WEBVTT 00:00:04.220 --> 00:00:06.560 Pat Mitchell: It's so great to see you, my friend. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:06.584 --> 00:00:09.167 Jane Fonda: Hi Pat. It's great to be with you. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:09.191 --> 00:00:14.237 PM: Jane, for the ones who may not have seen the extraordinary coverage 00:00:14.261 --> 00:00:15.959 around the world 00:00:15.983 --> 00:00:17.925 of Fire Drill Fridays 00:00:17.949 --> 00:00:22.204 and the impact that they have already had, 00:00:22.228 --> 00:00:25.744 talk to us about the origin of this idea, 00:00:25.768 --> 00:00:29.955 this particular response to the climate crisis. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:30.460 --> 00:00:36.283 JF: I was very inspired by Greta Thunberg, the Swedish student, 00:00:36.307 --> 00:00:40.468 and by the young school climate strikers. 00:00:41.604 --> 00:00:45.060 Greta says we've got to get out of our comfort zone. 00:00:45.084 --> 00:00:49.319 We have to behave like our house is burning, 00:00:49.343 --> 00:00:50.740 because it is. 00:00:51.975 --> 00:00:54.100 And so she really struck a chord in me. 00:00:54.124 --> 00:01:00.008 And then, learning that just about 100 percent of climate scientists agree. 00:01:00.032 --> 00:01:04.984 They agree that a drastic emergency is upon us, 00:01:05.008 --> 00:01:08.058 that it is human-caused. 00:01:10.450 --> 00:01:11.606 But they said 00:01:11.630 --> 00:01:13.684 we can do something about it. 00:01:13.708 --> 00:01:16.919 We have the time, the technology, 00:01:16.943 --> 00:01:18.165 the tools. 00:01:18.189 --> 00:01:21.430 We have everything we need except political will 00:01:21.454 --> 00:01:22.608 to meet the challenge, 00:01:22.632 --> 00:01:24.615 and it's an enormous challenge. 00:01:25.879 --> 00:01:29.991 We have 11 years, many say, a decade, 00:01:30.015 --> 00:01:31.572 and I thought, 00:01:31.596 --> 00:01:36.506 "Oh, I'm so lucky that I am healthy and living 00:01:36.530 --> 00:01:42.715 in a decade where we who are alive can actually make the difference. 00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:45.639 We can make the difference 00:01:45.663 --> 00:01:48.413 as to whether there's going to be a livable future or not. 00:01:48.437 --> 00:01:51.143 What a glorious responsibility we have. 00:01:51.167 --> 00:01:52.974 We have to step up to the plate." NOTE Paragraph 00:01:52.998 --> 00:01:54.910 And when you're famous, 00:01:54.934 --> 00:01:56.940 there's a lot of things that you can do. 00:01:56.964 --> 00:01:58.712 You have a bigger platform. 00:01:59.450 --> 00:02:01.109 So I decided that, like Greta, 00:02:01.133 --> 00:02:04.025 I was going to put my body on the line 00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:08.311 and move to the center of American power, Washington, DC, 00:02:08.335 --> 00:02:11.802 and have a rally every Friday like the students do. 00:02:11.826 --> 00:02:13.269 And we work with the students. 00:02:13.293 --> 00:02:17.300 They speak at my rallies, and I speak at their rallies. 00:02:17.324 --> 00:02:18.836 And then after we speak, 00:02:18.860 --> 00:02:24.518 we engage in civil disobedience and risk getting arrested. 00:02:24.542 --> 00:02:26.916 Civil disobedience is a powerful tool 00:02:26.940 --> 00:02:29.836 that has changed history many times, 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:34.995 both in the United States in the '60s during the civil rights movement, 00:02:35.019 --> 00:02:37.881 of course in India with Mahatma Gandhi. 00:02:39.231 --> 00:02:43.480 And I didn't know in the beginning if it was going to work or not, 00:02:43.504 --> 00:02:47.851 but it's made me very happy to see what's happening. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:48.732 --> 00:02:51.883 PM: It's also led to your being arrested -- 00:02:51.907 --> 00:02:55.426 multiple times, actually, 00:02:55.450 --> 00:03:01.311 spending at least a night or two in Washington, DC jails. 