TED2014
Will Potter: The shocking move to criminalize nonviolent protest
Will Potter: O impactante movemento para criminalizar as protestas non violentas
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En 2002, o periodista de investigación e bolseiro de TED Will Potter decidiu tomar un descanso da rutina de escribir sobre tiroteos e asasinatos para o Chicago Tribune. Quería axudarlle a un grupo local a facer campaña contra a experimentación con animais. "Pensei que sería unha forma segura de facer algo positivo", di. No canto diso, foi arrestado. Así comezou a súa viaxe cara a un mundo no que as protestas pacíficas están etiquetadas como terrorismo.
Will Potter - Investigative journalist
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio
Award-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
It was less than a year after September 11,
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Pasara menos dun ano do 11-S
00:15
and I was at the Chicago Tribune
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e estaba no Chicago Tribune
00:16
writing about shootings and murders,
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escribindo sobre tiroteos e asasinatos
00:18
and it was leaving me feeling
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o que me poñía
00:20
pretty dark and depressed.
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un pouco triste e deprimido.
Fixera algo de activismo na universidade
00:21
I had done some activism in college,
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00:23
so I decided to help a local group
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así que decidín axudar a un grupo local
00:25
hang door knockers against animal testing.
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a distribuír panfletos
contra a experimentación animal.
contra a experimentación animal.
00:27
I thought it would be a safe way
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Pensei que era unha forma segura
00:29
to do something positive,
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de facer algo positivo.
00:31
but of course I have the absolute worst luck ever,
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Pero como teño a peor sorte do mundo
00:33
and we were all arrested.
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arrestáronnos a todos.
00:36
Police took this blurry photo of me
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A policía tiroume esta foto borrosa
00:38
holding leaflets as evidence.
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termando dos panfletos como proba.
00:41
My charges were dismissed,
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Os cargos desestimáronse
pero unhas semanas despois
00:43
but a few weeks later,
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00:44
two FBI agents knocked on my door,
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dous axentes do FBI chamaron á porta
e dixéronme que se non lles axudaba
00:46
and they told me that unless I helped them
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00:48
by spying on protest groups,
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a espiar a grupos de protesta,
00:50
they would put me on a domestic terrorist list.
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poríanme na lista
de terroristas domésticos.
de terroristas domésticos.
00:54
I'd love to tell you that I didn't flinch,
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Gustaríame dicir que non me amedrentei
00:56
but I was terrified,
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pero estaba aterrado,
00:58
and when my fear subsided,
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e cando o medo sosegou
01:00
I became obsessed with finding out
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obsesioneime con descubrir
01:02
how this happened,
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como pasara isto,
como os dereitos de animais
01:03
how animal rights and environmental activists
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e activistas ambientais
01:05
who have never injured anyone
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que non lle fixeran dano a ninguén
01:07
could become the FBI's number one
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se podían converter no número un
01:09
domestic terrorism threat.
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da lista do FBI da ameaza
do terrorismo doméstico.
do terrorismo doméstico.
01:12
A few years later, I was invited to testify
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Anos despois, invitáronme a testificar
01:14
before Congress about my reporting,
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perante o Congreso sobre o meu informe.
Díxenlles aos lexisladores que
01:17
and I told lawmakers that, while everybody
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mentres todos falan de volverse verdes
01:18
is talking about going green,
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algúns arriscan as súas vidas
01:20
some people are risking their lives
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01:21
to defend forests and to stop oil pipelines.
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para defender os bosques
e parar os oleodutos.
01:25
They're physically putting their bodies on the line
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Basicamente estanse pondo en risco
01:27
between the whalers' harpoons and the whales.
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entre os arpóns baleeiros e as baleas.
01:30
These are everyday people,
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Son persoas correntes,
01:32
like these protesters in Italy
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como os manifestantes de Italia
01:34
who spontaneously climbed over
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que espontaneamente saltaron
01:36
barbed wire fences to rescue beagles
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un valo de arame de espiño
para rescatar beagles
01:38
from animal testing.
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da experimentación animal.
01:41
And these movements have been incredibly effective
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E estes movementos
foron moi efectivos e populares.
01:43
and popular,
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01:45
so in 1985, their opponents made up a new word,
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Así que en 1985, os seus opositores
crearon un termo novo:
crearon un termo novo:
01:49
eco-terrorist,
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"ecoterrorista",
01:51
to shift how we view them.
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para cambiar o xeito como os viamos.
01:53
They just made it up.
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Inventárono.
01:55
Now these companies have backed new laws
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Agora estas compañías apoiaron novas leis
01:57
like the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,
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como a Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act,
02:00
which turns activism into terrorism
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que converte o activismo en terrorismo
02:02
if it causes a loss of profits.
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se causa unha perda de beneficios.
02:05
Now most people never even heard about this law,
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A maioría da xente
nunca escoitou falar desta lei,
nunca escoitou falar desta lei,
02:08
including members of Congress.
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incluídos membros do Congreso.
02:10
Less than one percent were in the room
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Menos do 1% estaban na sala
02:12
when it passed the House.
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cando se aprobou na Cámara.
02:14
The rest were outside at a new memorial.
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O resto estaba nun novo memorial.
Estaban eloxiando ao Dr. Luther King
02:17
They were praising Dr. King
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02:19
as his style of activism was branded as terrorism
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cando o seu tipo de activismo
se catalogaba como terrorismo
se catalogaba como terrorismo
02:22
if done in the name of animals or the environment.
