Why I protest for climate justice
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0:04 - 0:07Pat Mitchell: It's so great
to see you, my friend. -
0:07 - 0:09Jane Fonda: Hi Pat.
It's great to be with you. -
0:09 - 0:14PM: Jane, for the ones who may not
have seen the extraordinary coverage -
0:14 - 0:16around the world
-
0:16 - 0:18of Fire Drill Fridays
-
0:18 - 0:22and the impact that they have already had,
-
0:22 - 0:26talk to us about the origin of this idea,
-
0:26 - 0:30this particular response
to the climate crisis. -
0:30 - 0:36JF: I was very inspired by Greta Thunberg,
the Swedish student, -
0:36 - 0:40and by the young school climate strikers.
-
0:42 - 0:45Greta says we've got to get
out of our comfort zone. -
0:45 - 0:49We have to behave
like our house is burning, -
0:49 - 0:51because it is.
-
0:52 - 0:54And so she really struck a chord in me.
-
0:54 - 1:00And then, learning that just about
100 percent of climate scientists agree. -
1:00 - 1:05They agree that a drastic
emergency is upon us, -
1:05 - 1:08that it is human-caused.
-
1:10 - 1:12But they said
-
1:12 - 1:14we can do something about it.
-
1:14 - 1:17We have the time, the technology,
-
1:17 - 1:18the tools.
-
1:18 - 1:21We have everything we need
except political will -
1:21 - 1:23to meet the challenge,
-
1:23 - 1:25and it's an enormous challenge.
-
1:26 - 1:30We have 11 years, many say, a decade,
-
1:30 - 1:32and I thought,
-
1:32 - 1:37"Oh, I'm so lucky
that I am healthy and living -
1:37 - 1:43in a decade where we who are alive
can actually make the difference. -
1:43 - 1:46We can make the difference
-
1:46 - 1:48as to whether there's going
to be a livable future or not. -
1:48 - 1:51What a glorious responsibility we have.
-
1:51 - 1:53We have to step up to the plate."
-
1:53 - 1:55And when you're famous,
-
1:55 - 1:57there's a lot of things that you can do.
-
1:57 - 1:59You have a bigger platform.
-
1:59 - 2:01So I decided that, like Greta,
-
2:01 - 2:04I was going to put my body on the line
-
2:04 - 2:08and move to the center
of American power, Washington, DC, -
2:08 - 2:12and have a rally every Friday
like the students do. -
2:12 - 2:13And we work with the students.
-
2:13 - 2:17They speak at my rallies,
and I speak at their rallies. -
2:17 - 2:19And then after we speak,
-
2:19 - 2:25we engage in civil disobedience
and risk getting arrested. -
2:25 - 2:27Civil disobedience is a powerful tool
-
2:27 - 2:30that has changed history many times,
-
2:30 - 2:35both in the United States in the '60s
during the civil rights movement, -
2:35 - 2:38of course in India with Mahatma Gandhi.
-
2:39 - 2:43And I didn't know in the beginning
if it was going to work or not, -
2:44 - 2:48but it's made me very happy
to see what's happening. -
2:49 - 2:52PM: It's also led
to your being arrested -- -
2:52 - 2:55multiple times, actually,
-
2:55 - 3:01spending at least a night or two
in Washington, DC jails. -
3:01 - 3:06And while all of us, I think, recognize
the emergency and the actions -
3:06 - 3:10that you so kindly mentioned
others have taken, -
3:10 - 3:14I'm not sure that we
would put our bodies at risk, -
3:14 - 3:17our lives, our careers
-
3:17 - 3:18and our lives on hold,
-
3:18 - 3:20as you have done.
-
3:20 - 3:25Do you have any concerns
about that at this point? -
3:26 - 3:31JF: Well, I realize that not everybody
can leave work and go -
3:31 - 3:33and do what I'm doing.
-
3:33 - 3:35But I must say that
requests are pouring in, -
3:35 - 3:37not only from around the United States
-
3:37 - 3:40but from other countries,
-
3:40 - 3:43people who want
to start Fire Drill Fridays. -
3:43 - 3:46And the people who are coming
and getting arrested with me -
3:47 - 3:49and engaging with civil disobedience,
-
3:49 - 3:52many of them have never done it before,
-
3:52 - 3:54and they find it to be transformative.
