People From Virginia

"This means that if someone acts like a fascist, has fascist beliefs, repeats fascist talking points, and hangs out with other fascists, the fact that they publicly denounce fascism should be worth absolutely nothing to you, and shouldn’t even enter into your consideration of whether they’re a fascist. After all, “I’m not a fascist” is exactly what a fascist would say."

"Do you think you can purchase acceptance through conformity? Because that is not freedom. [...] That is simply adding another cell to the prison."

"It's possible to take genuine virtues like nuance, empathy, and impartiality, and to twist them into fucked up apologia for horrible, oppressive behavior. If you play this game long enough you can essentially explain away the entire concept of bigotry, and conclude that in reality there are no bigots, there's only tragically misunderstood people with difficult childhoods and valid concerns, cruelly demonized by militant activists defaming and silencing them with such reputation-ruining slurs as "homophobe"."

"Men often slut-shame because they want to control female sexuality. And by female sexuality, I do mean male sexuality. Because often what they're really struggling to control is their own desire."

"Children, if I have to crawl off the goddamn floor on the morning of November 4th, brush aside the empty wine bottles and pick up my phone to discover that Caligula Jackson is President For Life; I am going to chew my way through the bathroom tile and I will not stop until I reach the gates of Hell. [...] Don't make me eat my bathroom tile, children. There's probably asbestos in that tile, because America's so great even the floor is made of poison."

"As trans women we have little influence in society. The people who lead the conversations about us are bigger and stronger than we are. So we're like a jogger racing against a car. The only way to win is to hijack the car. And so this video is my attempt to hijack the conversation that straight men are having about us. As always my aspiration is to derive a woke conclusion from edgy premises, to shitpost my way to the moral high ground."

"To fascists, the pursuit of individual happiness must be subservient to the health and success of the race. So in a sense, traditionalism is a much more collectivistic philosophy than Communism, which only demands communal ownership of the means of production. At least in theory, Communism doesn’t tell you what gender to be, or who and how to fuck."

"So when you reduce bigotry to a caricature of pure hatred you obscure that bigotry is a deeply human problem. [...] I believe that understanding bigots is the best defense against becoming one yourself because when you dehumanize the villains you become unable to recognize the villain within."

"That's the difference between me and the fascists. I want a society where people like me are simply allowed to exist, and - this is the important part - where people who are not like me are simply allowed to exist. Fascists want a society where only people like them are allowed to exist. The queer quest is to survive. The fascist quest is to be the only survivor."

"We say "Look, toxic masculinity is the reason you don't have room to express your feelings, and it's the reason you feel lonely and inadequate". So, while feminism tells women "You hate your body and you're constantly doubting yourself because society did this to you and needs to change", we kinda just tell men "You're lonely and suicidal because you're toxic. Stop it!" We tell them that they're broken without really telling them how to fix themselves."

"I really wish people would pay less attention to the tweets I spend 30 seconds writing and a little more attention to the video that I spent, you know, hundreds of hours making."

"I concluded my book Lean In with my hope that "in the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders." I did not know Ann when I wrote that, but she is exactly who I had in mind. What distinguishes Ann is not that she's a woman, but that she is a spectacular and inspiring leader."

"My admiration for Ann is boundless- not just because of what she achieved but how she achieved it. Ann's story is the story of a true soldier. She ends every talk with this: "In the end we're all just soldiers, but that's the highest thing you could claim to be." Her story- and this book- will inspire anyone who wants to serve and lead."

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."

"As a military professional, I knew that the most important element is trust- the vision had to be built on trust. The very basis for why soldiers fight the way they do is the trust they have in their teammates, their fellow soldiers. It's usually less dramatic off the battlefield but still equally important. Without trust in each other and trust in the institution, you will not be able to realize your vision."

"For the vision to be taken seriously, the destination- or the goal- has to be attainable. It's your vision, so you need to determine the timing. With your destination in focus, you need to describe who you are, what you do, and how you are going to get there."

