--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I supported the right of oppressed people…" description: "\"I supported the right of oppressed people to armed struggle. That didn't mean I did it.\" — Susan Rosenberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/susan-rosenberg-22118_armed-struggle_i-supported-the-right-of-oppressed-peopl_751619.jpg" --- # I supported the right of oppressed people to armed… ![“I supported the right of oppressed people to armed struggle. That didn't mean I did it.” quote by Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/susan-rosenberg-22118_armed-struggle_i-supported-the-right-of-oppressed-peopl_751619.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/susan-rosenberg-22118_armed-struggle_i-supported-the-right-of-oppressed-peopl_751619.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/susan-rosenberg-22118_armed-struggle_i-supported-the-right-of-oppressed-peopl_751619.jpg) > “I supported the right of oppressed people to armed struggle. That didn't mean I did it.” [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Supporting oppressed peoples' right to fight does not equal personal participation **In simple terms:** Backing a cause differs from acting in it Key Takeaway Distinguish advocacy from direct involvement Themes human rights activism ethics Mood thoughtful critical Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy debates - activist training - academic courses - media interviews Key Concepts moral responsibility political theory non‑violence Questions to Reflect On - What are the ethical boundaries of supporting armed struggle? - How can one support justice without violence? A Different Perspective Advocacy can be constrained by legal or personal limits ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Armed struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armed-struggle/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed/) [Oppressed People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressed-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right Oppressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-oppressed-3256130/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Supported Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supported-right-1602448/) ## Related quotes > [This notion that's peddled by the religious right - that they are oppressed is not true. Sometimes it's a cynical ploy to move their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/this-notion-that-s-peddled-by-the-religious-right-that-they-are/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We're caught, but we're not defeated. Long live the armed struggle!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/we-re-caught-but-we-re-not-defeated-long-live-the-armed-struggle/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I have had many Ashfield people say to me that they might not agree with my political views or my decisions but that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-hoon/i-have-had-many-ashfield-people-say-to-me-that-they-might-not-agree/) [Geoff Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-hoon/) > [ \[L\]iberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/l-iberty-must-at-all-hazards-be-supported-we-have-a-right-to-it/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [There's a lot of Democrats, myself included, who have supported right-to-life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manchin/there-s-a-lot-of-democrats-myself-included-who-have-supported-right/) [Joe Manchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manchin/) > [I was a hardliner with regard to colonialism, which had occupied Africa and large parts of the world. We were waging an armed struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muammar-al-gaddafi/i-was-a-hardliner-with-regard-to-colonialism-which-had-occupied/) [Muammar al-Gaddafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muammar-al-gaddafi/) > [Oppressed people are frequently very oppressive when first liberated. They know but two positions: somebody's foot on their neck or their foot on somebody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florynce-kennedy/oppressed-people-are-frequently-very-oppressive-when-first-liberated/) [Florynce Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florynce-kennedy/) > [I think as an intelligent person you would agree that when you are teaching among oppressed people that they should be relieved of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-think-as-an-intelligent-person-you-would-agree-that-when-you-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Nonviolence is the most potent technique for oppressed people. Unearned suffering is redemptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-the-most-potent-technique-for-oppressed-people/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [An oppressed people are authorized whenever they can to rise and break their fetters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay/an-oppressed-people-are-authorized-whenever-they-can-to-rise-and/) [Henry Clay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay/) > [Oppressed people, whatever their level of formal education, have the ability to understand and interpret the world around them, to see the world for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-baker/oppressed-people-whatever-their-level-of-formal-education-have-the/) [Ella Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-baker/) > [The rights of no oppressed people have ever yet been obtained by a voluntary act of justice on the part of the oppressors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-delany/the-rights-of-no-oppressed-people-have-ever-yet-been-obtained-by-a/) [Martin Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-delany/) > [Palestinians are not victims in need of aid, they are an occupied & oppressed people in need of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remi-kanazi/palestinians-are-not-victims-in-need-of-aid-they-are-an-occupied/) [Remi Kanazi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remi-kanazi/) > [I want to be the voice of the people; black, white, everyday, oppressed people. A person trying to make it and to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/i-want-to-be-the-voice-of-the-people-black-white-everyday-oppressed/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) > [Poor and afflicted and oppressed people have faces, and we are required to look squarely into them. We can't love what we won't experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mairs/poor-and-afflicted-and-oppressed-people-have-faces-and-we-are/) [Nancy Mairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mairs/) ## More by Susan Rosenberg > [We are innocent. We are not criminals or terrorists. We are revolutionary guerillas and have been captured in the course of building a resistance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/we-are-innocent-we-are-not-criminals-or-terrorists-we-are/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I've done everything I know in my heart on every level to take responsibility for what I think I have to. I'm not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-ve-done-everything-i-know-in-my-heart-on-every-level-to-take/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I had a second chance. I know how incredible that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-had-a-second-chance-i-know-how-incredible-that-is/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [The war against the Black Liberation movement by the FBI/U.S. government was most influential for me in seeing the necessity for armed self-defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/the-war-against-the-black-liberation-movement-by-the-fbi-u-s/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I took responsibility