--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact that certain members of the…" description: "\"“The fact that certain members of the oppressor class join the oppressed in their struggle for liberation, thus moving from one pole of the contradicti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/paulo-freire-1551_freedom_the-fact-that-certain-members-of-the-opp_60011.jpg" --- # The fact that certain members of the oppressor class join… ![“The fact that certain members of the oppressor class join the oppressed in their struggle for liberation, thus moving from one pole of the contradiction to the other... Theirs is a fundamental role, and has been throughout the history of this struggle. It happens, however, that as they cease to be…” quote by Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/paulo-freire-1551_freedom_the-fact-that-certain-members-of-the-opp_60011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/paulo-freire-1551_freedom_the-fact-that-certain-members-of-the-opp_60011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/877/paulo-freire-1551_freedom_the-fact-that-certain-members-of-the-opp_60011.jpg) > ““The fact that certain members of the oppressor class join the oppressed in their struggle for liberation, thus moving from one pole of the contradiction to the other... Theirs is a fundamental role, and has been throughout the history of this struggle. It happens, however, that as they cease to be exploiters or indifferent spectators or simply the heirs of exploitation and move to the side of the exploited, they almost always bring with them the marks of their origin: their prejudices and their deformations, which include a lack of confidence in the people's ability to think, to want, and to know. Accordingly, these adherents to the people's cause constantly run the risk of falling into a type of generosity as malefic as that of the oppressors. The generosity of the oppressors is nourished by an unjust order, which must be maintained in order to justify that generosity. Our converts, on the other hand, truly desire to transform the unjust order; but because of their background they believe that they must be the executors of the transformation. They talk about the people, but they do not trust them; and trusting the people is the indispensable precondition for revolutionary change. A real humanist can be identified more by his trust in the people, which engages him in their struggle, than by a thousand actions in their favor without that trust.”” [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage warns that former oppressors who join revolutionary movements often retain lingering biases and a paternalistic stance, undermining genuine empowerment of the people they claim to help. **In simple terms:** Former oppressors may still dominate from within. Key Takeaway Trust in the people is essential for true liberation. Themes Power dynamics Class consciousness Trust Paternalism Revolutionary ethics Mood Reflective Cautious Hopeful Type Political Philosophical When to use this quote - Grassroots organizing - Leadership transitions - Policy reform - Community empowerment Key Concepts Oppressor class Transformation Prejudice Agency Practical Applications - Designing inclusive leadership structures - Training former elites in participatory decision‑making Questions to Reflect On - How can movements ensure former oppressors truly relinquish control? - What mechanisms build trust between leaders and the community? A Different Perspective Some argue that former oppressors can bring valuable experience and resources that accelerate change, provided they genuinely renounce their previous attitudes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Generosity Oppressors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity-oppressors-820856/) [Lack of confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-of-confidence/) [Members Oppressor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/members-oppressor-820859/) [Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed/) [Oppressed Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed-struggle-820858/) [Oppressors Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressors-generosity-820857/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [Certain members of the oppressor class join the oppressed in their struggle for liberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/certain-members-of-the-oppressor-class-join-the-oppressed-in-their/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [In order to have the continued opportunity to express their "generosity" the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/in-order-to-have-the-continued-opportunity-to-express-their/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [For the only great men among the unfree and the oppressed are those who struggle to destroy the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-rodney/for-the-only-great-men-among-the-unfree-and-the-oppressed-are-those/) [Walter Rodney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-rodney/) > [There was a thrust to raise the consciousness of the people and we argued that in order to free ourselves we must be ourselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maulana-karenga/there-was-a-thrust-to-raise-the-consciousness-of-the-people-and-we/) [Maulana Karenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maulana-karenga/) > [“No one leaves his or her world without being transfixed by its roots, or with a vacuum for a soul. We carry with us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/no-one-leaves-his-or-her-world-without-being-transfixed-by-its-roots/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation? Only as they discover themselves to be 'hosts'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/how-can-the-oppressed-as-divided-unauthentic-beings-participate-in/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his guidelines, are fearful of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-oppressed-having-internalized-the-image-of-the-oppressor-and/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [It is absolutely essential that the oppressed participate in the revolutionary process with an increasingly critical awareness of their role as subjects of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/it-is-absolutely-essential-that-the-oppressed-participate-in-the/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“For the oppressors..to 'be' is to have and to be the class of the "haves".