Det var mindre end et år efter 11. september, og jeg var på The Chicago Tribune, hvor jeg skrev om skyderier og mord, og jeg endte med at føle mig temmelig mørk og deprimeret. Jeg havde lavet lidt aktivisme på universitet, så jeg besluttede mig for at hjælpe en lokal gruppe med at hænge skilte mod dyreforsøg på dørhåndtag. Jeg tænkte det ville være en sikker måde at gøre noget positivt, men jeg har selvfølgelig det værste held nogensinde, og vi blev alle arresteret. Politiet tog dette slørede billede af mig, mens jeg holdte pjecer som bevis.
It was less than a year after September 11, and I was at the Chicago Tribune writing about shootings and murders, and it was leaving me feeling pretty dark and depressed. I had done some activism in college, so I decided to help a local group hang door knockers against animal testing. I thought it would be a safe way to do something positive, but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever, and we were all arrested. Police took this blurry photo of me holding leaflets as evidence.
Mine sigtelser blev frafaldet, men få uger senere bankede to FBI agenter på min dør, og de fortalte mig, at medmindre jeg hjalp dem ved at spionere mod protestgrupper, så ville de sætte mig på en indenrigs terroristliste. Jeg ville elske at fortælle jer, at jeg ikke fortrak en mine, men jeg var rædselsslagen, og da min frygt aftog, blev jeg besat af at finde ud af, hvordan dette var sket, hvordan dyrevelfærds- og miljøaktivister, som aldrig har skadet nogen, kunne blive FBIs største indenrigs terrortrussel.
My charges were dismissed, but a few weeks later, two FBI agents knocked on my door, and they told me that unless I helped them by spying on protest groups, they would put me on a domestic terrorist list. I'd love to tell you that I didn't flinch, but I was terrified, and when my fear subsided, I became obsessed with finding out how this happened, how animal rights and environmental activists who have never injured anyone could become the FBI's number one domestic terrorism threat.
Få år senere, blev jeg inviteret til at afgive vidnesbyrd foran Kongressen om min rapportering, og jeg fortalte lovmagerne at, mens alle taler om at blive grønne, så er der mennesker som risikere deres liv for at forsvare skove og stoppe olierørledninger. De sætter fysisk deres kroppe på spil mellem hvalfangeres harpuner og hvalerne. Dette er dagligdags mennesker, som disse demonstranter i Italien som spontant klatrede over pigtrådshegn for at redde beagler fra dyreforsøg. Og disse bevægelser har været ufatteligt effektive og populære, så i 1985 fandt deres modstandere på et nyt ord, øko-terrorist, for at ændre vores opfattelse af dem. De fandt simpelthen på det.
A few years later, I was invited to testify before Congress about my reporting, and I told lawmakers that, while everybody is talking about going green, some people are risking their lives to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines. They're physically putting their bodies on the line between the whalers' harpoons and the whales. These are everyday people, like these protesters in Italy who spontaneously climbed over barbed wire fences to rescue beagles from animal testing. And these movements have been incredibly effective and popular, so in 1985, their opponents made up a new word, eco-terrorist, to shift how we view them. They just made it up.
Disse selskaber har bakket op omkring nye love, såsom "The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act", som forvandler aktivisme til terrorisme, hvis det skaber et tab af profit. De fleste mennesker har overhovedet ikke hørt om denne lov, inklusive medlemmer af Kongressen. Mindre end 1% var i lokalet da loven blev godkendt i Huset. Resten var udenfor ved et nyt monument. De lovpriste Dr. King mens hans form for aktivisme blev mærket som terrorisme, hvis den blev udført for dyr eller miljøet.
Now these companies have backed new laws like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which turns activism into terrorism if it causes a loss of profits. Now most people never even heard about this law, including members of Congress. Less than one percent were in the room when it passed the House. The rest were outside at a new memorial. They were praising Dr. King as his style of activism was branded as terrorism if done in the name of animals or the environment.
Støtter siger love som denne er nødvendige på grund af ekstremisterne: vandalerne, brandstifterne, de radikale. Men lige nu orienterer selskaber som TransCanada politi ved præsentationer såsom denne omkring, hvordan man retsforfølger ikke-voldelige demonstranter som terrorister. FBIs træningsdokumenter omkring øko-terrorisme handler ikke om vold, de handler om PR. I dag, i flere lande, presser virksomheder på for nye love, der gør det ulovligt at fotografere dyremishandling på deres gårde. Det seneste foregik i Idaho for bare to uger siden, og i dag indgav vi et søgsmål, der udfordrer det som grundlovsstridigt som en trussel mod journalistik.
Supporters say laws like this are needed for the extremists: the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals. But right now, companies like TransCanada are briefing police in presentations like this one about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters as terrorists. The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism are not about violence, they're about public relations. Today, in multiple countries, corporations are pushing new laws that make it illegal to photograph animal cruelty on their farms. The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago, and today we released a lawsuit challenging it as unconstitutional as a threat to journalism.
Den første af disse ag-gag retsforfølgelser, som de kaldes, var en ung kvinde ved navn Amy Meyer, og Amy så en syg ko blive flyttet med en bulldozer udenfor et slagtehus da hun var på den offentlige vej. Og Amy gjorde hvad enhver af os ville have gjort: Hun filmede det. Da jeg hørte om hendes historie skrev jeg om den, og indenfor 24 timer havde det skabt sådan et tumult, at anklagerne simpelthen droppede alle anklager.
The first of these ag-gag prosecutions, as they're called, was a young woman named Amy Meyer, and Amy saw a sick cow being moved by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse as she was on the public street. And Amy did what any of us would: She filmed it. When I found out about her story, I wrote about it, and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.
Men åbenbart er bare det at afsløre sådanne ting en trussel. Igennem "The Freedom of Information Act", fandt jeg ud af, at kontra-terrorisme enheden har overvåget mine artikler og taler - som den her. De inkluderede endda den lille skrivelse om min bog. De beskrev den som "fængslende og velskrevet." (Bifald) Et citat til den næste bog, ik?
But apparently, even exposing stuff like that is a threat. Through the Freedom of Information Act, I learned that the counter-terrorism unit has been monitoring my articles and speeches like this one. They even included this nice little write-up of my book. They described it as "compelling and well-written." (Applause) Blurb on the next book, right?
Meningen med alt dette er at gøre os bange, men som journalist har jeg en urokkelig tro på uddannelsens kraft. Vores bedste våben er solskin.
The point of all of this is to make us afraid, but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith in the power of education. Our best weapon is sunlight.
Dostojevskij skrev, at menneskets hele arbejde er at bevise, at han er en mand og ikke blot en klavertangent. Igen og igen igennem historien, har folk med magt brugt frygt til at fortie sandheden og fortie uenighed. Det er på tide at ramme en ny node.
Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man is to prove he's a man and not a piano key. Over and over throughout history, people in power have used fear to silence the truth and to silence dissent. It's time we strike a new note.
Mange tak.
Thank you.
(Bifald)
(Applause)