The Low Road by Marge Piercy from Howard Zinn's The People Speak
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What can they do to you?
Whatever they want.
They can set you up, they can bust you
they can break your fingers
they can burn your brain with electricity
blur you with drugs till you can't walk
can’t remember, they can take your child
wall up your lover, they can do anything
and you can’t blame them from doing.
How can you stop them?
Alone, you can fight, you can refuse
you can take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.
But two people fighting back to back
can cut through a mob
a snake-dancing file can break a cordon
an army can meet an army.
Two people can keep each other sane
can give support, conviction, love, massage, hope, sex.
Three people are a delegation, a committee, a wedge.
With four you can play bridge and start an organisation.
With six you can rent a whole house
eat pie for dinner with no seconds
and hold a fundraising party.
A dozen can make a demonstration. A hundred fill a hall.
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter;
ten thousand, power and your own paper;
a hundred thousand, your own media;
ten million, your own country.
It goes on one at a time
it starts when you care to act
it starts when you do it again after they said no
it starts when you say WE
and you know what you mean.
And each day you mean one more.
[applause]