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.
Bilo je to manje od godinu dana nakon 11. septembra, bio sam u Čikago Tribjunu i pisao sam o pucnjavama i ubistvima, i ostao mi je prilično mračan i depresivan osećaj. Na fakultetu sam se malo bavio aktivizmom pa sam odlučio da pomognem lokalnoj grupi da okači letke protiv testiranja životinja na vrata. Mislio sam da bi to bio bezbedan način da se uradi nešto pozitivno ali sam naravno bio očajne sreće i sve su nas uhapsili. Policija je napravila ovu zamagljenu sliku kako držim letke, za dokaz.
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.
Odbacili su optužbe, ali nakon nekoliko nedelja, dva agenta FBI-a su mi pokucala na vrata, i rekli su mi da će me staviti na liste državnih terostista, ukoliko im ne pomognem da špijuniraju protestne grupe. Voleo bih da kažem da nisam ni trepnuo, ali sam se prepao i kada je strah nestao, postao sam opsednut time da saznam kako se ovo desilo, kako su prava životinja i aktivisti za okolinu koji nikada nisu povredili nekog mogli da postanu pretnja broj jedan FBI-u za domaći terorizam.
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 nakon toga, zvali su me da svedočim pred kongresom o svom izveštaju i rekao sam zakonodavcima, da dok svi pričaju o zelenom pokretu, neki ljudi rizikuju svoje živote da odbrane šume i spreče cevovode za naftu. Fizički stavljaju svoja tela na front između kitova i harpuna kitolovaca. Ovo su obični ljudi, poput protestanata u Italiji koji su se spontano popeli preko bodljikave žice da spase biglove od testiranja na životinjama. Ovi pokreti su bili neverovatno efikasni i popularni, pa su 1985. njihovi protivnici smislili novu reč, eko-terorista, da promene način na koji mislimo o njima. Samo su izmislili to.
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 poput Ukaza o terorizmu nad životinjama u preduzetništvu, što pretvara aktivizam u terorizam ako uzrokuje manjak profita. Većina ljudi nikad nije čula za ovaj zakon, uključujući članove kongresa. Manje od 1% ih je bilo u prostoriji kada je izglasan. Ostatak je bio napolju kod novog spomenika. Slavili su dr Kinga iako bi njegov stil aktivizma bio nazvan terorizmom ukoliko bi se radio u ime životinja ili okruženja.
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.
Pristalice kažu da su ovakvi zakoni potrebni za ekstremiste, vandale, piromane, radikale. Ali trenutno kompanije poput TransKanade upućuju policiju u prezentacijama poput ove o tome kako tužiti nenasilne protestante kao teroriste. Dokumenti FBI-ja za obuku o eko-terorizmu nisu o nasilju već o odnosima sa javnošću. Danas, u više zemalja, korporacije guraju nove zakone kojima se čini ilegalnim fotografisanje surovosti prema životinjama na njihovim farmama. Najnoviji slučaj je iz Ajdaha pre samo dve nedelje i danas smo podigli optužnicu izazivajući to kao neustavan čin i pretnju 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.
Prva od ovih tužbi protiv uzbunjivača, tako se zovu, bila je protiv Ejmi Mejer, devojke koja je videla kako bolesnu kravu pomeraju buldožerom van klanice dok je ona bila na ulici. Ejmi je uradila ono što bi i svako od nas: snimila je to. Kad sam saznao za njenu priču, pisao sam o njoj i za 24 sata prouzrokovala je takvu lavinu da su tužioci odustali 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?
Ali izgleda da čak i snimanje predstavlja pretnju. Kroz Ukaz o slobodi informacija, saznao sam da protivteroristička jedinica posmatra moje članke i govore poput ovoga. Čak su priložli i ovaj fini izveštaj o mojoj knjizi. Opisali su je kao "ubedljivu i dobro napisanu." (Aplauz) Za poleđinu sledeće knjige, 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.
Svrha svega ovoga je da se uplašimo, ali kao novinar, imam nepokolebljivu veru u moć obrazovanja. Naše najbolje oružje je sunčeva svetlost.
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 ceo smisao čoveka da dokaže da je čovek, a ne dirka klavira. Kroz čitavu istoriju, ljudi na vlasti su koristili strah da zataškaju istinu i utišaju neslaganje. Vreme je da udarimo novu dirku.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)