-
3:55 - 3:59But the fact is that there are
so many things that people can do, -
3:59 - 4:04starting with talking about it,
-
4:04 - 4:07expressing how you feel about it
and talking about it, -
4:07 - 4:08even when it's uncomfortable.
-
4:08 - 4:10At a holiday dinner table
-
4:10 - 4:13and maybe Uncle Bob doesn't agree,
-
4:13 - 4:17but, you know, maybe Uncle Bob
is worried about his grandkids, -
4:17 - 4:21maybe he loves birds.
-
4:21 - 4:24There's always a way in with people
-
4:24 - 4:29to get them to feel concerned
about the climate crisis. -
4:29 - 4:33Of course, voting is very, very important,
-
4:33 - 4:36and we have to vote for the people
that are the bravest, -
4:36 - 4:39the boldest of our elected officials,
-
4:39 - 4:42because the task ahead of us --
-
4:42 - 4:45all over the world, but certainly
here in the United States -- -
4:45 - 4:48we have to get rid
of this current administration, -
4:48 - 4:50and we have to elect people
that are really brave, -
4:51 - 4:52that will step up --
-
4:52 - 4:53(Applause)
-
4:53 - 4:57and do the bold actions that are needed,
the way Franklin Delano Roosevelt did -
4:57 - 5:00during the 1930s,
during the Great Depression, -
5:00 - 5:07when he really changed
a great deal about American society. -
5:07 - 5:09And that's what is needed now.
-
5:10 - 5:12PM: So Jane, we should also explain,
-
5:12 - 5:15because many people who are here
are thinking, what can they do? -
5:15 - 5:18Can they come to Washington
and join you in this action? -
5:18 - 5:23We should explain, not everyone
who participates in Fire Drill Fridays -
5:23 - 5:25is under threat of being arrested.
-
5:25 - 5:28There are other parts
of what you're doing, -
5:28 - 5:33like you are currently
in the Greenpeace offices in Washington. -
5:33 - 5:37So explain what else
is a part of Fire Drill Fridays -
5:37 - 5:40and how we could participate
in civil disobedience -
5:40 - 5:43without the risk of getting arrested.
-
5:43 - 5:48JF: First of all, you want to try
not do anything as a lone individual. -
5:48 - 5:51You know, it's by our powers combined.
-
5:51 - 5:54There's strength in numbers.
-
5:54 - 5:57There's also community in numbers,
-
5:57 - 6:00and one of the hardest things
about what we're facing now is: -
6:00 - 6:03this is a collective crisis,
-
6:03 - 6:06coming at a time when
the whole notion of the collective, -
6:06 - 6:09of the commons, of the public sphere,
-
6:09 - 6:14is being eroded quite deliberately
by neoliberalism and conservatism. -
6:14 - 6:18And so reconnecting with groups of people,
-
6:18 - 6:21like-minded people in a common action,
-
6:21 - 6:23is solace to the soul.
-
6:23 - 6:27It gives you such strength.
It's a great antidote to depression. -
6:27 - 6:30So find out what organizations
-
6:30 - 6:34that are concerned about
the climate crisis are in your area. -
6:34 - 6:37Of course, Greenpeace has chapters
all around the world. -
6:37 - 6:41And even if you just start yourself,
have house parties, -
6:41 - 6:45invite people over
to talk about what's happening. -
6:45 - 6:49Find an article that you can all read
and discuss together. -
6:49 - 6:52Obviously, if there's
a climate action where you live, -
6:52 - 6:53try to join it.
-
6:53 - 6:57It's not necessary
to engage in civil disobedience -
6:57 - 6:59and risk getting arrested,
-
6:59 - 7:02but it is going to become
the new normal, I think. -
7:02 - 7:07It feels like it is here in DC
with Fire Drill Fridays. -
7:07 - 7:09People seem to want
to come back and do it again. -
7:09 - 7:12My grandkids just
got arrested last weekend. -
7:12 - 7:14It was a transformative experience.
-
7:14 - 7:15(Laughter)
-
7:15 - 7:21My fellow actor Sam Waterston,
who is a self-described centrist, -
7:21 - 7:25he had never spoken at a rally
or risked getting arrested, -
7:25 - 7:27and he was arrested with me.