00:03:01.335 --> 00:03:06.321 And while all of us, I think, recognize the emergency and the actions 00:03:06.345 --> 00:03:10.075 that you so kindly mentioned others have taken, 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:13.973 I'm not sure that we would put our bodies at risk, 00:03:13.997 --> 00:03:16.853 our lives, our careers 00:03:16.877 --> 00:03:18.449 and our lives on hold, 00:03:18.473 --> 00:03:19.977 as you have done. 00:03:20.327 --> 00:03:25.258 Do you have any concerns about that at this point? NOTE Paragraph 00:03:26.131 --> 00:03:31.234 JF: Well, I realize that not everybody can leave work and go 00:03:31.258 --> 00:03:32.689 and do what I'm doing. 00:03:32.713 --> 00:03:35.220 But I must say that requests are pouring in, 00:03:35.244 --> 00:03:37.264 not only from around the United States 00:03:37.288 --> 00:03:40.471 but from other countries, 00:03:40.495 --> 00:03:43.385 people who want to start Fire Drill Fridays. 00:03:43.409 --> 00:03:46.484 And the people who are coming and getting arrested with me 00:03:46.508 --> 00:03:48.952 and engaging with civil disobedience, 00:03:48.976 --> 00:03:51.756 many of them have never done it before, 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:54.189 and they find it to be transformative. 00:03:54.699 --> 00:03:59.197 But the fact is that there are so many things that people can do, 00:03:59.221 --> 00:04:03.682 starting with talking about it, 00:04:03.706 --> 00:04:06.742 expressing how you feel about it and talking about it, 00:04:06.766 --> 00:04:08.230 even when it's uncomfortable. 00:04:08.254 --> 00:04:10.466 At a holiday dinner table 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:13.121 and maybe Uncle Bob doesn't agree, 00:04:13.145 --> 00:04:16.656 but, you know, maybe Uncle Bob is worried about his grandkids, 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:20.566 maybe he loves birds. 00:04:20.590 --> 00:04:24.089 There's always a way in with people 00:04:24.113 --> 00:04:29.279 to get them to feel concerned about the climate crisis. 00:04:29.303 --> 00:04:32.591 Of course, voting is very, very important, 00:04:32.615 --> 00:04:36.134 and we have to vote for the people that are the bravest, 00:04:36.158 --> 00:04:39.397 the boldest of our elected officials, 00:04:39.421 --> 00:04:41.729 because the task ahead of us -- 00:04:41.753 --> 00:04:45.302 all over the world, but certainly here in the United States -- 00:04:45.326 --> 00:04:48.040 we have to get rid of this current administration, 00:04:48.064 --> 00:04:50.487 and we have to elect people that are really brave, 00:04:50.511 --> 00:04:52.133 that will step up -- NOTE Paragraph 00:04:52.157 --> 00:04:53.232 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:53.256 --> 00:04:56.981 and do the bold actions that are needed, the way Franklin Delano Roosevelt did 00:04:57.005 --> 00:05:00.440 during the 1930s, during the Great Depression, 00:05:00.464 --> 00:05:07.061 when he really changed a great deal about American society. 00:05:07.085 --> 00:05:09.265 And that's what is needed now. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:09.812 --> 00:05:11.781 PM: So Jane, we should also explain, 00:05:11.805 --> 00:05:15.083 because many people who are here are thinking, what can they do? 00:05:15.107 --> 00:05:18.272 Can they come to Washington and join you in this action? 00:05:18.296 --> 00:05:22.685 We should explain, not everyone who participates in Fire Drill Fridays 00:05:22.709 --> 00:05:25.226 is under threat of being arrested. 00:05:25.250 --> 00:05:28.022 There are other parts of what you're doing, 00:05:28.046 --> 00:05:33.056 like you are currently in the Greenpeace offices in Washington. 00:05:33.080 --> 00:05:36.810 So explain what else is a part of Fire Drill Fridays 00:05:36.834 --> 00:05:40.034 and how we could participate in civil disobedience 00:05:40.058 --> 00:05:42.827 without the risk of getting arrested. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:43.272 --> 00:05:47.978 JF: First of all, you want to try not do anything as a lone individual. 00:05:48.002 --> 00:05:50.679 You know, it's by our powers combined. 