He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself. Thomas Paine
I don’t mind what the opposition say of me so long as they don’t tell the truth about me. Mark Twain
To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi, Letters from Burma
The militant suffrage campaign had stirred up a vocal opposition. Amanda Vickery, Suffragettes: Forever! The Story of Women and Power III, BBC 2015
Mark Thatcher: Tell me, Mr Mugabi. What exactly are your aims in Zimbabwe?
Mugabi: Outlaw the opposition. And achieve a smoothly functioning one-party state.
Mark Thatcher: Ah, just like mumsy. Spitting Image s1e2, ITV 1984
In parts of the United States, science is under attack from a well-organized, politically well-connected and, above all, well-financed opposition, and the teaching of evolution is in the front-line trench. Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion p66
I’ll leave you out of it. But you are my chancellor. I don’t take it kindly and I’ll have no opposition. A Man For All Seasons 1966 starring Paul Scofield & Wendy Hiller & Leo McKern & Orson Welles & Robert Shaw & Susannah York & Nigel Davenport & John Hurt & Corin Redgrave & Colin Blakely et al, director Fred Zinnemann
In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team. Jean-Paul Sartre
No government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition. Benjamin Disraeli
The singing, the yelling, the dressing up in red. The Opposition ***** fan, ESPN 2014
It’s very difficult to get a player to talk politics. They don’t talk. They’re afraid. They’re scared. We were the black sheep. We were dissidents. ibid. Carlos Caszely, Chile national team 1969-1985
The team represented a great generation of Chilean soccer players. ibid. Julio Salviat, journalist
Behind the scenes, the US funded propaganda campaigns and starved aid to Chile in an effort to undercut Allende’s leftist agenda. ibid. caption
By eliminating Peru, the team set up a two-game playoff versus the Soviet Union for a spot in the World Cup. But Chile was crumbling. ibid.
The lust for power killed those dreams. ibid. journalist
On the way to training I saw dead bodies. ibid. dissident player
I was arrested. The accusation was that I was a dangerous activist. I was brought to the National Stadium. I never imagined that a place such as this could be made into a concentration camp. ibid.
The Soviet Union sent a letter to FIFA protesting its upcoming game versus Chile on moral grounds. ibid. caption
Russia isn’t coming … You’ll still have to take the field tomorrow and score a goal … It was a FIFA stipulation. ibid. dissident player
From September to November 1973 an estimated 40,000 people were imprisoned at Chile’s National Stadium. ibid.
During World War One 30 million troops were conscripted. 9 million were killed. 16,000 Britons claimed the right to refuse to kill. During World War Two 45 million troops were conscripted. 25 million were killed. 60,000 Britons claimed the right to refuse to kill. During the Vietnam War 1 million US troops were conscripted, 58,000 were killed. 170,000 Americans claimed the right to refuse to kill. 300,000 US/UK troops fought in the 2003 Iraq War. None were physically conscripted. As annual global military expenditure reaches $1 trillion, mass physical conscription has ended. Financial conscription has taken its place. Contempt of Conscience, 2009
RAF Fairford, March 2003: ‘This [peace protest] is the most complex, largest, most expensive operation ever undertaken by Gloucester constabulary … There’s 1,000 police here which seems rather over the top.’ ibid.
March 20th 2003: The B52 bombers took off from Fairford for their five-hour flight to Iraq. ibid.
The Treasury has been pretty cagey about the figures. ibid.
By withholding 10% of my taxes I’m exercising that right. ibid.
There is an historical tradition of tax resistance particularly in the United States. ibid.
The whole point of this campaign was to be the opposite of Underwood. House of Cards US s4e6: Chapter 45, Dunbar, Netflix 2016
In the early 1960s opposition to apartheid had been all but crushed. The World Against Apartheid: Have You Heard From Johannesburg? III The New Generation, BBC 2012
Elinor agreed with it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition. Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
February 27th 2015: Boris Nemtsov, the main opposition leader, was apparently assassinated … It doesn’t leave much Russian opposition. The Assassination of Boris Nemtsov: Kremlin’s Biggest Critic, Youtube short 7.42, Vice short, 2015
I ain’t draft-dodgin’. I ain’t burnin’ no flag. And I ain’t runnin’ to Canada. I’m stayin’ right here.
You wanna send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I can be there for 4 or 5 more.
But I ain’t goin’ no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill other poor people. If I wanna die, I’ll die right here, right now fightin’ you — if I wanna die.
You my enemy. Not no Chinese, no Viet Cong, no Japanese
You my opposer — when I want freedom.
You my opposer — when I want justice.
You my opposer — when I want equality.
Want me to go to somewhere and I fight for you. You won’t even stand up for me right here in America for my rights and my religious beliefs. You won’t even stand up for me right here at home. Muhammad Ali