-
7:28 - 7:31Last week, I see that he was arrested
at the Harvard-Yale game. -
7:31 - 7:33He sent me a picture
of himself in handcuffs, -
7:33 - 7:36saying, "Now look what you started!"
-
7:36 - 7:37(Laughter)
-
7:37 - 7:43You know, we're at a point,
I think, in this crisis -
7:43 - 7:46where people are looking
to take the next step. -
7:47 - 7:49They want to put their bodies on the line,
-
7:49 - 7:52as Greta Thunberg has exhorted us to do.
-
7:52 - 7:56And they find it very rewarding,
-
7:56 - 7:57and they want to do it again.
-
7:57 - 7:59So I think that this is good,
what we're doing. -
7:59 - 8:04I met with the Senate [Climate Change
Task Force] a few weeks ago, -
8:04 - 8:06and I asked the senators,
-
8:07 - 8:09"Is there something else
we should be doing? -
8:09 - 8:11Should we be doing more?"
-
8:11 - 8:13And Senator Ed Markey said to me,
-
8:13 - 8:16"You're building an army.
That's what we need. -
8:16 - 8:17Make it bigger.
-
8:17 - 8:19We need pressure from the outside."
-
8:19 - 8:22And I think that's true
all over the world. -
8:22 - 8:26People need to be amassing
armies for the climate, -
8:26 - 8:28armies for the environment,
-
8:28 - 8:30in the streets,
-
8:30 - 8:32shutting down governments if necessary.
-
8:32 - 8:35I'm thinking of Brazil right now.
-
8:35 - 8:40You know, we can't allow
the burning of our precious rainforests. -
8:41 - 8:44PM: And as you have done
so many times in the past, Jane, -
8:44 - 8:46you are leading these changes.
-
8:46 - 8:52Eventually, one assumes, especially
the fans of "Grace and Frankie," -
8:52 - 8:56that you will go back to your life
-
8:56 - 8:58and resume that program.
-
8:58 - 9:01But will Fire Drill Fridays continue?
-
9:02 - 9:04JF: Well, there's been
such an interest in it, -
9:04 - 9:06as I said, from all around the country,
-
9:06 - 9:09people asking if they can start one.
-
9:09 - 9:12And, you know, I have
a lot of celebrity friends -
9:12 - 9:16who haven't, for scheduling reasons,
been able to come to DC, -
9:16 - 9:21so we're thinking about
maybe doing it in Los Angeles. -
9:21 - 9:23But I just want to correct one thing:
-
9:23 - 9:25I'm not leading.
-
9:25 - 9:28It's the young people,
it's the students that are leading. -
9:29 - 9:33It's always the young people
that step up with the courage, -
9:33 - 9:35and it's pretty amazing,
because they're risking a lot. -
9:35 - 9:39It's pretty brave to take
a Friday off from school. -
9:39 - 9:42You could get bad grades.
You could make your teachers mad. -
9:42 - 9:43But they're doing it anyway.
-
9:43 - 9:48There have been millions of them
at a time, all around the world. -
9:48 - 9:49And they're saying,
-
9:49 - 9:52"Don't let us have to deal
with this by ourselves. -
9:52 - 9:55We didn't create this problem.
Come and help us." -
9:55 - 9:56So, Grandmas unite!
-
9:57 - 9:58(Laughter)
-
9:58 - 10:02(Applause)
-
10:05 - 10:09PM: And you are in a city
that is probably more divided -
10:09 - 10:11than it has been in a very long time.
-
10:11 - 10:14The polarities that exist there
-
10:14 - 10:16and in many other places around the world
-
10:16 - 10:21have kept our collective strength
from being unified and used, -
10:22 - 10:25and in that way, you have been leading us.
-
10:25 - 10:30What would success look like to you
from Fire Drill Fridays? -
10:32 - 10:36JF: Well, I can just speak
as a citizen of the United States. -
10:36 - 10:39Success would look like
-
10:39 - 10:44every state stops
all new fossil fuel expansion, -
10:44 - 10:48because if they keep drilling
and fracking and mining, -
10:48 - 10:49the problem will just get worse,
-
10:49 - 10:52so that no matter what
we do with windmills -
10:52 - 10:53and solar collectors and so forth,
-
10:53 - 10:55we'll never be able to catch up.
-
10:55 - 10:58We have to stop all new expansion.