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/for-the-oppressors-to-be-is-to-have-and-to-be-the-class-of-the-haves/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [With the establishment of a relationship of oppression, violence has already begun. Never in history has violence been initiated by the oppressed. How could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/with-the-establishment-of-a-relationship-of-oppression-violence-has/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“The oppressed, having internalised the image of the oppressor and adopted his guideline are fearful of freedom. Freedom would require them to eject this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-oppressed-having-internalised-the-image-of-the-oppressor-and/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [Libertarian action must recognize this dependence as a weak point and must attempt through reflection and action to transform it into independence. However, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/libertarian-action-must-recognize-this-dependence-as-a-weak-point-and/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [It is only the oppressed who, by freeing themselves, can free their oppressors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/it-is-only-the-oppressed-who-by-freeing-themselves-can-free-their/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/no-pedagogy-which-is-truly-liberating-can-remain-distant-from-the/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-behavior-and-reactions-of-the-oppressed-which-lead-the-oppressor/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) ## More by Paulo Freire > [The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-teacher-is-of-course-an-artist-but-being-an-artist-does-not-mean/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“if i am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-am-not-in-the-world-simply-to-adapt-to-it-but-rather-transform/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [The earliest language was body language and, since this language is the language of questions, if we limit the questions, and if we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-earliest-language-was-body-language-and-since-this-language-is/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [The behavior and reactions of the oppressed, which lead the oppressor to practice cultural invasion, should evoke from the revolutionary a different theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-behavior-and-reactions-of-the-oppressed-which-lead-the-oppressor/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“When a word is deprived of its dimension of action,reflection automatically suffers as well and the word is changed into idle chatter, into verbalism,into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/when-a-word-is-deprived-of-its-dimension-of-action-reflection/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [A reader does not suddenly comprehend what is being read or studied, in a snap, miraculously. Comprehension needs to be worked forged, by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/a-reader-does-not-suddenly-comprehend-what-is-being-read-or-studied/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“If I do not love the world, if I do not love life, if I do not love people, I cannot enter into dialogue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-do-not-love-the-world-if-i-do-not-love-life-if-i-do-not-love/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [ \[Humans'\] capacity to intervene, to compare, to judge, to decide, to choose, to desist makes them capable of acts of greatness, of dignity, and,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/humans-capacity-to-intervene-to-compare-to-judge-to-decide-to-choose/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [If I am a pure product of genetic, cultural, or class determination, I have no responsibility for my action in the world and, therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-am-a-pure-product-of-genetic-cultural-or-class-determination-i/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“To begin always anew, to make, to reconstruct, and to not spoil, to refuse to bureaucratize the mind, to understand and to live life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/to-begin-always-anew-to-make-to-reconstruct-and-to-not-spoil-to/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [“The man or woman who proclaims devotion to the cause of liberation yet is unable to enter into communion with the people, whom he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-man-or-woman-who-proclaims-devotion-to-the-cause-of-liberation/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/one-cannot-expect-positive-results-from-an-educational-or-political/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [Any situation in which some men prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence;… to alienate humans from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/any-situation-in-which-some-men-prevent-others-from-engaging-in-the/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [Educators need to know what happens in the world of the children with whom they work. They need to know the universe of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/educators-need-to-know-what-happens-in-the-world-of-the-children-with/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/no-pedagogy-which-is-truly-liberating-can-remain-distant-from-the/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) [Explore all 223 Paulo Freire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The fact that certain members of the oppressor class join the oppressed in their struggle for liberation, thus moving from one pole of the contradiction to the other... Theirs is a fundamental role, and has been throughout the history of this struggle. It happens, however, that as they cease to be exploiters or indifferent spectators or simply the heirs of exploitation and move to the side of the exploited, they almost always bring with them the marks of their origin: their prejudices and their deformations, which include a lack of confidence in the people's ability to think, to want, and to know. Accordingly, these adherents to the people's cause constantly run the risk of falling into a type of generosity as malefic as that of the oppressors. The generosity of the oppressors is nourished by an unjust order, which must be maintained in order to justify that generosity. Our converts, on the other hand, truly desire to transform the unjust order; but because of their background they believe that they must be the executors of the transformation. They talk about the people, but they do not trust them; and trusting the people is the indispensable precondition for revolutionary change. 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