for the illegal actions, the potential for violence in my past actions, which I regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-took-responsibility-for-the-illegal-actions-the-potential-for/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I really believe our society has this propensity to punish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-really-believe-our-society-has-this-propensity-to-punish/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [First as a peace activist in the late '60s, then as a political activist in the '70s, and then in joining the armed clandestine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/first-as-a-peace-activist-in-the-late-60s-then-as-a-political/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [These chains are not going to stop me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/these-chains-are-not-going-to-stop-me/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I have been a revolutionary for much of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-have-been-a-revolutionary-for-much-of-my-life/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [The criminal activities I was involved in, I think that they were wrong and that they were dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/the-criminal-activities-i-was-involved-in-i-think-that-they-were/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [It was an extreme time, in a certain sense... I was totally and profoundly influenced by the revolutionary movements of the '60s and '70s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/it-was-an-extreme-time-in-a-certain-sense-i-was-totally-and/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I have a political view that is certainly progressive and radical in a certain sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-have-a-political-view-that-is-certainly-progressive-and-radical-in/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [I believed that one had to stop the machinery of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/i-believed-that-one-had-to-stop-the-machinery-of-war/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [Seeing the B-52s dropped from planes, watching the burning of civilians with Agent Orange, reading about the incarceration of Vietnamese militants in cages only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/seeing-the-b-52s-dropped-from-planes-watching-the-burning-of/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) > [It is not a crime to build revolutionary resistance against the single greatest enemy of the people of the world: U.S. imperialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rosenberg/it-is-not-a-crime-to-build-revolutionary-resistance-against-the/) [Susan Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) [Explore all 28 Susan Rosenberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rosenberg/) ## More Armed struggle quotes > [I was a hardliner with regard to colonialism, which had occupied Africa and large parts of the world. We were waging an armed struggle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muammar-al-gaddafi/i-was-a-hardliner-with-regard-to-colonialism-which-had-occupied/) [Muammar al-Gaddafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muammar-al-gaddafi/) > [Act after having made assessments. The one who first knows the measure of far and near wins - this is the rule of armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/act-after-having-made-assessments-the-one-who-first-knows-the-measure/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I rejected the armed struggle because, as a Christian, I am committed to a nonviolent and peaceful struggle. But people take their own initiatives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mangosuthu-buthelezi/i-rejected-the-armed-struggle-because-as-a-christian-i-am-committed/) [Mangosuthu Buthelezi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mangosuthu-buthelezi/) > [The purpose of armed struggle is not simply to kill ... its purpose is to reach a political goal,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-abbas/the-purpose-of-armed-struggle-is-not-simply-to-kill-its-purpose-is-to/) [Abu Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-abbas/) > [We will defend our victory through armed struggle. We will have to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/we-will-defend-our-victory-through-armed-struggle-we-will-have-to-do/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) > [Two years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon described the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim as a vital part of Israel's national security and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zuheir-mohsen/two-years-ago-israeli-prime-minister-ariel-sharon-described-the-gaza/) [Zuheir Mohsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zuheir-mohsen/) > [We don't want to impose our solutions by force, we want to create a democratic space. We don't see armed struggle in the classic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subcomandante-marcos/we-don-t-want-to-impose-our-solutions-by-force-we-want-to-create-a/) [Subcomandante Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subcomandante-marcos/) > [The main form of struggle is war; the main form of organization is the army... . Without armed struggle there would be no place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/the-main-form-of-struggle-is-war-the-main-form-of-organization-is-the/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [My father believed in armed struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/my-father-believed-in-armed-struggle/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [Our militant union with peoples which still have to carry on an armed struggle against the colonialists constitutes an important element of our line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/our-militant-union-with-peoples-which-still-have-to-carry-on-an-armed/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [The IRA has abandoned its armed struggle in pursuit of its goals by political means. This must be fully acknowledged. Continued challenge does nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-walsh/the-ira-has-abandoned-its-armed-struggle-in-pursuit-of-its-goals-by/) [James T. Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-walsh/) > [In the past I have defended the right of the IRA to engage in armed struggle. I did so because there was no alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-adams/in-the-past-i-have-defended-the-right-of-the-ira-to-engage-in-armed/) [Gerry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-adams/) > [Armed struggle is a necessary and morally correct form of resistance in the Six Counties against a government whose presence is rejected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-adams/armed-struggle-is-a-necessary-and-morally-correct-form-of-resistance/) [Gerry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-adams/) > [I don't accept armed struggle. Maybe it was the way in the '50s and '60s, but we want a democratic revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/i-don-t-accept-armed-struggle-maybe-it-was-the-way-in-the-50s-and-60s/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [The armed struggle is not ending just now. We are upholding a ceasefire. We have our arms with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mugabe/the-armed-struggle-is-not-ending-just-now-we-are-upholding-a/) [Robert Mugabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mugabe/) [Browse all 19 Armed struggle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/armed-struggle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I supported the right of oppressed people to armed struggle. 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