Free Speech Movement Quotes

“The state can't give you free speech, and the state can't take it away. You're born with it, like your eyes, like your ears. Freedom is something you assume, then you wait for someone to try to take it away. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free...”
― Utah Phillips

“It's freedom of speech, not freedom from consequences and/or ridicule.”
― A.E. Samaan

“There is no such thing as free speech absolutism. It’s really just an opportunity to use hate speech and the denigration of minorities.”
― Gina Gwenffrewi (Ed.)

“A study of the San Francisco Beat enclave by psychiatrist Dr. Francis Rigney in the late 1950's showed 60 percent "were so psychotic or crippled by tensions, anxiety and neurosis as to be nonfunctional in the competitive world." In contrast, the several studies released so far made of the student radicals at Berkeley show them to be stable, serious, and of above-average intelligence. The point is that the Beats had to "cop out" of the Rat Race because they couldn't perform; the New Left chooses to reject a society it could easily be successful in.”
― Jack Newfield

“Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves. Fight for the rights of others. Because one day you may need someone to speak up for you.”
― Jeanette Coron

“Defend the rights of someone you disagree with today, so that your rights can be defended tomorrow.”
― Jeanette Coron