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se se facía en nome dos animais
ou do medio ambiente.
ou do medio ambiente.
Os defensores din que
estas leis son precisas
estas leis son precisas
02:26
Supporters say laws like this are needed
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02:28
for the extremists:
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para os extremistas:
02:30
the vandals, the arsonists, the radicals.
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vándalos, pirómanos, radicais.
02:33
But right now, companies like TransCanada
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Pero agora mesmo empresas como TransCanada
02:35
are briefing police in presentations like this one
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están instruíndo á policía
en presentacións coma esta
en presentacións coma esta
02:38
about how to prosecute nonviolent protesters
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sobre como procesar
manifestantes non violentos
manifestantes non violentos
02:41
as terrorists.
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como se fosen terroristas.
02:43
The FBI's training documents on eco-terrorism
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Os documentos do FBI sobre ecoterrorismo
02:47
are not about violence,
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non falan de violencia,
02:48
they're about public relations.
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falan de relacións públicas.
02:51
Today, in multiple countries,
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Hoxe en moitos países
as empresas están impulsando novas leis
02:53
corporations are pushing new laws
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02:54
that make it illegal to photograph
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que ilegalizan fotografar
02:56
animal cruelty on their farms.
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crueldade animal nas súas granxas.
02:59
The latest was in Idaho just two weeks ago,
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A última foi en Idaho hai dúas semanas
03:02
and today we released a lawsuit
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e hoxe puxemos unha denuncia
que a cuestiona como inconstitucional,
03:04
challenging it as unconstitutional
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03:05
as a threat to journalism.
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como unha ameza ao xornalismo.
03:08
The first of these ag-gag prosecutions,
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O primeiro destes procesos "mordaza",
03:10
as they're called,
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como lles chaman,
03:12
was a young woman named Amy Meyer,
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foi a unha rapaza nova, Amy Meyer.
03:13
and Amy saw a sick cow being moved
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Amy viu que movían unha vaca enferma
03:15
by a bulldozer outside of a slaughterhouse
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cunha escavadora fóra dun matadoiro
03:18
as she was on the public street.
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mentres estaba na rúa.
03:20
And Amy did what any of us would:
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Amy fixo o que faría calquera:
03:22
She filmed it.
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Gravouno.
03:24
When I found out about her story, I wrote about it,
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Cando souben a súa historia
escribín sobre ela
escribín sobre ela
03:27
and within 24 hours, it created such an uproar
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e ás 24 horas creara tal barullo
03:30
that the prosecutors just dropped all the charges.
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que retiraron a denuncia.
03:33
But apparently, even exposing stuff like that
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Pero parece que expor cousas coma estas
03:35
is a threat.
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é unha ameza.
Grazas á Lei pola Liberdade da Información
03:37
Through the Freedom of Information Act,
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03:39
I learned that the counter-terrorism unit
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souben que a unidade de contraterrorismo
03:41
has been monitoring my articles
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estivo vixiando os meus artigos
03:43
and speeches like this one.
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e charlas coma estas.
Incluso incluíron esta agradable
crítica do meu libro.
crítica do meu libro.
03:45
They even included this nice
little write-up of my book.
little write-up of my book.
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03:47
They described it as "compelling and well-written."
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Describírono como
"cativador e ben escrito".
"cativador e ben escrito".
03:50
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:55
Blurb on the next book, right?
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Publicidade para o próximo libro, non si?
03:58
The point of all of this is to make us afraid,
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O propósito de todo isto é amedrentarnos
04:02
but as a journalist, I have an unwavering faith
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pero como xornalista teño unha fe firme
04:04
in the power of education.
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no poder da educación.
04:06
Our best weapon is sunlight.
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A nosa mellor arma é a luz do sol.
Dostoievski escribiu
que todo o traballo dun home
que todo o traballo dun home
04:09
Dostoevsky wrote that the whole work of man
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04:11
is to prove he's a man and not a piano key.
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é demostrar que é un home
e non un teclado de piano.
e non un teclado de piano.
Unha e outra vez ao longo da historia
04:14
Over and over throughout history,
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04:16
people in power have used fear
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a xente no poder usou o medo
04:18
to silence the truth and to silence dissent.
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para silenciar a verdade e o desacordo.
04:22
It's time we strike a new note.
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É hora de que marquemos a pauta.
04:24
Thank you.
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Grazas.
04:26
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Potter - Investigative journalistAward-winning journalist and author, Will Potter focuses on the animal rights and environmental movements, and civil liberties in the post-9/11 era.
Why you should listen
Independent journalist and TED Fellow Will Potter is based in Washington, D.C.; his current work examines how whistleblowers and non-violent protesters are being treated as terrorists.
The author of Green Is The New Red: An Insider's Account of a Social Movement Under Siege, Potter has extensively documented how non-violent protest is slowly being criminalized. His reporting and commentary have been featured in the world's top media outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, Rolling Stone, El Pais, and Le Monde. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about his reporting, as the only witness opposing the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act -- and he is a plaintiff in the first lawsuits challenging so-called "ag-gag" laws as unconstitutional.
Will has also lectured at many universities and public forums about his work, including Georgetown University, Harvard Law School, and the House of Democracy and Human Rights in Berlin. International speaking tours have included Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Spain, and he was the international guest lecturer for Australia's 2014 animal law lecture series.
His reporting has overturned criminal prosecutions, and it has both been praised in Congressional reports and monitored by the Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Will Potter | Speaker | TED.com