--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We oppress people, we make our victims…" description: "\"We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they are, whether they are a black girl in a rural community in, say, America or Britain, or whet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png" --- # We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they… ![“We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they are, whether they are a black girl in a rural community in, say, America or Britain, or whether it's something happening out there in one of the countries of conflict. I mean Sri Lanka, the human rights abuse there is appalling.” quote by Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png) > “We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they are, whether they are a black girl in a rural community in, say, America or Britain, or whether it's something happening out there in one of the countries of conflict. I mean Sri Lanka, the human rights abuse there is appalling.” [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Oppression reduces individuals to insignificance, regardless of location, affecting marginalized groups worldwide. **In simple terms:** Oppression makes victims feel small everywhere. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge oppression wherever it appears. Themes human rights oppression intersectionality global injustice Mood somber determined Type activist reflective When to use this quote - activism - policy reform - community support - education campaigns Key Concepts Power dynamics systemic inequality marginalization Questions to Reflect On - How does oppression manifest in everyday interactions? - What actions can individuals take to empower marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Oppression can be subtle and entrenched, making change difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Black girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-girl/) [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conflict/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Rural communities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rural-communities/) [Sri lanka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sri-lanka/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you or disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-change-any-loss-does-not-make-us-victims-others-can-shake-you-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaine-lee/any-change-any-loss-does-not-make-us-victims-others-can-shake-you/) [Blaine Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaine-lee/) > [Debt is the most effective way to take a relation of violent subordination and make the victims feel that it's their fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a-relation-of-violent/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [People can become so blinded by their own perceived victimhood that they make victims of everyone around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/people-can-become-so-blinded-by-their-own-perceived-victimhood-that/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [More attention should be given to the Arab world and the human rights abuse that is taking place every day in many countries in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamal-khashoggi/more-attention-should-be-given-to-the-arab-world-and-the-human-rights/) [Jamal Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamal-khashoggi/) > [There is no excuse for human rights abuse, whether in the name of security or in the name of liberation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-khan/there-is-no-excuse-for-human-rights-abuse-whether-in-the-name-of/) [Irene Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-khan/) > [Psychiatry does not commit human rights abuse. It is a human rights abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/psychiatry-does-not-commit-human-rights-abuse-it-is-a-human-rights/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [Slavery, racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry, subordination, and human rights abuse transform and adapt with the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-prendergast/slavery-racism-sexism-and-other-forms-of-bigotry-subordination-and/) [John Prendergast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-prendergast/) > [A play that forces us to question our moral responsibility to the victims of human rights abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/a-play-that-forces-us-to-question-our-moral-responsibility-to-the/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/once-social-change-begins-it-cannot-be-reversed-you-cannot-uneducate/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [“We are all entitled to our opinions and religious beliefs, but we are not entitled to make shit up and then use the shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-are-all-entitled-to-our-opinions-and-religious-beliefs-but-we-are/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Governments oppress people, but so do mobs. You need to avoid both to make progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/governments-oppress-people-but-so-do-mobs-you-need-to-avoid-both-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Considering the natural lust for power so inherent in man, I fear the thirst of power will prevail to oppress the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/considering-the-natural-lust-for-power-so-inherent-in-man-i-fear-the/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/you-cannot-oppress-the-people-who-are-not-afraid-anymore/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [It's difficult to oppress people who have a sense of identity and unity, he says. Our struggle is about being seen as human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-alvarado/it-s-difficult-to-oppress-people-who-have-a-sense-of-identity-and/) Pablo Alvarado ## More by Roma Tearne > [This thing, reconciliation, isn't perfect, but we also must have hope. Without hope, there is nothing. So let's hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/this-thing-reconciliation-isn-t-perfect-but-we-also-must-have-hope/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [Remembered memory is much more powerful than actually having your own memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/remembered-memory-is-much-more-powerful-than-actually-having-your-own/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [Grey has no agenda. . . . Grey has the ability, that no other colour has, to make the invisible visible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/grey-has-no-agenda-grey-has-the-ability-that-no-other-colour-has-to/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [“Has there ever been a country that, once colonized, avoided civil war?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/has-there-ever-been-a-country-that-once-colonized-avoided-civil-war/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [It is important for women to do something about what they see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/it-is-important-for-women-to-do-something-about-what-they-see/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [“It is impossible not to make mistakes during a war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/it-is-impossible-not-to-make-mistakes-during-a-war/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [Some say art is our highest form of hope. . . . Perhaps it's our only hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/some-say-art-is-our-highest-form-of-hope-perhaps-it-s-our-only-hope/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [Once you have been tortured, you can never belong in this world. There is no place that ever be your home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/once-you-have-been-tortured-you-can-never-belong-in-this-world-there/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [Reconciliation is one of the hardest words. We almost forget, but there's always a little group that can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/reconciliation-is-one-of-the-hardest-words-we-almost-forget-but-there/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [Actually what is happening in the twenty-first century, this is the great century of migration, so we have people from all around the globe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/actually-what-is-happening-in-the-twenty-first-century-this-is-the/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [“...there are places that don't belong to geography but to time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/there-are-places-that-don-t-belong-to-geography-but-to-time/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) > [You can't anticipate history. It's only when you look back you see what the Romans did, and what various other empires did, what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/you-can-t-anticipate-history-it-s-only-when-you-look-back-you-see/) [Roma Tearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) [Explore all 13 Roma Tearne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/) ## More Abuse quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Being nice is okay,but don't allow anybody to abuse it...try to fight for your self when you know your on the right way...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-is-okay-but-don-t-allow-anybody-to-abuse-it-try-to-fight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Build a bridge over shame by teaching kids about sexual abuse. Give them a chance to run to us should they encounter it. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/build-a-bridge-over-shame-by-teaching-kids-about-sexual-abuse-give/) [Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Stand up for yourself. Never give any one permission to abuse you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/stand-up-for-yourself-never-give-any-one-permission-to-abuse-you/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-stallman/all-governments-should-be-pressured-to-correct-their-abuses-of-human/) [Richard Stallman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-stallman/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) [Browse all 3,113 Abuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they are, whether they are a black girl in a rural community in, say, America or Britain, or whether it's something happening out there in one of the countries of conflict. I mean Sri Lanka, the human rights abuse there is appalling.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roma Tearne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-small-wherever-they-are-whether/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abuse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-small-wherever-they-are-whether/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/042/roma-tearne-36204_abuse_we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-sm_1079356.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We oppress people, we make our victims small wherever they are, whether they are a black girl in a rural…” — Roma Tearne", "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": "Roma Tearne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roma-tearne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We oppress people, we make our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-small-wherever-they-are-whether/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roma-tearne/we-oppress-people-we-make-our-victims-small-wherever-they-are-whether/#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 } } ] } ```