William asked us what would Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Mother Theresa or Richard Branson do?

Nelson Mandela said:

Our struggle has reached a decisive moment. We call on our people to seize this moment so that the process towards democracy is rapid and uninterrupted. We have waited too long for our freedom. We can no longer wait. Now is the time to intensify the struggle on all fronts. To relax our efforts now would be a mistake which generations to come will not be able to forgive. The sight of freedom looming on the horizon should encourage us to redouble our efforts.

Nelson Mandela’s speech on his release from prison in Cape Town on 11 February 1990

Gandhi said:

We must, therefore, purge ourselves of hatred. Speaking for myself, I can say that I have never felt any hatred. As a matter of fact, I feel myself to be a greater friend of the British now than ever before. One reason is that they are today in distress. My very friendship, therefore, demands that I should try to save them from their mistakes. As I view the situation, they are on the brink of an abyss. It, therefore, becomes my duty to warn them of their danger even though it may, for the time being, anger them to the point of cutting off the friendly hand that is stretched out to help them. People may laugh, nevertheless that is my claim. At a time when I may have to launch the biggest struggle of my life, I may not harbour hatred against anybody.

Gandhi’s Quit India speech 8 August 1942

Mother Theresa:

A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves. The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace.

Richard Branson:

ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN RECRUITING TALENT?
“People who are good with people. If the person at the top cares about the person cleaning the floor and the people on the switchboard, then everyone comes alive. If the people at the top are not good with people, then it ricochets down and the culture of that organization is miserable for everyone. I often promote from within way above what people would expect. For example, the cleaner at our first recording studio, the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, ended up running fifteen Virgin studios.”

London Leaders Conference 29 – 30 November 2006

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Far be it from me to equate our own little “Struggle” with the troubles of Gandhi and Madiba, but I cannot believe that either of the people quoted above would have endorsed what is happening within the Marina and being the leaders they are/were, would probably have done something about it. I just know that I feel oppressed and dictated to, and, once this Association comes to an end I shall, like Martin Luther King, shout “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.“