00:05:50.703 --> 00:05:54.126 There's strength in numbers. 00:05:54.150 --> 00:05:56.889 There's also community in numbers, 00:05:56.913 --> 00:05:59.862 and one of the hardest things about what we're facing now is: 00:05:59.886 --> 00:06:02.595 this is a collective crisis, 00:06:02.619 --> 00:06:06.079 coming at a time when the whole notion of the collective, 00:06:06.103 --> 00:06:08.580 of the commons, of the public sphere, 00:06:08.604 --> 00:06:13.502 is being eroded quite deliberately by neoliberalism and conservatism. 00:06:13.526 --> 00:06:18.054 And so reconnecting with groups of people, 00:06:18.078 --> 00:06:20.824 like-minded people in a common action, 00:06:20.848 --> 00:06:23.013 is solace to the soul. 00:06:23.037 --> 00:06:27.095 It gives you such strength. It's a great antidote to depression. 00:06:27.119 --> 00:06:29.760 So find out what organizations 00:06:29.784 --> 00:06:33.875 that are concerned about the climate crisis are in your area. 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:37.177 Of course, Greenpeace has chapters all around the world. 00:06:37.201 --> 00:06:41.404 And even if you just start yourself, have house parties, 00:06:41.428 --> 00:06:45.117 invite people over to talk about what's happening. 00:06:45.141 --> 00:06:48.874 Find an article that you can all read and discuss together. 00:06:48.898 --> 00:06:51.914 Obviously, if there's a climate action where you live, 00:06:51.938 --> 00:06:53.214 try to join it. 00:06:53.238 --> 00:06:57.169 It's not necessary to engage in civil disobedience 00:06:57.193 --> 00:06:59.035 and risk getting arrested, 00:06:59.059 --> 00:07:02.265 but it is going to become the new normal, I think. 00:07:02.289 --> 00:07:06.838 It feels like it is here in DC with Fire Drill Fridays. 00:07:06.862 --> 00:07:09.404 People seem to want to come back and do it again. 00:07:09.428 --> 00:07:12.050 My grandkids just got arrested last weekend. 00:07:12.074 --> 00:07:13.780 It was a transformative experience. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:13.804 --> 00:07:15.012 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:07:15.036 --> 00:07:20.547 My fellow actor Sam Waterston, who is a self-described centrist, 00:07:20.571 --> 00:07:25.364 he had never spoken at a rally or risked getting arrested, 00:07:25.388 --> 00:07:27.496 and he was arrested with me. 00:07:27.520 --> 00:07:31.276 Last week, I see that he was arrested at the Harvard-Yale game. 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:33.432 He sent me a picture of himself in handcuffs, 00:07:33.456 --> 00:07:35.501 saying, "Now look what you started!" NOTE Paragraph 00:07:35.525 --> 00:07:36.646 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:07:36.670 --> 00:07:43.147 You know, we're at a point, I think, in this crisis 00:07:43.171 --> 00:07:46.098 where people are looking to take the next step. 00:07:46.771 --> 00:07:49.381 They want to put their bodies on the line, 00:07:49.405 --> 00:07:52.370 as Greta Thunberg has exhorted us to do. 00:07:52.394 --> 00:07:55.605 And they find it very rewarding, 00:07:55.629 --> 00:07:57.147 and they want to do it again. 00:07:57.171 --> 00:07:59.394 So I think that this is good, what we're doing. 00:07:59.418 --> 00:08:04.361 I met with the Senate [Climate Change Task Force] a few weeks ago, 00:08:04.385 --> 00:08:06.127 and I asked the senators, 00:08:07.029 --> 00:08:09.131 "Is there something else we should be doing? 00:08:09.155 --> 00:08:10.701 Should we be doing more?" 00:08:10.725 --> 00:08:13.245 And Senator Ed Markey said to me, 00:08:13.269 --> 00:08:15.911 "You're building an army. That's what we need. 00:08:15.935 --> 00:08:17.106 Make it bigger. 00:08:17.130 --> 00:08:18.844 We need pressure from the outside." 00:08:18.868 --> 00:08:21.646 And I think that's true all over the world. 00:08:21.670 --> 00:08:26.024 People need to be amassing armies for the climate, 00:08:26.048 --> 00:08:28.421 armies for the environment, 00:08:28.445 --> 00:08:29.617 in the streets, 00:08:29.641 --> 00:08:32.360 shutting down governments if necessary. 