Repression Quotes

It is dangerous to speak the truth to tyrants.

In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own.... Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.

People always suffer for what governments have done.

Russians are too kind, they lack the ability to apply determined methods of revolutionary terror.

No socialist system can be formed without some form of political police – a Gestapo

All right, I can see the broken eggs. Now where's this omelet of yours?

To silence criticism is to silence freedom.

The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of it's powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the State.

Ideas can never be defeated by military force. They can only be defeated by better ideas.

It is doubtful if the oppressed ever fight for freedom. They fight for pride and power — power to oppress others. The oppressed want above all to imitate their oppressors; they want to retaliate.

Comrades! The kulak uprising in your five districts must be crushed without pity. You must make example of these people. (1) Hang (I mean hang publicly, so that people see it) at least 100 kulaks, rich bastards, and known bloodsuckers. (2) Publish their names. (3) Seize all their grain. (4) Single out the hostages per my instructions in yesterday's telegram. Do all this so that for miles around people see it all, understand it, tremble, and tell themselves that we are killing the bloodthirsty kulaks and that we will continue to do so ...Find tougher people.

The policy of repression of ideas cannot work and has never worked.

The means of defense against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people.

The one indisputable reality of dictatorship is that dissent, insult, and malevolent language do not go unpunished if it is allowed at all.

You show me a highly unequal society, and I will show you a police state. Or an uprising. There are no counterexamples. None. It's not if, it's when.

When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right.

It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own.

Even when repressed, inequality grows; only the man who is below the average in economic ability desires equality; those who are conscious of superior ability desire freedom, and in the end superior ability has its way.

All critics should be assassinated.

All those against the revolution must disappear and quickly be executed.

McCarthyism is Americanism with its sleeves rolled.

Fascism is not defined by the number of its victims, but by the way it kills them.

The enemies of freedom do not argue; they shout and they shoot.

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.

We are going through a fascistic time..