DeepSummary
The episode discusses the threat faced by environmental activists around the world, with a focus on the first environmental activist in the US to be killed by police while defending the environment as part of the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement against the construction of what they call 'Cop City.' It shares stories of environmental defenders being murdered due to their activism, and explores the pattern of violence against those protecting natural resources.
The episode highlights the case of a forest defender known as 'Tortugita' who was killed during a police raid on the encampment in the Atlanta forest protesting Cop City. It examines the charges of domestic terrorism leveled against protesters, the tactics used by police to crack down on the movement, and the implications of portraying protesters as dangerous agitators.
The episode features expert commentary and personal accounts from activists involved in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement. It draws connections between the challenges faced in Atlanta and the broader global struggle against exploitation of natural resources, displacement of indigenous communities, and violence towards environmental defenders.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Environmental activists and indigenous communities face escalating violence globally for defending natural resources against exploitation by powerful corporate and state interests.
- The construction of 'Cop City' in Atlanta has galvanized a protest movement that views it as an attempt to expand militarized policing to repress dissent rather than improve public safety.
- Protesters have been unfairly characterized as dangerous agitators and hit with unjustified domestic terrorism charges as a means of criminalizing their dissent against Cop City.
- The killing of environmental defender 'Tortugita' by police during a raid on the protest encampment has brought renewed focus on the pattern of lethal violence against those protecting the environment.
- Global economic systems and supply chains make it difficult to hold specific corporations and governments accountable for violence towards environmental defenders.
- Activists argue investments in military-style training centers divert resources from addressing real community needs like affordable housing, sustainable jobs, and environmental justice.
- The crackdown on Cop City protesters reflects how state power is wielded to suppress dissent that challenges corporate exploitation of land and resources at the expense of vulnerable groups.
- While engaging in civil disobedience, environmental defenders are driven by a principled defense of land rights, indigenous sovereignty, and survival in the face of climate crisis.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We recognize that cop city is not being constructed so that the police can learn tactics to go after the corporations that are polluting our neighborhoods or practicing wage theft against low wage workers or go against the developers that are exploiting our communities and literally forcing people out of their homes due to rising rents and property taxes. No, they're going to be learning urban warfare tactics to harass our communities, to surveil us, to prevent us from doing things like gathering here today and letting the public know what's going on.“ by Unidentified Protester
- “Because of the way that the global economy is set up, it's often very difficult to point to a specific country. We can identify, in many cases, specific industries that are causing the violence, but because of the way that global supply chains are set up, it's very difficult to identify specific companies, certainly, and specific state actors.“ by Louis Wilson
- “Are we gonna end up in a situation where the police are murdering protesters in order to advance not public safety, but their particular political agenda in building hop city?“ by Unidentified Activist
- “These folks were doing absolutely nothing but being in the force as force defenders at the time of their arrest.“ by Kamau Franklin
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Episode Information
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
BestOfTheLeft.com
2/5/23
Air Date 2/5/2023
Today, we take a look at the threat to the lives of environment protectors around the world with a special focus on the first environmental activist in the U.S. to lose their life at the hands of police while defending the environment and the people who depend on it as part of the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement against the construction of what they have dubbed "Cop City."
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Record number of environmental activists murdered - BBC News - Air Date 9-13-21
227 people were killed around the world in 2020, the highest number for a second consecutive year. The victims were called "environmental defenders" by the report – killed for protecting natural resources that need to be preserved,
Ch. 2: Cop City - The Takeaway - Air Date 1-17-23
Digital producer Zachary Bynum reports from Atlanta, talking with activists, organizers, and elected officials from the city to determine what this all means about race, land stewardship, and power.
According to Global Witness’ report titled ‘Decade of Defiance’, 1733 activists were killed between 2012 and 2021. 227 of them were killed in the year 2020. Last year, 200 environmental defenders were murdered. Nearly 4 people a week!
SWAT teams and other armed police officers from eight different federal, state, county, and city police agencies conducted a raid on those camping out in the Atlanta forest
Six people in Atlanta have been charged with domestic terrorism for taking part in protests against a massive new police training facility known as Cop City.
Ch. 6: Environmentalists in danger Part 1 - DW Documentary - Air Date 10-29-22
Around the globe, people are risking their lives to protect the environment and climate. When environmentalists’ activities disrupt organized crime and other illegal profiteers, they are sued, threatened and even murdered.
Just weeks ago, law enforcement officers — including a SWAT team — were violently evicting protesters who had occupied a wooded area outside the center, when they shot and killed a longtime activist and charged 19 with domestic terrorism.
Ch. 8: Environmentalists in danger Part 2 - DW Documentary - Air Date 10-29-22
Ch. 9: Cop City: Forest Defender Killed by Police in Forest Raid - The Takeaway - Air Date 1-25-23
We checked in with Founder of Community Movement Builders Kamau Franklin and Sean, a participant in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement, for an update on the situation.
Former energy executive Roberto David Castillo has been sentenced in Honduras for orchestrating the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres in 2016.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 11: Cop City Part 2 - The Takeaway - Air Date 1-17-23
Glasgow memorial honors 1,005 land and environmental defenders who have been murdered since the 2015 Paris Agreement. One in three of those defenders killed was an Indigenous person. 2020 was the most dangerous year on record for environmental defenders.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 13: Final comments and conversation with Ben about his fallen friend
Bonus clip: More training not enough to reform police culture says whistleblower - MSNBC - Air Date 1-31-23
Whistleblower Katie Sponsler, former National Park Service ranger, U.S. Air Force veteran, and advocate for police reform, joins Joy Reid on why more training alone is not enough to reform police culture.
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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