Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Ivana Korom

It was less than a year after September 11,

Bilo je to manje od godinu dana nakon 11. septembra,

and I was at the Chicago Tribune

bio sam u Čikago Tribjunu

writing about shootings and murders,

i pisao sam o pucnjavama i ubistvima,

and it was leaving me feeling

i ostao mi je prilično

pretty dark and depressed.

mračan i depresivan osećaj.

I had done some activism in college,

Na fakultetu sam se malo bavio aktivizmom

so I decided to help a local group

pa sam odlučio da pomognem lokalnoj grupi

hang door knockers against animal testing.

da okači letke protiv testiranja životinja na vrata.

I thought it would be a safe way

Mislio sam da bi to bio bezbedan način

to do something positive,

da se uradi nešto pozitivno

but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever,

ali sam naravno bio očajne sreće

and we were all arrested.

i sve su nas uhapsili.

Police took this blurry photo of me

Policija je napravila ovu zamagljenu sliku

holding leaflets as evidence.

kako držim letke, za dokaz.

My charges were dismissed,

Odbacili su optužbe,

but a few weeks later,

ali nakon nekoliko nedelja,

two FBI agents knocked on my door,

dva agenta FBI-a su mi pokucala na vrata,

and they told me that unless I helped them

i rekli su mi da će me staviti

by spying on protest groups,

na liste državnih terostista,

they would put me on a domestic terrorist list.

ukoliko im ne pomognem da špijuniraju protestne grupe.

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

Voleo bih da kažem da nisam ni trepnuo,

but I was terrified,

ali sam se prepao

and when my fear subsided,

i kada je strah nestao,

I became obsessed with finding out

postao sam opsednut time da saznam

how this happened,

kako se ovo desilo,

how animal rights and environmental activists

kako su prava životinja i aktivisti za okolinu

who have never injured anyone

koji nikada nisu povredili nekog

could become the FBI's number one

mogli da postanu pretnja broj jedan

domestic terrorism threat.

FBI-u za domaći terorizam.

A few years later, I was invited to testify

Nekoliko godina nakon toga, zvali su me

before Congress about my reporting,

da svedočim pred kongresom o svom izveštaju

and I told lawmakers that, while everybody

i rekao sam zakonodavcima,

is talking about going green,

da dok svi pričaju o zelenom pokretu,

some people are risking their lives

neki ljudi rizikuju svoje živote

to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines.

da odbrane šume i spreče cevovode za naftu.

They're physically putting their bodies on the line

Fizički stavljaju svoja tela na front

between the whalers' harpoons and the whales.

između kitova i harpuna kitolovaca.

These are everyday people,

Ovo su obični ljudi,

like these protesters in Italy

poput protestanata u Italiji

who spontaneously climbed over

koji su se spontano popeli

barbed wire fences to rescue beagles

preko bodljikave žice da spase biglove

from animal testing.

od testiranja na životinjama.

And these movements have been incredibly effective

Ovi pokreti su bili neverovatno efikasni

and popular,

i popularni,

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

pa su 1985. njihovi protivnici smislili novu reč,

eco-terrorist,

eko-terorista,

to shift how we view them.

da promene način na koji mislimo o njima.

They just made it up.

Samo su izmislili to.

Now these companies have backed new laws

Ove kompanije su podržale nove zakone

like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,

poput Ukaza o terorizmu nad životinjama u preduzetništvu,

which turns activism into terrorism

što pretvara aktivizam u terorizam

if it causes a loss of profits.

ako uzrokuje manjak profita.

Now most people never even heard about this law,

Većina ljudi nikad nije čula za ovaj zakon,

including members of Congress.

uključujući članove kongresa.

Less than one percent were in the room

Manje od 1% ih je bilo u prostoriji

when it passed the House.

kada je izglasan.

The rest were outside at a new memorial.

Ostatak je bio napolju kod novog spomenika.

They were praising Dr. King

Slavili su dr Kinga

as his style of activism was branded as terrorism

iako bi njegov stil aktivizma bio nazvan terorizmom

if done in the name of animals or the environment.

ukoliko bi se radio u ime životinja ili okruženja.

Supporters say laws like this are needed

Pristalice kažu da su ovakvi zakoni

for the extremists:

potrebni za ekstremiste,

the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals.

vandale, piromane, radikale.

But right now, companies like TransCanada

Ali trenutno kompanije poput TransKanade

are briefing police in presentations like this one

upućuju policiju u prezentacijama poput ove

about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters

o tome kako tužiti nenasilne protestante

as terrorists.

kao teroriste.

The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism

Dokumenti FBI-ja za obuku o eko-terorizmu

are not about violence,

nisu o nasilju

they're about public relations.

već o odnosima sa javnošću.

Today, in multiple countries,

Danas, u više zemalja,

corporations are pushing new laws

korporacije guraju nove zakone

that make it illegal to photograph

kojima se čini ilegalnim fotografisanje

animal cruelty on their farms.

surovosti prema životinjama na njihovim farmama.

The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago,

Najnoviji slučaj je iz Ajdaha pre samo dve nedelje

and today we released a lawsuit

i danas smo podigli optužnicu

challenging it as unconstitutional

izazivajući to kao neustavan čin

as a threat to journalism.

i pretnju novinarstvu.

The first of these ag-gag prosecutions,

Prva od ovih tužbi protiv uzbunjivača,

as they're called,

tako se zovu,

was a young woman named Amy Meyer,

bila je protiv Ejmi Mejer,

and Amy saw a sick cow being moved

devojke koja je videla kako bolesnu kravu

by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse

pomeraju buldožerom van klanice

as she was on the public street.

dok je ona bila na ulici.

And Amy did what any of us would:

Ejmi je uradila ono što bi i svako od nas:

She filmed it.

snimila je to.

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

Kad sam saznao za njenu priču, pisao sam o njoj

and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar

i za 24 sata prouzrokovala je takvu lavinu

that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.

da su tužioci odustali od svih optužbi.

But apparently, even exposing stuff like that

Ali izgleda da čak i snimanje

is a threat.

predstavlja pretnju.

Through the Freedom of Information Act,

Kroz Ukaz o slobodi informacija,

I learned that the counter-terrorism unit

saznao sam da protivteroristička jedinica

has been monitoring my articles

posmatra moje članke

and speeches like this one.

i govore poput ovoga.

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

Čak su priložli i ovaj fini izveštaj o mojoj knjizi.

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

Opisali su je kao "ubedljivu i dobro napisanu."

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Blurb on the next book, right?

Za poleđinu sledeće knjige, zar ne?

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

Svrha svega ovoga je da se uplašimo,

but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith

ali kao novinar, imam nepokolebljivu veru

in the power of education.

u moć obrazovanja.

Our best weapon is sunlight.

Naše najbolje oružje je sunčeva svetlost.

Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man

Dostojevski je napisao da je ceo smisao čoveka

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

da dokaže da je čovek, a ne dirka klavira.

Over and over throughout history,

Kroz čitavu istoriju,

people in power have used fear

ljudi na vlasti su koristili strah

to silence the truth and to silence dissent.

da zataškaju istinu i utišaju neslaganje.

It's time we strike a new note.

Vreme je da udarimo novu dirku.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)