-
10:58 - 10:59The other thing is,
-
10:59 - 11:04they would phase out
fossil fuel emissions gradually, -
11:04 - 11:07making sure that the workers
who would be impacted -
11:07 - 11:10would be retrained at union wages
-
11:10 - 11:13and get good new union jobs.
-
11:13 - 11:18There are going to be so many good jobs
with the Green New Deal, -
11:18 - 11:20building windmills and solar collectors,
-
11:20 - 11:23retrofitting all the houses
in this country, for example, -
11:23 - 11:25laying a new energy grid.
-
11:25 - 11:29There's tens of millions of jobs
waiting to be unleashed, -
11:29 - 11:32and that's the other thing
that has gotten me mobilized. -
11:33 - 11:38A Green New Deal is a framework
for how to take ourselves into the future -
11:38 - 11:41in a way that's sustainable and equitable.
-
11:41 - 11:44So that just gives you such hope,
-
11:44 - 11:48because if we do it right,
it's going to be a win-win for everyone. -
11:48 - 11:52And that has to be the case,
or it won't work, -
11:52 - 11:55because to make this work,
everybody's going to have to be involved. -
11:55 - 11:57And in order for everybody to be involved,
-
11:57 - 12:00they have to see something
in it for themselves, -
12:00 - 12:02and that's what a Green New Deal does.
-
12:02 - 12:04PM: Jane, you, as always --
-
12:04 - 12:07(Applause)
-
12:08 - 12:11as you have done
so many times in your life, -
12:11 - 12:13you have taken risk,
-
12:13 - 12:16and you have stepped up
to the front lines. -
12:16 - 12:20Do you leave this experience
with any new learning -
12:20 - 12:25or a new level of commitment,
hope or optimism? -
12:25 - 12:27JF: Yeah, I am optimistic.
-
12:27 - 12:31People in this country are really scared
about the climate crisis, -
12:31 - 12:35and they want to do something,
but nobody has asked them. -
12:35 - 12:37We just have to ask them.
-
12:37 - 12:40We have to get organized, you know?
-
12:40 - 12:42And we can do that.
-
12:42 - 12:46So I feel very hopeful.
-
12:46 - 12:50I must say that I am going to go
back to work on "Grace and Frankie," -
12:50 - 12:54but part of my heart
is going to be with Fire Drill Fridays, -
12:54 - 12:58and I hope I can continue with that.
-
12:58 - 13:00I just think that we do
have to build an army. -
13:00 - 13:02This coming year is the critical year.
-
13:02 - 13:05What happens is going to be so important.
-
13:05 - 13:07So we have to be sure,
-
13:07 - 13:10especially someone who's healthy,
-
13:10 - 13:12who feels relatively young,
-
13:12 - 13:14who has a platform --
-
13:14 - 13:17we have to use it
in every possible way we can. -
13:17 - 13:19And if I didn't have that,
-
13:19 - 13:22then I would find other little ways
that I could do it: -
13:22 - 13:24talk to my neighbors, talk to my friends,
-
13:24 - 13:25talk to my family,
-
13:25 - 13:27join an organization.
-
13:27 - 13:30That's how, also, as I've said,
to stave off depression, -
13:30 - 13:32is to do something active.
-
13:32 - 13:36PM: Jane, at 81, you are modeling
what that can be like for sure, -
13:37 - 13:40and I think we just recruited a new army.
-
13:41 - 13:46(Applause)
-
13:50 - 13:51Thank you very much, my friend.
-
13:52 - 13:53Stay safe.
-
13:53 - 13:57Thank you for all that you have done
for the planet and so much else. -
13:57 - 13:58JF: Thank you, Pat.
-
13:58 - 14:01PM: Join me in thanking Jane.
-
14:01 - 14:02(Applause)
- Title:
- Why I protest for climate justice
- Speaker:
- Jane Fonda
- Description:
-
At age 81, actor and activist Jane Fonda is putting herself on the line for the planet -- literally. In a video interview with TEDWomen curator Pat Mitchell, Fonda speaks about getting arrested multiple times during Fire Drill Fridays, the weekly climate demonstrations she leads in Washington, DC -- and discusses why civil disobedience is becoming a new normal in the age of climate change.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 14:15
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for Why I protest for climate justice |