00:08:32.384 --> 00:08:35.149 I'm thinking of Brazil right now. 00:08:35.173 --> 00:08:39.763 You know, we can't allow the burning of our precious rainforests. NOTE Paragraph 00:08:40.872 --> 00:08:44.205 PM: And as you have done so many times in the past, Jane, 00:08:44.229 --> 00:08:46.349 you are leading these changes. 00:08:46.373 --> 00:08:51.676 Eventually, one assumes, especially the fans of "Grace and Frankie," 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:55.505 that you will go back to your life 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:58.106 and resume that program. 00:08:58.130 --> 00:09:01.410 But will Fire Drill Fridays continue? NOTE Paragraph 00:09:02.117 --> 00:09:04.297 JF: Well, there's been such an interest in it, 00:09:04.321 --> 00:09:06.271 as I said, from all around the country, 00:09:06.295 --> 00:09:08.695 people asking if they can start one. 00:09:08.719 --> 00:09:11.824 And, you know, I have a lot of celebrity friends 00:09:11.848 --> 00:09:16.244 who haven't, for scheduling reasons, been able to come to DC, 00:09:16.268 --> 00:09:20.572 so we're thinking about maybe doing it in Los Angeles. 00:09:20.596 --> 00:09:23.177 But I just want to correct one thing: 00:09:23.201 --> 00:09:24.540 I'm not leading. 00:09:24.564 --> 00:09:28.482 It's the young people, it's the students that are leading. 00:09:28.506 --> 00:09:32.540 It's always the young people that step up with the courage, 00:09:32.564 --> 00:09:35.241 and it's pretty amazing, because they're risking a lot. 00:09:35.265 --> 00:09:38.762 It's pretty brave to take a Friday off from school. 00:09:38.786 --> 00:09:41.672 You could get bad grades. You could make your teachers mad. 00:09:41.696 --> 00:09:43.384 But they're doing it anyway. 00:09:43.408 --> 00:09:48.131 There have been millions of them at a time, all around the world. 00:09:48.155 --> 00:09:49.356 And they're saying, 00:09:49.380 --> 00:09:51.741 "Don't let us have to deal with this by ourselves. 00:09:51.765 --> 00:09:54.930 We didn't create this problem. Come and help us." 00:09:54.954 --> 00:09:56.485 So, Grandmas unite! NOTE Paragraph 00:09:56.509 --> 00:09:58.209 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:58.233 --> 00:10:01.703 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:10:04.999 --> 00:10:09.003 PM: And you are in a city that is probably more divided 00:10:09.027 --> 00:10:11.297 than it has been in a very long time. 00:10:11.321 --> 00:10:13.554 The polarities that exist there 00:10:13.578 --> 00:10:16.470 and in many other places around the world 00:10:16.494 --> 00:10:21.488 have kept our collective strength from being unified and used, 00:10:21.512 --> 00:10:24.618 and in that way, you have been leading us. 00:10:24.642 --> 00:10:30.436 What would success look like to you from Fire Drill Fridays? NOTE Paragraph 00:10:32.150 --> 00:10:35.896 JF: Well, I can just speak as a citizen of the United States. 00:10:36.339 --> 00:10:38.652 Success would look like 00:10:38.676 --> 00:10:43.990 every state stops all new fossil fuel expansion, 00:10:44.014 --> 00:10:47.567 because if they keep drilling and fracking and mining, 00:10:47.591 --> 00:10:49.343 the problem will just get worse, 00:10:49.367 --> 00:10:51.726 so that no matter what we do with windmills 00:10:51.750 --> 00:10:53.425 and solar collectors and so forth, 00:10:53.449 --> 00:10:55.129 we'll never be able to catch up. 00:10:55.153 --> 00:10:57.635 We have to stop all new expansion. 00:10:57.659 --> 00:10:58.817 The other thing is, 00:10:58.841 --> 00:11:04.037 they would phase out fossil fuel emissions gradually, 00:11:04.061 --> 00:11:07.032 making sure that the workers who would be impacted 00:11:07.056 --> 00:11:09.707 would be retrained at union wages 00:11:09.731 --> 00:11:12.504 and get good new union jobs. 00:11:12.528 --> 00:11:17.768 There are going to be so many good jobs with the Green New Deal, 00:11:17.792 --> 00:11:19.858 building windmills and solar collectors, 00:11:19.882 --> 00:11:23.061 retrofitting all the houses in this country, for example, 00:11:23.085 --> 00:11:24.720 laying a new energy grid. 00:11:24.744 --> 00:11:29.065 There's tens of millions of jobs waiting to be unleashed, 00:11:29.089 --> 00:11:32.308 and that's the other thing that has gotten me mobilized. