Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest

Translator: Troels Larsen Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

It was less than a year after September 11,

Det var mindre end et år efter 11. september,

and I was at the Chicago Tribune

og jeg var på The Chicago Tribune,

writing about shootings and murders,

hvor jeg skrev om skyderier og mord,

and it was leaving me feeling

og jeg endte med at føle mig

pretty dark and depressed.

temmelig mørk og deprimeret.

I had done some activism in college,

Jeg havde lavet lidt aktivisme på universitet,

so I decided to help a local group

så jeg besluttede mig for at hjælpe en lokal gruppe

hang door knockers against animal testing.

med at hænge skilte mod dyreforsøg på dørhåndtag.

I thought it would be a safe way

Jeg tænkte det ville være en sikker måde

to do something positive,

at gøre noget positivt,

but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever,

men jeg har selvfølgelig det værste held nogensinde,

and we were all arrested.

og vi blev alle arresteret.

Police took this blurry photo of me

Politiet tog dette slørede billede af mig,

holding leaflets as evidence.

mens jeg holdte pjecer som bevis.

My charges were dismissed,

Mine sigtelser blev frafaldet,

but a few weeks later,

men få uger senere

two FBI agents knocked on my door,

bankede to FBI agenter på min dør,

and they told me that unless I helped them

og de fortalte mig, at medmindre jeg hjalp dem

by spying on protest groups,

ved at spionere mod protestgrupper,

they would put me on a domestic terrorist list.

så ville de sætte mig på en indenrigs terroristliste.

I'd love to tell you that I didn't flinch,

Jeg ville elske at fortælle jer, at jeg ikke fortrak en mine,

but I was terrified,

men jeg var rædselsslagen,

and when my fear subsided,

og da min frygt aftog,

I became obsessed with finding out

blev jeg besat af at finde ud af,

how this happened,

hvordan dette var sket,

how animal rights and environmental activists

hvordan dyrevelfærds- og miljøaktivister,

who have never injured anyone

som aldrig har skadet nogen,

could become the FBI's number one

kunne blive FBIs største

domestic terrorism threat.

indenrigs terrortrussel.

A few years later, I was invited to testify

Få år senere, blev jeg inviteret til at afgive vidnesbyrd

before Congress about my reporting,

foran Kongressen om min rapportering,

and I told lawmakers that, while everybody

og jeg fortalte lovmagerne at, mens alle

is talking about going green,

taler om at blive grønne,

some people are risking their lives

så er der mennesker som risikere deres liv

to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines.

for at forsvare skove og stoppe olierørledninger.

They're physically putting their bodies on the line

De sætter fysisk deres kroppe på spil

between the whalers' harpoons and the whales.

mellem hvalfangeres harpuner og hvalerne.

These are everyday people,

Dette er dagligdags mennesker,

like these protesters in Italy

som disse demonstranter i Italien

who spontaneously climbed over

som spontant klatrede over

barbed wire fences to rescue beagles

pigtrådshegn for at redde beagler

from animal testing.

fra dyreforsøg.

And these movements have been incredibly effective

Og disse bevægelser har været ufatteligt effektive

and popular,

og populære,

so in 1985, their opponents made up a new word,

så i 1985 fandt deres modstandere på et nyt ord,

eco-terrorist,

øko-terrorist,

to shift how we view them.

for at ændre vores opfattelse af dem.

They just made it up.

De fandt simpelthen på det.

Now these companies have backed new laws

Disse selskaber har bakket op omkring nye love,

like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,

såsom "The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act",

which turns activism into terrorism

som forvandler aktivisme til terrorisme,

if it causes a loss of profits.

hvis det skaber et tab af profit.

Now most people never even heard about this law,

De fleste mennesker har overhovedet ikke hørt om denne lov,

including members of Congress.

inklusive medlemmer af Kongressen.

Less than one percent were in the room

Mindre end 1% var i lokalet

when it passed the House.

da loven blev godkendt i Huset.

The rest were outside at a new memorial.

Resten var udenfor ved et nyt monument.

They were praising Dr. King

De lovpriste Dr. King

as his style of activism was branded as terrorism

mens hans form for aktivisme blev mærket som terrorisme,

if done in the name of animals or the environment.

hvis den blev udført for dyr eller miljøet.

Supporters say laws like this are needed

Støtter siger love som denne er nødvendige

for the extremists:

på grund af ekstremisterne:

the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals.

vandalerne, brandstifterne, de radikale.

But right now, companies like TransCanada

Men lige nu orienterer selskaber som TransCanada

are briefing police in presentations like this one

politi ved præsentationer såsom denne

about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters

omkring, hvordan man retsforfølger ikke-voldelige demonstranter

as terrorists.

som terrorister.

The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism

FBIs træningsdokumenter omkring øko-terrorisme

are not about violence,

handler ikke om vold,

they're about public relations.

de handler om PR.

Today, in multiple countries,

I dag, i flere lande,

corporations are pushing new laws

presser virksomheder på for nye love,

that make it illegal to photograph

der gør det ulovligt at fotografere

animal cruelty on their farms.

dyremishandling på deres gårde.

The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago,

Det seneste foregik i Idaho for bare to uger siden,

and today we released a lawsuit

og i dag indgav vi et søgsmål,

challenging it as unconstitutional

der udfordrer det som grundlovsstridigt

as a threat to journalism.

som en trussel mod journalistik.

The first of these ag-gag prosecutions,

Den første af disse ag-gag retsforfølgelser,

as they're called,

som de kaldes,

was a young woman named Amy Meyer,

var en ung kvinde ved navn Amy Meyer,

and Amy saw a sick cow being moved

og Amy så en syg ko blive flyttet

by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse

med en bulldozer udenfor et slagtehus

as she was on the public street.

da hun var på den offentlige vej.

And Amy did what any of us would:

Og Amy gjorde hvad enhver af os ville have gjort:

She filmed it.

Hun filmede det.

When I found out about her story, I wrote about it,

Da jeg hørte om hendes historie skrev jeg om den,

and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar

og indenfor 24 timer havde det skabt sådan et tumult,

that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.

at anklagerne simpelthen droppede alle anklager.

But apparently, even exposing stuff like that

Men åbenbart er bare det at afsløre sådanne ting

is a threat.

en trussel.

Through the Freedom of Information Act,

Igennem "The Freedom of Information Act",

I learned that the counter-terrorism unit

fandt jeg ud af, at kontra-terrorisme enheden

has been monitoring my articles

har overvåget mine artikler

and speeches like this one.

og taler - som den her.

They even included this nice little write-up of my book.

De inkluderede endda den lille skrivelse om min bog.

They described it as "compelling and well-written."

De beskrev den som "fængslende og velskrevet."

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Blurb on the next book, right?

Et citat til den næste bog, ik?

The point of all of this is to make us afraid,

Meningen med alt dette er at gøre os bange,

but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith

men som journalist har jeg en urokkelig tro

in the power of education.

på uddannelsens kraft.

Our best weapon is sunlight.

Vores bedste våben er solskin.

Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man

Dostojevskij skrev, at menneskets hele arbejde

is to prove he's a man and not a piano key.

er at bevise, at han er en mand og ikke blot en klavertangent.

Over and over throughout history,

Igen og igen igennem historien,

people in power have used fear

har folk med magt brugt frygt

to silence the truth and to silence dissent.

til at fortie sandheden og fortie uenighed.

It's time we strike a new note.

Det er på tide at ramme en ny node.

Thank you.

Mange tak.

(Applause)

(Bifald)