"Will you encourage your workers to be innovative, or will you promote an environment where the status quo is good enough? Do you have mechanisms to allow all employees to voice opinions and provide feedback without fear of retaliation? Are you accessible, or are you insulated from your people? Good leaders motivate by being seen, by communicating, by engaging, and by taking care of their employees."

"I have to laugh when people ask, "How's retired life?" I'm as busy as I've ever been, except now I make my own schedule. I see my husband every day. I finally get to spend regular quality time with family and friends. I no longer miss milestone events such as baby showers, birthdays, graduations, and weddings. I wrote this book. I started a consulting company, First 2 Four, LLC. I serve on multiple boards. I even continue to give speeches at universities and corporate gatherings, despite my continued fear of public speaking. But nothing- absolutely nothing- can replace the pride and purpose of being a soldier."

"Not everyone is cut out for the military, but I do believe everyone can and should have the opportunity to participate in a national service endeavor of their choce. Serving in the military can make you a better citizen, employee, and leader. The military provides hands-on experience. It provides leadership training and builds a foundation for a strong work ethic. Corporate America has taken notice and regularly recruits soldiers just as it does Ivy League students."

"In this book, Ann Dunwoody writes, "A hero is an average person who has done something extraordinary. As unusual as it is to start a foreword for a book by disagreeing with its author, I have to say that I disagree with Ann. I do not believe anyone would ever describe Ann as an average person. She has certainly done many extraordinary things. And to me, she is a true hero."

"For a great leader, colleague, friend, or parent to be his best, he has to acknowledge his worst. Throughout my life I've met plenty of superheroes, but the strongest and most effective among them were simply human and knew they weren't perfect. They were the men and women who, like my father, believed in their duty to country and sacrificed for others without hesitation. They all had their strengths and weaknesses. They excelled at times; they stumbled at times. But the great ones always made sure they could walk tall by recognizing their own enemy within and confronting it."

"Today, particularly in terms of combating terrorism, there are no front lines. Cities and neighborhoods are the battlefields. September 11 was a harsh reminder of this new reality."

"General Ann Dunwoody is the former commanding general of one of the Army's largest commands, the US Army Material Command. She is the first woman in US military history to achieve the rank of four-star general. Now retired, she offers strategic insights to companies and corporate boards."

"In the military it is said that you can often fool your boss, you can sometimes fool your peers, but you cannot fool your soldiers. General Dunwoody commanded the trust and service of her soldiers, not as a function of her rank or position, but rather as a function of her mastery of her profession and her willingness to always place the needs of the soldier first."

"Dear @NYCMayor - I am calling on you to immediately fire NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo. It's long overdue. #FirePantaleo #EricGarner"

"If she believed something was right, you could not dissuade her"

"Heyer was a challenge to raise sometimes because she was so strong-minded, but that didn’t upset Bro. She always encouraged her to be independent and think for herself. The two would discuss their shared concerns about racism and hatred. They supported fighting for equal treatment, whether through Black Lives Matter advocacy or by tipping waitresses fairly. Her daughter loved mac and cheese, cigarettes, scented candles, and products for her curly hair."

"I'm just grieving my child. She died pretty instantly, she didn't suffer. She died of a heart attack right away at the scene. They revived her briefly and then — not consciously — just got her heart beating again and then her heart just stopped."

"Women are indebted today for their emancipation from a position of hopeless degradation, not to their religion nor to Jehovah, but to the justice and honor of the men who have defied his commands. That she does not crouch today where St. Paul tried to bind her, she owes to the men who are grand and brave enough to ignore St. Paul, and rise superior to his God."

"This way, gentlemen, if you please. Come right on board the Declaration. I am the man from Oregon, with dispatches to the President of these United States, that you all read about in this morning's paper. Come on board, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to hear the news from Oregon. I've just come across the plains, two months from the Columbia River, where the Injuns are killing your missionaries. Those passengers who come aboard the Declaration shall hear all about it before they get to Pittsburg. Don't stop thar, looking at my old wolf-skin cap, but just come aboard, and hear what I've got to tell!"

