Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest

Prevoditelj: Tea Ilijašević Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

It was less than a year after September 11,

Prošlo je manje od godinu dana nakon 11. rujna,

and I was at the Chicago Tribune

a ja sam radio za Chicago Tribune

writing about shootings and murders,

pišući o pucnjavama i ubojstvima,

and it was leaving me feeling

što me činilo

pretty dark and depressed.

poprilično tužnim i potištenim.

I had done some activism in college,

U vrijeme studija bavio sam se aktivizmom,

so I decided to help a local group

stoga sam odlučio pomoći lokalnoj grupi

hang door knockers against animal testing.

kačiti na vrata letke protiv testiranja na životinjama.

I thought it would be a safe way

To se činilo kao siguran način

to do something positive,

za učiniti nešto pozitivno,

but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever,

ali naravno, pošto sam ja najgori "srećković" ikad,

and we were all arrested.

svi smo bili uhićeni.

Police took this blurry photo of me

Policija je kao dokaz napravila ovu mutnu sliku

holding leaflets as evidence.

na kojoj držim letke.

My charges were dismissed,

Optužbe protiv mene su odbačene,

but a few weeks later,

ali nekoliko tjedana kasnije,

two FBI agents knocked on my door,

dvojica FBI agenata su pokucala na moja vrata

and they told me that unless I helped them

i rekli su da će, ako im ne pomognem

by spying on protest groups,

u špijuniranju protestnih grupa

they would put me on a domestic terrorist list.

staviti me na listu domaćih terorista.

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

Volio bih reći da nisam ni trepnuo,

but I was terrified,

ali bio sam prestravljen,

and when my fear subsided,

i kada je moj strah splasnuo,

I became obsessed with finding out

postao sam opsjednut željom da saznam

how this happened,

kako se to dogodilo,

how animal rights and environmental activists

kako su aktivisti za zaštitu okoliša i prava životinja

who have never injured anyone

koji nikad nikog nisu povrijedili

could become the FBI's number one

postali FBI-ova glavna

domestic terrorism threat.

domaća teroristička prijetnja.

A few years later, I was invited to testify

Nekoliko godina kasnije, pozvan sam da svjedočim

before Congress about my reporting,

o svojim izvješćima pred Kongresom,

and I told lawmakers that, while everybody

i rekao sam zakonodavcima, da dok

is talking about going green,

svi pričaju o ekološkoj osvještenosti,

some people are risking their lives

neki ljudi riskiraju svoje živote

to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines.

kako bi zaštitili šume i zaustavili naftovode.

They're physically putting their bodies on the line

Stavljaju svoja tijela na prvu crtu bojišnice

between the whalers' harpoons and the whales.

između harpuna i kitova.

These are everyday people,

To su obični ljudi,

like these protesters in Italy

poput prosvjednika u Italiji

who spontaneously climbed over

koji su se spontano popeli preko

barbed wire fences to rescue beagles

bodljikave žice da bi spasili biglove

from animal testing.

od testiranja na životinjama.

And these movements have been incredibly effective

Ovi pokreti su postali nevjerojatno učinkoviti

and popular,

i popularni,

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

pa su 1985, njihovi protivnici izmislili novu riječ

eco-terrorist,

"eko-terorist",

to shift how we view them.

kako bi ih počeli drugačije promatrati.

They just made it up.

Oni su riječ jednostavno izmislili.

Now these companies have backed new laws

Ove kompanije su podržale nove zakone

like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,

kao što je "Suzbijanje terorizma u stočarskim poduzećima",

which turns activism into terrorism

koji pretvara aktivizam u terorizam

if it causes a loss of profits.

ukoliko uzrokuje gubitak profita.

Now most people never even heard about this law,

Mnogi ljudi nikad nisu ni čuli za ovaj zakon,

including members of Congress.

uključujući i članove Kongresa.

Less than one percent were in the room

Manje od 1% nazočilo je usvajanju

when it passed the House.

ovog zakona.

The rest were outside at a new memorial.

Ostali su bili na komemoraciji.

They were praising Dr. King

Slavili su Martina Luthera Kinga

as his style of activism was branded as terrorism

dok je njegov način aktivizma označen kao terorizam

if done in the name of animals or the environment.

ukoliko se radilo o životinjama ili okolišu.

Supporters say laws like this are needed

Zagovornici kažu da su ovakvi zakoni potrebni

for the extremists:

za borbu protiv ekstremista:

the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals.

vandala, piromana, radikala.

But right now, companies like TransCanada

Upravo sada, kompanije kao što je TransCanada,

are briefing police in presentations like this one

daju uputstva policiji kroz prezentacije kao što je ova,

about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters

kako procesuirati nenasilne prosvjednike

as terrorists.

kao teroriste.

The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism

FBI-evi materijali za obuku o eko-terorizmu

are not about violence,

ne govore o nasilju,

they're about public relations.

nego o odnosima s javnošću.

Today, in multiple countries,

Danas, u mnogim zemljama,

corporations are pushing new laws

korporacije guraju nove zakone

that make it illegal to photograph

koji zabranjuju fotografiranje

animal cruelty on their farms.

okrutnosti nad životinjama na njihovim farmama.

The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago,

Najnoviji je usvojen u Idahou prije samo dva tjedna,

and today we released a lawsuit

i danas smo podnijeli tužbu

challenging it as unconstitutional

zbog njegove neustavnosti

as a threat to journalism.

i prijetnje novinarstvu.

The first of these ag-gag prosecutions,

Prvi od tih "ag-gag" progona,

as they're called,

kako su ih nazvali,

was a young woman named Amy Meyer,

bio je protiv mlade žene, Amy Meyer.

and Amy saw a sick cow being moved

Ona je vidjela kako buldožer

by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse

premješta bolesnu kravu izvan klaonice

as she was on the public street.

dok je bila na javnoj ulici.

And Amy did what any of us would:

Amy je učinila ono što bi i svatko od nas:

She filmed it.

snimila je to.

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

Kada sam saznao za njenu priču, pisao sam o tome,

and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar

a u roku od 24 sata, priča je stvorila takvu zbrku

that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.

da je tužiteljstvo jednostavno odustalo od svih optužbi.

But apparently, even exposing stuff like that

No, očito i samo otkrivanje ovakvih stvari

is a threat.

je rizik.

Through the Freedom of Information Act,

Putem "Zakona o slobodi pristupa informacijama",

I learned that the counter-terrorism unit

otkrio sam da je antiteroristička jedinica

has been monitoring my articles

nadgledala moje članke

and speeches like this one.

i govore kao što je ovaj.

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

Uključujući i ovu lijepu recenziju moje knjige.

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

Opisujući je kao "uvjerljivu i dobro napisanu".

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Blurb on the next book, right?

Blurb za sljedeću knjigu, zar ne?

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

Stvar je u tome da nas žele zastrašiti,

but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith

ali kao novinar, ja čvrsto vjerujem

in the power of education.

u moć obrazovanja.

Our best weapon is sunlight.

Naše najbolje oružje je sunčeva svjetlost.

Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man

Dostojevski je napisao da je čovjekova svrha

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

dokazivati da je čovjek, a ne tipka klavira.

Over and over throughout history,

Iznova i iznova kroz povijest,

people in power have used fear

ljudi na vlasti su koristili strah

to silence the truth and to silence dissent.

kako bi ušutkali istinu i neslaganje.

It's time we strike a new note.

Vrijeme je za promjene.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)