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There was this scene in the motion picture "Captain America: The First Avenger" where Steve Rogers and Agent Peggy Carter are driving through Brooklyn. The following dialogue ensued:

Steve Rogers: I know this neighborhood. I got beat up in that alley. And that parking lot. And behind that diner.

Peggy Carter: Did you have something against running away?

Steve Rogers: You start running they'll never let you stop. You stand up, push back. Can't say no forever, right?

Who is Steve Rogers referring to when he says "Can't say no forever"? Is he referring to himself, meaning he can't say no to a fight forever or is he referring to the men who used to beat him up?

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He is talking about oppressed people generally, but he has dropped the pronoun. The expanded version being "You can't say no forever, right?"

Captain America clearly prefers "you" to "one" as the gender-neutral indefinite pronoun. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_(pronoun)

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    @ mikeagg- So Captain America is saying that oppressed people will have to fight back and they cannot say no a fight, forever. Have I got that right?
    – CSinha
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 12:39
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    That is how I interpret it, but the meaning is not clear.
    – mikeagg
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 12:46
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    The alternate meaning is that the bullies can't keep denying (saying no) the weak's existence forever. If the weak keep pushing, eventually the strong will have to yield.
    – VampDuc
    Commented May 12, 2015 at 14:20

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