Hello there! Yes, I'm talking to you. The world seems pretty dark and grim these days. But there is always light. Doctor Who is my light in the darkness. Specifically, the 12th Doctor, especially in the current season, has had some memorable lines. Lines that remind us that if a 2000-year-old Time Lord existed, he would be fighting the same social justice battles that we face. Here are 10 quotes to remind you that the 12th Doctor is on our side and wants us to be our best selves.
Hating capitalism
"They're not your rescuers. They're your replacements. The endpoint of capitalism. Bottom line. Where human life has no value at all. We're fighting an algorithm. A spreadsheet. Like every worker everywhere, we're fighting the suits!"
Helping others
"The universe shows its true face when it asks for help, we show ours by how we respond."
What life is about
"What's the point of surviving if you never see anyone, if you hide yourself away from the world?! When did you last open the shutters?”
Turning outrage into action
"Do you want to help me? Or do you want to stand here stamping your foot? Because let me tell you, I'm two thousand years old. And I've never had the time for the luxury of outrage."
Hating capitalism again
"Human progress isn’t measured by industry. It's measured by the value you place on a life. An unimportant life. A life without privilege. That boy who died on the river, that boy’s value is your value."
The Doctor is tired of whitewashing too
Bill: "Regency England's a bit more black than they show in the movies." The Doctor: "So was Jesus. History's a whitewash."
Think about why you're fighting
"You just want cruelty to beget cruelty. You're not superior to people who were cruel to you. You're just a whole bunch of new cruel people. A whole bunch of new cruel people being cruel to some other people who'll end up being cruel to you. The only way anyone can live in peace is if they're prepared to forgive. Why don't you break the cycle?"
The need to talk before violence
"Every war ever fought, right there in front of you. Because it's always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken. How many lives shattered. How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have do from the very beginning. Sit down and talk!"
It's about perspective
"Hunger looks very much like evil from the other end of the cutlery. Do you think your bacon sandwich loves you back?"
It's what he didn't say
At the beginning of this season, we were introduced to the Doctor's new companion Bill. Before the season aired we knew that Bill was gay, but we didn't know how integral it was going to be to her plot. Within the first moments of the first episode we were introduced to her sexuality, as well as it having an impact on the story line.
The best part about it? The Doctor didn't say anything about it. Bill was swept away by the Doctor in the TARDIS without care or mention about her sexuality. The Doctor is obviously a fictional character, but after the first episode of this season I felt validated in a way that I didn’t realize I needed. If Time Lords were real and he wanted me to travel with him, he wouldn't care that I'm marrying a lady. It wouldn't make sense to him why people would care. In a show that has had several queer characters, this was the first time I felt included in the show.
The Doctor rails against the status quo and would bring me along to see all of time and space. Some days, that's all I need.