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.
Prošlo je manje od godinu dana nakon 11. rujna, a ja sam radio za Chicago Tribune pišući o pucnjavama i ubojstvima, što me činilo poprilično tužnim i potištenim. U vrijeme studija bavio sam se aktivizmom, stoga sam odlučio pomoći lokalnoj grupi kačiti na vrata letke protiv testiranja na životinjama. To se činilo kao siguran način za učiniti nešto pozitivno, ali naravno, pošto sam ja najgori "srećković" ikad, svi smo bili uhićeni. Policija je kao dokaz napravila ovu mutnu sliku na kojoj držim letke.
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.
Optužbe protiv mene su odbačene, ali nekoliko tjedana kasnije, dvojica FBI agenata su pokucala na moja vrata i rekli su da će, ako im ne pomognem u špijuniranju protestnih grupa staviti me na listu domaćih terorista. Volio bih reći da nisam ni trepnuo, ali bio sam prestravljen, i kada je moj strah splasnuo, postao sam opsjednut željom da saznam kako se to dogodilo, kako su aktivisti za zaštitu okoliša i prava životinja koji nikad nikog nisu povrijedili postali FBI-ova glavna domaća teroristička prijetnja.
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.
Nekoliko godina kasnije, pozvan sam da svjedočim o svojim izvješćima pred Kongresom, i rekao sam zakonodavcima, da dok svi pričaju o ekološkoj osvještenosti, neki ljudi riskiraju svoje živote kako bi zaštitili šume i zaustavili naftovode. Stavljaju svoja tijela na prvu crtu bojišnice između harpuna i kitova. To su obični ljudi, poput prosvjednika u Italiji koji su se spontano popeli preko bodljikave žice da bi spasili biglove od testiranja na životinjama. Ovi pokreti su postali nevjerojatno učinkoviti i popularni, pa su 1985, njihovi protivnici izmislili novu riječ "eko-terorist", kako bi ih počeli drugačije promatrati. Oni su riječ jednostavno izmislili.
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.
Ove kompanije su podržale nove zakone kao što je "Suzbijanje terorizma u stočarskim poduzećima", koji pretvara aktivizam u terorizam ukoliko uzrokuje gubitak profita. Mnogi ljudi nikad nisu ni čuli za ovaj zakon, uključujući i članove Kongresa. Manje od 1% nazočilo je usvajanju ovog zakona. Ostali su bili na komemoraciji. Slavili su Martina Luthera Kinga dok je njegov način aktivizma označen kao terorizam ukoliko se radilo o životinjama ili okolišu.
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.
Zagovornici kažu da su ovakvi zakoni potrebni za borbu protiv ekstremista: vandala, piromana, radikala. Upravo sada, kompanije kao što je TransCanada, daju uputstva policiji kroz prezentacije kao što je ova, kako procesuirati nenasilne prosvjednike kao teroriste. FBI-evi materijali za obuku o eko-terorizmu ne govore o nasilju, nego o odnosima s javnošću. Danas, u mnogim zemljama, korporacije guraju nove zakone koji zabranjuju fotografiranje okrutnosti nad životinjama na njihovim farmama. Najnoviji je usvojen u Idahou prije samo dva tjedna, i danas smo podnijeli tužbu zbog njegove neustavnosti i prijetnje novinarstvu.
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.
Prvi od tih "ag-gag" progona, kako su ih nazvali, bio je protiv mlade žene, Amy Meyer. Ona je vidjela kako buldožer premješta bolesnu kravu izvan klaonice dok je bila na javnoj ulici. Amy je učinila ono što bi i svatko od nas: snimila je to. Kada sam saznao za njenu priču, pisao sam o tome, a u roku od 24 sata, priča je stvorila takvu zbrku da je tužiteljstvo jednostavno odustalo od svih optužbi.
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?
No, očito i samo otkrivanje ovakvih stvari je rizik. Putem "Zakona o slobodi pristupa informacijama", otkrio sam da je antiteroristička jedinica nadgledala moje članke i govore kao što je ovaj. Uključujući i ovu lijepu recenziju moje knjige. Opisujući je kao "uvjerljivu i dobro napisanu". (Pljesak) Blurb za sljedeću knjigu, zar ne?
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.
Stvar je u tome da nas žele zastrašiti, ali kao novinar, ja čvrsto vjerujem u moć obrazovanja. Naše najbolje oružje je sunčeva svjetlost.
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.
Dostojevski je napisao da je čovjekova svrha dokazivati da je čovjek, a ne tipka klavira. Iznova i iznova kroz povijest, ljudi na vlasti su koristili strah kako bi ušutkali istinu i neslaganje. Vrijeme je za promjene.
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)