Repressive Quotes

New York (in 1964 and `65) was wonderful and so on, and L.A. was also kind of interesting. But outside of that we found it the most repressive society, very prejudiced in every way. There was still segregation. And the attitudes were fantastically old-fashioned. Americans shocked me by their behavior and their narrow-mindedness. It`s changed fantastically over the last 30 years. But so has everything else.

I often traveled to Nicaragua to speak against repressive policies by the Sandinista government.

Everything`s so repressive now - it`s the No generation. You can`t do anything, you can`t eat anything, you have to abstain.

I don`t belong to a church or political party or a group of any kind. I feel that Amnesty International is the most civilized organization in history. Its currency is the written word. Its weapon is the letter; that`s why I am a member. I believe in its non-violence; I believe in its effectiveness. Its dignity and its sense of commitment. Its focus on individuals and the concentration and tenacity with which they defend those imprisoned for their ideas has earned it the cautious respect of repressive governments throughout the world.

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.

... I`ve seen it around the world, in the poorest countries and in countries riven with conflict, ... It is women who are the key to breaking out of poverty, breaking out of stagnation. ... It`s women who can contribute to achieving real security -- not bombs and bullets and repressive governments.

It`s a repressive society where you can`t be horrible, I`m not horrible, they made me horrible, I`m just honest.

When they talk about family values, it`s in a repressive way, as if our American tradition were only the Puritan tradition or the 19th century oppressive tradition. The Christian tradition.

If the tenth of the population that is gay became visible tomorrow, the panic of the majority of people would inspire repressive legislation of a sort that would shock even the pessimists among us.

Let me speak as a veteran of the Marine Corps who has been supportive of the military action taken in Iraq. The idea has been to deliver the people from a (repressive) regime ... I think there are some who would question if we leave in place a structure that is less than sufficient in guaranteeing the freedom of the Iraqi people. There are those who view that as less than successful.

But here too it should be noted that the President`s approach was to first ask the repressive and brutal Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden to us, and only after that government refused to do that did we invade.

Unfortunately, little attention was paid to how Arafat ruled. In fact, some saw the harsh and repressive nature of Arafat`s regime as actually bolstering the prospects for peace.

The more there are riots, the more repressive action will take place, and the more we face the danger of a right-wing takeover and eventually a fascist society.