We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.
I always felt that if someone shot me, it would be great for the environmental movement, because they would make me a martyr. Our biggest fear was our children, because there was a tremendous amount of threat and intimidation, and my wife was terrified that the children might be grabbed or assaulted in some way. That was the real fear.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the fear and risks taken for the sake of a greater cause, emphasizing the personal sacrifices involved.
David Suzuki's quote illustrates the profound fears associated with activism, particularly in the environmental movement. He conveys a deep concern for the safety of his family amidst the threats faced while advocating for a cause that he believes could ultimately lead to positive change. The notion of martyrdom underscores the intensity of these convictions, highlighting how the struggle for environmental justice often comes with personal sacrifices and dangers, especially when children's safety is involved.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about environmental activism, this quote can highlight the personal risks activists face.
More from David Suzuki
All quotes →As parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts we need to start getting out into nature with the young people in our lives. Families play a key role in getting kids outside.
One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child.
The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.
Do you know how much land is under ice, rock and snow? Do you know why 90 percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border? We have this idea we're a vast country. But the reality is that a lot of it, a huge amount, is uninhabitable.
We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.
Similar quotes
Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with my doctor and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.
I actually lost both my legs. I can walk because I got really good health care.
Like many black men growing up in London, I have been stopped and searched by several policemen. I was 12 years old when I was first groped and frisked by police for walking down the road. It terrified me so much I wet myself.
If I profess with loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except that little point which the world and the Devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.
Above all, try always to be able to feel deeply any injustice committed against any person in any part of the world. It is the most beautiful quality of a revolutionary.
Go to the battlefield firmly confident of victory and you will come home with no wounds whatsoever.