Monster Quotes

“Out of frustration and hopelessness our young people have reached the point of no return. We no longer endorse patience and turning the other cheek. We assert the right of self-defense by whatever means necessary, and reserve the right of maximum retaliation against our racist oppressors, no matter what the odds against us are.”
― Sanyika Shakur, Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

“Being ignorant is, to me, the equivalent of being dead.”
― Sanyika Shakur, Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

“De and I were on the same side, E side. Central was packed with future Ghetto Stars from both sides of the color bar and varying divisions therein. It was also packed with soon-to-be-dead gang members. Many who were there in 1981 have since been gunned down in street battles. Others were sent to prison and killed there. Few, very few, have lived since then in any prolonged state of peace.”
― Sanyika Shakur, Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

“Under the guise of being a showpiece for the world where prosperity is as easily found as water in a stream, America, for all her ostensible beauty, has an ugly scar across her belly that she has tried repeatedly to suppress and keep hidden from curious onlookers. More than a few times she has almost been exposed, and this ugliness brought to light, but always another garment would quickly be thrown over the rough spot and all the turmoil and ugliness again blanketed. But not this time.”
― Sanyika Shakur, Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member