--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ideas at first considered outrageous or…" description: "\"“Ideas at first considered outrageous or ridiculous or extreme gradually become what people think they've always believed. How the transformation happe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/rebecca-solnit-569_center-stage_ideas-at-first-considered-outrageous-or_1103517.jpg" --- # Ideas at first considered outrageous or ridiculous or… ![“Ideas at first considered outrageous or ridiculous or extreme gradually become what people think they've always believed. How the transformation happened is rarely remembered, in part because it's compromising: it recalls the mainstream when the mainstream was, say, rabidly homophobic or racist in…” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/rebecca-solnit-569_center-stage_ideas-at-first-considered-outrageous-or_1103517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/rebecca-solnit-569_center-stage_ideas-at-first-considered-outrageous-or_1103517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/rebecca-solnit-569_center-stage_ideas-at-first-considered-outrageous-or_1103517.jpg) > ““Ideas at first considered outrageous or ridiculous or extreme gradually become what people think they've always believed. How the transformation happened is rarely remembered, in part because it's compromising: it recalls the mainstream when the mainstream was, say, rabidly homophobic or racist in a way it no longer is; and it recalls that power comes from the shadows and the margins, that our hope is in the dark around the edges, not the limelight of center stage. Our hope and often our power.”” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Radical ideas start as absurd, become mainstream, but the process is hidden; power arises from margins, not center stage. **In simple terms:** Radical ideas become accepted over time, but we forget their origins. Key Takeaway Remember origins of ideas and value marginal voices. Themes cultural shift power dynamics history margins mainstream Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - activism - education - media production - policy advocacy Key Concepts social theory political philosophy media studies Questions to Reflect On - What ideas have you seen shift from fringe to mainstream? - How can we keep marginal voices heard? A Different Perspective Mainstream narratives can co‑opt radical ideas, diluting their impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believed Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-transformation-2903115/) [Center stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/center-stage/) [Mainstream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream/) [Mainstream Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mainstream-say-2903117/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think/) [Transformation Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation-happened-2903116/) ## Related quotes > [“I guess I didn’t realize when the transformation had happened. When the monster had beaten me. Had taken me over and made me like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-knight/i-guess-i-didn-t-realize-when-the-transformation-had-happened-when/) [Natasha Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-knight/) > [“Legacy items. That’s the term we used to describe these golden moments. Sometimes we even knew what it meant. Taking out bin Laden was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-litt/legacy-items-that-s-the-term-we-used-to-describe-these-golden-moments/) [David Litt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-litt/) > [Standing center stage in the six foot circle of wood cut from the stage of the Ryman is something I never take for granted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-shelton/standing-center-stage-in-the-six-foot-circle-of-wood-cut-from-the/) [Blake Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-shelton/) > [“The elementary and basic approach that I suggest places “the theory of markets” and not the “theory of resource allocation” at center stage. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-buchanan/the-elementary-and-basic-approach-that-i-suggest-places-the-theory-of/) [James M. 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Emphasis is placed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-most-women-the-language-of-conversation-is-primarily-a-language/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nobody takes center stage or dominates the conversation for long stretches of time. Equality is an important element in hygge—a trait that is deeply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/nobody-takes-center-stage-or-dominates-the-conversation-for-long/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) > [To a large extent, the aged in our society are ghettoized. Old people are seen as useless, bypassed by history, old-fashioned, in the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/to-a-large-extent-the-aged-in-our-society-are-ghettoized-old-people/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [I want to put the interests of ordinary working people right up there, center stage. Those people who - you know, they're working all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/i-want-to-put-the-interests-of-ordinary-working-people-right-up-there/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [If you have a warm and caring heart, you're loved ones will ensure you never depart. For long after you've turned that final page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/if-you-have-a-warm-and-caring-heart-you-re-loved-ones-will-ensure-you/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [I love the excitement, the center stage, the limelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-riggs/i-love-the-excitement-the-center-stage-the-limelight/) [Bobby Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-riggs/) > [“The real powers at play never take center stage. Don't follow the marionette, follow the strings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ritter/the-real-powers-at-play-never-take-center-stage-don-t-follow-the/) [William Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ritter/) > [“DR. OZ SPEAKS OUT FOR TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION Toward the end of April, 2012, Dr. Mehmet Oz took center stage at The Dr. Oz Show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-forem/dr-oz-speaks-out-for-transcendental-meditation-toward-the-end-of/) [Jack Forem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-forem/) > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. 