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:32.842 --> 00:11:37.947 A Green New Deal is a framework for how to take ourselves into the future 00:11:37.971 --> 00:11:40.880 in a way that's sustainable and equitable. 00:11:40.904 --> 00:11:43.743 So that just gives you such hope, 00:11:43.767 --> 00:11:48.409 because if we do it right, it's going to be a win-win for everyone. 00:11:48.433 --> 00:11:51.616 And that has to be the case, or it won't work, 00:11:51.640 --> 00:11:55.242 because to make this work, everybody's going to have to be involved. 00:11:55.266 --> 00:11:57.329 And in order for everybody to be involved, 00:11:57.353 --> 00:11:59.630 they have to see something in it for themselves, 00:11:59.654 --> 00:12:01.861 and that's what a Green New Deal does. NOTE Paragraph 00:12:01.885 --> 00:12:03.860 PM: Jane, you, as always -- NOTE Paragraph 00:12:03.884 --> 00:12:06.742 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:12:07.780 --> 00:12:10.564 as you have done so many times in your life, 00:12:10.588 --> 00:12:12.722 you have taken risk, 00:12:12.746 --> 00:12:15.684 and you have stepped up to the front lines. 00:12:15.708 --> 00:12:20.268 Do you leave this experience with any new learning 00:12:20.292 --> 00:12:25.009 or a new level of commitment, hope or optimism? NOTE Paragraph 00:12:25.451 --> 00:12:27.471 JF: Yeah, I am optimistic. 00:12:27.495 --> 00:12:30.967 People in this country are really scared about the climate crisis, 00:12:30.991 --> 00:12:34.571 and they want to do something, but nobody has asked them. 00:12:35.372 --> 00:12:37.296 We just have to ask them. 00:12:37.320 --> 00:12:40.330 We have to get organized, you know? 00:12:40.354 --> 00:12:42.297 And we can do that. 00:12:42.321 --> 00:12:45.697 So I feel very hopeful. 00:12:46.411 --> 00:12:49.760 I must say that I am going to go back to work on "Grace and Frankie," 00:12:49.784 --> 00:12:54.021 but part of my heart is going to be with Fire Drill Fridays, 00:12:54.045 --> 00:12:57.887 and I hope I can continue with that. 00:12:57.911 --> 00:13:00.278 I just think that we do have to build an army. 00:13:00.302 --> 00:13:02.440 This coming year is the critical year. 00:13:02.464 --> 00:13:05.208 What happens is going to be so important. 00:13:05.232 --> 00:13:06.870 So we have to be sure, 00:13:06.894 --> 00:13:09.634 especially someone who's healthy, 00:13:09.658 --> 00:13:12.090 who feels relatively young, 00:13:12.114 --> 00:13:13.862 who has a platform -- 00:13:13.886 --> 00:13:17.341 we have to use it in every possible way we can. 00:13:17.365 --> 00:13:19.068 And if I didn't have that, 00:13:19.092 --> 00:13:21.977 then I would find other little ways that I could do it: 00:13:22.001 --> 00:13:24.078 talk to my neighbors, talk to my friends, 00:13:24.102 --> 00:13:25.404 talk to my family, 00:13:25.428 --> 00:13:27.027 join an organization. 00:13:27.051 --> 00:13:30.438 That's how, also, as I've said, to stave off depression, 00:13:30.462 --> 00:13:32.291 is to do something active. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:32.315 --> 00:13:36.483 PM: Jane, at 81, you are modeling what that can be like for sure, 00:13:36.507 --> 00:13:40.376 and I think we just recruited a new army. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:40.828 --> 00:13:45.553 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:13:49.680 --> 00:13:51.482 Thank you very much, my friend. 00:13:51.506 --> 00:13:52.832 Stay safe. 00:13:52.856 --> 00:13:56.975 Thank you for all that you have done for the planet and so much else. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:56.999 --> 00:13:58.166 JF: Thank you, Pat. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:58.190 --> 00:14:00.706 PM: Join me in thanking Jane. NOTE Paragraph 00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:02.425 (Applause)