-noun-that-means-a/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [In my opinion, using different kinds of epithets and adjectives in connection with the word democracy is a sign of mere hypocrisy, to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/in-my-opinion-using-different-kinds-of-epithets-and-adjectives-in/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [Men's thoughts and opinions are in a great degree vassals of him who invents a new phrase or re-applies an old epithet. The thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/men-s-thoughts-and-opinions-are-in-a-great-degree-vassals-of-him-who/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Ah fair Zenocrate, divine Zenocrate, Fair is too foul an epithet for thee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/ah-fair-zenocrate-divine-zenocrate-fair-is-too-foul-an-epithet-for/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [I earnestly wish to point out in what true dignity and human happiness consists. I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/i-earnestly-wish-to-point-out-in-what-true-dignity-and-human/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) ## More by Oscar Romero > [That we may give our body and our blood over to suffering and pain, like Christ - not for Self, but to give harvests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/that-we-may-give-our-body-and-our-blood-over-to-suffering-and-pain/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/let-us-not-tire-of-preaching-love-it-is-the-force-that-will-overcome/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/we-may-never-see-the-end-results-but-that-is-the-difference-between/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [We suffer with those who have disappeared, those who have had to flee their homes, and those who have been tortured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/we-suffer-with-those-who-have-disappeared-those-who-have-had-to-flee/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Dear women who are: smart, hot, awesome, in shape, love to cook, hate shopping unless it's for me, hate to talk about feelings, love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/dear-women-who-are-smart-hot-awesome-in-shape-love-to-cook-hate/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [A church that doesn't provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn't unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone’s skin, a word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/a-church-that-doesn-t-provoke-any-crises-a-gospel-that-doesn-t/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [We are prophets of a future not our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/we-are-prophets-of-a-future-not-our-own/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [When we speak for the poor, please note that we do not take sides with one social class. What we do is invite all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/when-we-speak-for-the-poor-please-note-that-we-do-not-take-sides-with/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [We must overturn so many idols, the idol of self first of all, so that we can be humble, and only from our humility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/we-must-overturn-so-many-idols-the-idol-of-self-first-of-all-so-that/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Social sin is the crystallization ... of individuals' sins into permanent structures that keeps sin in being and makes its force to be felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/social-sin-is-the-crystallization-of-individuals-sins-into-permanent/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ, will live like the grains of wheat that dies. It only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/those-who-surrender-to-the-service-of-the-poor-through-love-of-christ/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [Playing hard to get and winning all the time is starting to feel a lot like losing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/playing-hard-to-get-and-winning-all-the-time-is-starting-to-feel-a/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [When the church hears the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give rise to and perpetuate the misery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/when-the-church-hears-the-cry-of-the-oppressed-it-cannot-but-denounce/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [God is not satisfied with appearance. God wants the garment of justice. God wants his Christians dressed in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/god-is-not-satisfied-with-appearance-god-wants-the-garment-of-justice/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) > [It moves one's heart to think: Nine months before I was born there was a woman who loved me deeply. She did not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/it-moves-one-s-heart-to-think-nine-months-before-i-was-born-there-was/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) [Explore all 55 Oscar Romero quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) ## More Civil disobedience quotes > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [When you say 'no' and you get on the streets and you do an act of civil disobedience, it changes your psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/when-you-say-no-and-you-get-on-the-streets-and-you-do-an-act-of-civil/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [My first civil disobedience arrest for social justice was in 1986 for protesting the SDI.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/my-first-civil-disobedience-arrest-for-social-justice-was-in-1986-for/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Even here in America, we felt the cool, refreshing breeze of freedom when Nelson Mandela took the seat of Presidency in his country where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/even-here-in-america-we-felt-the-cool-refreshing-breeze-of-freedom/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Civil disobedience is a stimulation for the fighters and a challenge to the opponent, in the present instance, authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civil-disobedience-is-a-stimulation-for-the-fighters-and-a-challenge/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The only word these corporations know is more,” wrote Chris Hedges, former correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, and the New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/the-only-word-these-corporations-know-is-more-wrote-chris-hedges/) [Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/) > [A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-wise-man-will-not-leave-the-right-to-the-mercy-of-chance-nor-wish/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-became-convinced-that-noncooperation-with-evil-is-as-much-a-moral/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [New concepts should be introduced by the power of imagery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coop/new-concepts-should-be-introduced-by-the-power-of-imagery/) [Douglas Coop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coop/) > [Civil disobedience can help to focus attention on a particular injustice. It was used historically to highlight wrongs in society - turning ancient redwood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brune/civil-disobedience-can-help-to-focus-attention-on-a-particular/) [Michael Brune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brune/) > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [“Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free-trade and of freedom, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-legislators-have-not-yet-learned-the-comparative-value-of-free/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 248 Civil disobedience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Romero" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-call-us-subversives-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil disobedience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-call-us-subversives-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d8/oscar-romero-12365_civil-disobedience_even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-cal_1186543.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on…” — Oscar Romero", "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": "Oscar Romero", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even when they call us mad,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-call-us-subversives-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/even-when-they-call-us-mad-when-they-call-us-subversives-and/#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 } } ] } ```