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Desmond Tutu Quotes

Desmond Tutu October 2006	"People who call pacifists weak, that's not the case," he said. "Actually you go into confrontation. You confront violent people without weapons and your confrontation draws out their violence as it did in Birmingham with the dogs as it did in South Africa with the dogs. And that worked beautifully in Capetown in those few months. It was called the Defiance Campaign. The police violence, which was normally confined to black townships, was exported into the city. There was a particular evening, in which the Anglican Cathedral went to a judge to seek an order to stop the police from beating people up indiscriminately on the streets. Well, the police lawyer had considerable difficulty persuading the judge not to grant the order when the judges own clerk had been beaten up on the way to court to hear the case that evening."
Desmond Tutu October 2006	"It was fairly straightforward that one of the things we had to do was to seek to establish a moral position," he said. "The second was maintaining the morale of our people. Telling our people 'your cause is a just cause.' This is, in fact, a moral universe. We're going to win."
Desmond Tutu October 2006	What's the best thing about life at 75? Tutu: "Looking back and now saying, 'Hey, we are free!' And realizing it is possible for good to overcome evil and to know that we can do it together." In 1998, you told the Archbishop of Canterbury that you were ashamed to be Anglican when the church failed to liberalize its attitudes toward gay clergy. Do you still feel that way? Tutu: "Yes. For me, there doesn't seem to be a difference at all with how I felt when people were being clobbered for something about which they could do nothing — their race. I can't believe that the Jesus Christ I worship would be on the side of those who persecute an already persecuted minority. That we should be tearing ourselves apart on this issue of human sexuality when the world faces such devastating problems as poverty, AIDS and conflict seems as if we are fiddling whilst our Rome is burning." How close is South Africa to realizing your dream of uniting as a "rainbow people of God"? Tutu: "Reconciliation is a long process. We don't have the kind of race clashes that we thought would happen. What we have is xenophobia, and it's very distressing. But maybe you ought to be lenient with us. We've been free for just 12 years." You and Nelson Mandela have quibbled over fashion in the past. For the record, who's the better dresser? Tutu: "Modesty prevents me from saying what I really think. But... his sartorial taste is the pits! [Laughs] He's such a lovely guy, but he was nasty to me when I publicly commented on it. He said the critique was pretty amusing coming from a man who wears a dress! " Desmond Tutu interviewed by Time magazine.
Desmond Tutu October 2006	"I am always intrigued because if you will notice, Zapiro always draws my nose peeping into my mouth. A very big thank you to the Trust and University. I am deeply touched and lack words to express my appreciation" - Desmond Tutu on receiving a Zapiro cartoon as a present for his 75th birthday.
Desmond Tutu 8 June 1996	"There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew." from "Recovering from Apartheid", in The New Yorker.
1986	Desmond Tutu is ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town.
Desmond Tutu 8 June 1986	"We who advocate peace are becoming an irrelevance when we speak peace. The government speaks rubber bullets, live bullets, tear gas, police dogs, detention, and death" Sunday Times Magazine UK
Desmond Tutu 9 January 1985	"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of human rights" Today, NBC
Desmond Tutu 3 January 1985	"For goodness sake, will they hear, will white people hear what we are trying to say? Please, all we are asking you to do is recognise that we are humans too." New York Times.
Desmond Tutu November 1984	"Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant" from Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches.
1984	Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his endeavours for a non-violent end to apartheid.
Desmond Tutu 1981	"History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene." From Desmond Tutu's speech "Fortieth Anniversary of the Republic?"
Desmond Tutu Undated	“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."
Desmond Tutu Undated	“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.”
Desmond Tutu Undated	“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."
Desmond Tutu Undated	“When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land."
7 October 1931	Desmond Tutu was born in Klerksdorp, in the then Transvaal province of South Africa.

References

Desmond Tutu Discusses His Life as an Advocate for Peace

Q & A: Desmond Tutu

Quotes: Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu Celebrates 75 years