"is difficult to define. There's a reason why it's not really done. additionally, we are not the thought police. It's not the role of a private company to decide what people can and cannot say."

"You cannot build a product that appeals to a diverse set of people without having a diverse set of people designing the product."

"Neither Alexis nor I created reddit to be a bastion of free speech, but rather as a place where open and honest discussion can happen: These are very complicated issues, and we are putting a lot of thought into it. It's something we've been thinking about for quite some time. We haven't had the tools to enforce policy, but now we're building those tools and reevaluating our policy."

"I consider myself a troll at heart. Making people bristle, being a little outrageous in order to add some spice to life—I get that. I’ve done that."

"On Reddit, the way in which we think about speech is to separate behavior from beliefs, this means on Reddit there will be people with beliefs different from your own, sometimes extremely so. When users’ actions conflict with our content policies, we take action."

"Our approach to governance is that communities can set appropriate standards around language for themselves. Many communities have rules around speech that are more restrictive than our own, and we fully support those rules."

"I don't think we should silence people just because their viewpoints are something we disagree with. There is value in the conversation, and we as a society need to confront these issues. This is an incredibly complex topic, and I'm sure our thinking will continue to evolve."

"The capitalist cheapens their wages; they compete with and underbid each other, for employed they must be on any terms. This war of the rich with the poor and the poor with one another, is the morality which political economy inculcates."

"Slavery relieves our slaves of these cares altogether, and slavery is a form, and the very best form, of socialism."

"None but lawyers and historians are aware how much of truth, justice and good sense, there is in the notions of the Communists, as to the community of property. Laying no stress on the too abstract proposition that Providence gave the world not to one man, or set of men, but to all mankind, it is a fact that all governments, in civilized countries, recognize the obligation to support the poor, and thus, in some degree, make all property a common possession."

"A Southern farm is a sort of joint stock concern, or social phalastery, in which the master furnishes the capital and skill, and the slaves the labor, and divide the profits, not according to each one’s in-put, but according to each one’s wants and necessities."

"Political economy is the science of free society. Its theory and its history alike establish this position. Its fundamental maxim Laissez-faire and 'Pas trop gouverner,' are at war with all kinds of slavery, for they in fact assert that individuals and peoples prosper most when governed least. It is not, therefore, wonderful that such a science should not have been believed or inculcated whilst slavery was universal."

"Slavery protects the infants, the aged and the sick; nay, takes far better care of them of the healthy, the middle-aged and the strong."

"Money is the great weapon in a free, equal and competitive society, which skill and capital employ in the war of the wits, to exploitate and oppress the poor, the improvident, and the weak-minded. Its evil effects are greatly aggravated by the credit and banking systems."

"Our slaves till the land, do the coarse and hard labor on our roads and canals, sweep our streets, cook our food, brush our boots, wait on our tables, hold our horses, do all hard work, and fill all menial offices. Your freemen at the North do the same work and fill the same offices. The only difference is, we love our slaves, and we are ready to defend, assist and protect them; you hate and fear your white servants, and never fail, as a moral duty, to screw down their wages to the lowest, and to starve their families, if possible, as evidence of your thrift, economy and management—the only English and Yankee virtues."

"Socialism proposes to do away with free competition; to afford protection and support at all times to the laboring class; to bring about, at least, a qualified community of property, and to associated labor. All these purposes, slavery fully and perfectly attains."

"[T]he capitalists now live entirely by the proceeds of poor men’s labor, which capital enables them to command."

"Private property destroys liberty and equality."

"Were he a slave, he would enjoy in fact as well as in legal fiction, all necessary and essential rights. Pure air and water, a house, sufficient food, fire, and clothing, would be his at all times."

"No association, no efficient combination of labor can be effected till men give up their liberty of action and subject themselves to a common despotic head or ruler. This is slavery, and towards this socialism is moving."