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Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## More Center stage quotes > [All too often, it is audacity and not talent that moves an artist to center stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/all-too-often-it-is-audacity-and-not-talent-that-moves-an-artist-to/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [“DR. OZ SPEAKS OUT FOR TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION Toward the end of April, 2012, Dr. Mehmet Oz took center stage at The Dr. Oz Show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-forem/dr-oz-speaks-out-for-transcendental-meditation-toward-the-end-of/) [Jack Forem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-forem/) > [“The real powers at play never take center stage. Don't follow the marionette, follow the strings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ritter/the-real-powers-at-play-never-take-center-stage-don-t-follow-the/) [William Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ritter/) > [I love the excitement, the center stage, the limelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-riggs/i-love-the-excitement-the-center-stage-the-limelight/) [Bobby Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-riggs/) > [If you have a warm and caring heart, you're loved ones will ensure you never depart. For long after you've turned that final page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/if-you-have-a-warm-and-caring-heart-you-re-loved-ones-will-ensure-you/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [I want to put the interests of ordinary working people right up there, center stage. Those people who - you know, they're working all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/i-want-to-put-the-interests-of-ordinary-working-people-right-up-there/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [To a large extent, the aged in our society are ghettoized. Old people are seen as useless, bypassed by history, old-fashioned, in the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/to-a-large-extent-the-aged-in-our-society-are-ghettoized-old-people/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [“Nobody takes center stage or dominates the conversation for long stretches of time. Equality is an important element in hygge—a trait that is deeply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/nobody-takes-center-stage-or-dominates-the-conversation-for-long/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) > [For most women, the language of conversation is primarily a language of rapport: a way of establishingconnections and negotiating relationships. Emphasis is placed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-most-women-the-language-of-conversation-is-primarily-a-language/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A publisher should always be on the receiving end. He should take an interest in almost any subject and remain anonymous, letting the author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-canfield/a-publisher-should-always-be-on-the-receiving-end-he-should-take-an/) [Cass Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-canfield/) > [“As the last curtain falls on a spent year, a new year pirouettes to center stage with the elegance and charm of a prima…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-toney-horton/as-the-last-curtain-falls-on-a-spent-year-a-new-year-pirouettes-to/) [Peggy Toney Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-toney-horton/) > [“The elementary and basic approach that I suggest places “the theory of markets” and not the “theory of resource allocation” at center stage. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-buchanan/the-elementary-and-basic-approach-that-i-suggest-places-the-theory-of/) [James M. Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-buchanan/) > [Standing center stage in the six foot circle of wood cut from the stage of the Ryman is something I never take for granted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-shelton/standing-center-stage-in-the-six-foot-circle-of-wood-cut-from-the/) [Blake Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-shelton/) > [Nicholas Hytner, who directed Center Stage, is a huge ballet fan. He was completely open, as was Bruce Beresford, to get our perspective. "No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-schull/nicholas-hytner-who-directed-center-stage-is-a-huge-ballet-fan-he-was/) [Amanda Schull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-schull/) > [“the corporate system that animates all the forces who would block the progress of a true pilgrim bound for the Celestial City. Vanity Fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-corporate-system-that-animates-all-the-forces-who-would-block-the/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) [Browse all 84 Center stage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/center-stage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ideas at first considered outrageous or ridiculous or extreme gradually become what people think they've always believed. How the transformation happened is rarely remembered, in part because it's compromising: it recalls the mainstream when the mainstream was, say, rabidly homophobic or racist in a way it no longer is; and it recalls that power comes from the shadows and the margins, that our hope is in the dark around the edges, not the limelight of center stage. 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