Mario Savio: Sproul Hall Steps, December 2, 1964

Enemy of the State

"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!"

"Savio's moral clarity, his eloquence, and his democratic style of leadership inspired thousands of fellow Berkeley students to protest university regulations which severely limited political speech and activity on campus. The non-violent campaign culminated in the largest mass arrest in American history, drew widespread faculty support, and resulted in a revision of university rules to permit political speech and organising. This significant advance for student freedom rapidly spread to countless other colleges and universities across the country." [Via stonecast, see here: http://www.savio.org/who_was_mario.html

More here: http://tinyurl.com/3b46o2

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  News & Politics

[Colin Plumb]

I first heard this speech in a track by Fear Factory many years ago. It stuck with me ever since. Very powerfull.

[chad450f]

Amen brother.... Amen. "If tyranny and oppression ever come to this land it will be under the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." -James Madison

"If fascism ever comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and waving across." - James Madison

Fellow Christians please wake up to what is happening. They are twisting our beliefs to ravage the middle east. This IS NOT God

[Soapmactavish192]

wretches and kings brought me here



[GenoCash97]

the machiens will be prevented from working at a... a what a what tell me a what

[ansleycoatsworth]

I half expected the bass to drop after "you've got to make it stop!"

[Gofk Yourmother]

"We're human beings!" - What an incredible speech. This man should have risen to much greater heights than he did.

[Ez Lez]

Wretches and Kings.

[mflaminivt1]

This just gave me the chills and put a tear in my eye. We need this now.

[Damian Aguirre]

Thumbs up if you got here because of Dope Stars Inc. :D

[PolyesterMoustache]

why does the word "all" get cut off at the end?

[PolyesterMoustache]

That second quote is a paraphrasing of something Sinclair Lewis said. James Madison didn't say that, he died 100 years before the word "fascism" was coined.