How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Taxi Driver.
Quote #7
PALANTINE: Walt Whitman, that great American poet, spoke for all of us when he said: "I am the man. I suffered. I was there." Today, I say to you, We Are The People, we suffered, we were there. We the People suffered in Vietnam. We the People suffered, we still suffer from unemployment, inflation, crime and corruption.
Palantine sees himself as representing a people who are dissatisfied with the system—he recognizes that many of them have genuinely suffered. Travis, by contrast, and despite being a Vietnam Veteran (one of the experiences of shared suffering Palantine mentions), can't empathize with suffering humanity, even though he's a part of it.