--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The organizer dedicated to changing the…" description: "\"The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community.\" — Saul Alinsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png" --- # The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a… ![“The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community.” quote by Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png) > “The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community.” [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective community organizing must first confront and surface existing grievances within the community. **In simple terms:** Address grievances before change. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and work through resentment. Themes community organizing conflict social change Mood serious reflective Type strategic inspirational When to use this quote - neighborhood meetings - public forums - mediated dialogues Key Concepts Power dynamics grassroots activism empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders surface hidden grievances constructively? - What methods reduce backlash when confronting resentment? A Different Perspective Ignoring resentment can deepen resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Resentments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resentments/) ## Related quotes > [The Bush Administration, and particularly Bush's chief political strategist and Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove, have been expert in both galvanizing and mobilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-blumenthal/the-bush-administration-and-particularly-bush-s-chief-political/) [Sidney Blumenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-blumenthal/) > [Men don't like to step abruptly out of the security of familiar experience; they need a bridge to cross from their own experience to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/men-don-t-like-to-step-abruptly-out-of-the-security-of-familiar/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The organizer must become schizoid, politically, in order to slip into becoming a true believer. Before men can act an issue must be polarized.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-must-become-schizoid-politically-in-order-to-slip-into/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-world-is-as-it-is-not-as-i-3/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The despair is there; now it's up to us to go in and rub raw the sores of discontent, galvanize them for radical social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-despair-is-there-now-it-s-up-to-us-to-go-in-and-rub-raw-the-sores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [From the moment the organizer enters a community he lives, dreams... only one thing and that is to build the mass power base of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/from-the-moment-the-organizer-enters-a-community-he-lives-dreams-only/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [True revolutionaries do not flaunt their radicalism. They cut their hair, put on suits and infiltrate the system from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/true-revolutionaries-do-not-flaunt-their-radicalism-they-cut-their/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [In the beginning the organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/in-the-beginning-the-organizer-s-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [From the moment an organizer enters a community, he lives, dreams, eats, breathes, sleeps only one thing, and that is to build the mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/from-the-moment-an-organizer-enters-a-community-he-lives-dreams-eats/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/as-an-organizer-i-start-from-where-the-world-is-as-it-is-not-as-i/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The organizers first job is to create the issues or problems, and organizations must be based on many issues. The organizer must first rub…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizers-first-job-is-to-create-the-issues-or-problems-and/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [An organizer working in and for an open society is in an ideological dilemma to begin with, he does not have a fixed truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/an-organizer-working-in-and-for-an-open-society-is-in-an-ideological/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [There are gay people in every community, there are bi people in every community and they can come together with a bit of strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-act/there-are-gay-people-in-every-community-there-are-bi-people-in-every/) [Courtney Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-act/) > [Instead of drifting along like a leaf in a river, understand who you are and how you come across to people and what kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/instead-of-drifting-along-like-a-leaf-in-a-river-understand-who-you/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [“The call of community isn't about finding people just like us, or at the exclusion of any people. Community in the biblical sense is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-halter-matt-smay/the-call-of-community-isn-t-about-finding-people-just-like-us-or-at/) [Hugh Halter & Matt Smay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-halter-matt-smay/) ## More by Saul Alinsky > [The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-threat-is-usually-more-terrifying-than-the-thing-itself/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The very first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-very-first-radical-known-to-man-who-rebelled-against-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [I've never joined any organization - not even the ones I've organized myself. I prize my own independence too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/i-ve-never-joined-any-organization-not-even-the-ones-i-ve-organized/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Everybody owned stock in the Capone mob; in a way, he was a public benefactor. I remember one time when he arrived at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/everybody-owned-stock-in-the-capone-mob-in-a-way-he-was-a-public/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [First rule of change is controversy. You can't get away from it for the simple reason all issues are controversial. Change means movement, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/first-rule-of-change-is-controversy-you-can-t-get-away-from-it-for/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Radicals, on the other hand, want to advance from the jungle of laissez-faire capitalism to a world worthy of the name of human civilization.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/radicals-on-the-other-hand-want-to-advance-from-the-jungle-of-laissez/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/pick-the-target-freeze-it-personalize-it-and-polarize-it-cut-off-the/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The first step in community organization is community disorganization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-first-step-in-community-organization-is-community-disorganization/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power just goes to two poles — to those who've got money, and those who've got people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-just-goes-to-two-poles-to-those-who-ve-got-money-and-those-who/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The establishment can accept being screwed, but not being laughed at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-establishment-can-accept-being-screwed-but-not-being-laughed-at/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [To the organizer, compromise is a key and beautiful word. It is always present in the pragmatics of operation... If you start with nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/to-the-organizer-compromise-is-a-key-and-beautiful-word-it-is-always/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/power-is-not-only-what-you-have-but-what-the-enemy-thinks-you-have/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [The standards of judgment must be rooted in the whys and wherefores of life as it is lived, the world as it is, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-standards-of-judgment-must-be-rooted-in-the-whys-and-wherefores/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [Organized business has assumed that greater profits would be pretty much of a cure-all, and it has to a major extent ignored the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/organized-business-has-assumed-that-greater-profits-would-be-pretty/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) > [One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/one-acts-decisively-only-in-the-conviction-that-all-the-angels-are-on/) [Saul Alinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) [Explore all 141 Saul Alinsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saul Alinsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the-life-of-a-particular/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the-life-of-a-particular/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/saul-alinsky-3048_anger_the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the_3151949.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The organizer dedicated to changing the life of a particular community must first rub raw the resentments of…” — Saul Alinsky", "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": "Saul Alinsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-alinsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The organizer dedicated to changing the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the-life-of-a-particular/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-alinsky/the-organizer-dedicated-to-changing-the-life-of-a-particular/#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 } } ] } ```