Just Do It: A Tale of Modern-day Outlaws Page #8

If we find anything

that we think can be used

to do anything bad in the future,

we will take it with us.

We don't need any papers at all

to go in here.

We'd like you to turn off the camera.

I got the message from my chief.

- I've showed you my press card.

- This is a crime scene.

A crime scene?

I'm a member of the press.

I showed you my accreditation.

I'm not turning off the camera.

If you have a press card,

you have to wait outside.

No, I don't.

- But it's private property.

- That doesn't matter.

The Danish police act

gives the permission.

I am aware you have another system

in those countries where you are from.

But in Denmark

we are actually allowed.

We'd like you to turn off the camera.

If you don't get the message...

- Don't touch my camera.

- We will take it. It's your decision.

I was here filming a piece.

This is a matter of public interest.

I'm not going outside.

Please stop pushing me.

I am not being unreasonable.

Just relax.

- Why have you removed me?

- Excuse me.

It's so that nobody can see

what you're doing.

It's a crime scene. We have

to search the place. That's why.

- What is the crime?

- So we don't want you to film.

- Tell me.

- We will tell you later.

You came in there, you said that

you were searching for weapons.

You've not found any.

You will have to turn it off now.

- If you're doing nothing wrong...

- Then I'll take it.

Everyone needs to be at the table

having a conversation

about what to do

to stop climate change.

But that wasn't what was happening

at Copenhagen.

The action, 16th of December,

where NGOs and small nations

and countries,

all sorts of people

from inside the conference...

Delegates were going to come out

and meet the grass-roots movements

on the outside

and meet at the fence,

meet in the middle,

and have a people's assembly

to find an actual solution

to climate change.

And then, on the day of action,

we set off quite quickly,

got on our bicycles.

It was snowing and cold.

As we got quite close

to the Bella Centre,

all of a sudden, this riot van

full of police turned up.

"Right, we're nicking you. "

We hadn't done anything,

we were being arrested

and detained in jail for the day.

Cuffed us all, on the floor,

in a blizzard

for about an hour and a half,

whilst they rounded up more people.

"We're taking you to the chicken

coup," their temporary prison.

We'd done nothing

and we'd be released later.

At that point, we felt the full force

of repression from the Danish state,

sanctioned from the world.

We are peaceful.

What are you?

Why do you do that?

It felt like martial law.

It really did.

It felt like we were in a war zone.

And it was...

That element of it was

a really horrible experience.

They'd just got every road block armed

in this direct confrontation.

In that direct confrontation,

there was no winning.

They always have better firepower,

stronger numbers.

They're fully armed,

just like Robocop.

Aimee's been bitten

by a dog off leash.

Then Paul rings.

- Do they know you have this phone?

- No, they don't, no.

- I smuggled it in, in my pants.

- Can you see people in other cages?

Yeah, I can see loads of people.

There are hundreds of people here.

- Hundreds?

- Men and women.

We were trying to go to the People's

Assembly. We got lifted on the way.

The inner wall

has just been ripped up.

The cages are destroyed.

They can't put people in them.

There was this general feeling of,

if we demolish our cells,

they can't hold us physically.

It was a matter of getting

everyone on each side of the cage

to put their back towards

the dividing wall and hold it.

You lift it out of the runner

at the bottom

and you can start shaking it

from side to side.

It snaps all of these jubilee clips

which are holding it at the edge.

You just run in together and

they come and blast you all with mace.

So, gradually, throughout the day,

I went from this position

of being totally gutted

that I had gone to go and participate

in a people's assembly

and been really compliant...

I was angry with myself for being

compliant and being searched.

Then I was arrested for no reason.

.. to a position where I felt like we

were breaking down that process

by asserting our humanity.

Let us all free! Let us all free!

What was quite beautiful about it was,

this was a collaboration

between people from all over Europe

and all over the world.

The chanting and singing

was in every language.

You pick it up as quickly as possible

and try and get everyone chanting it.

It was so powerful to hear complete

indignation about what was going on,

and we had to unify.

After weeks of wrangling, Obama

and his pals cut a back-room deal.

But they couldn't get

the rest of the UN to back it,

leaving the process on hold

until next year.

The left-wing Latin American countries

are denouncing the whole thing.

They are saying that the conference

has been a total failure.

They are saying they want a world

referendum on what should be done.

They are blaming America specifically

and capitalism generally.

I think it's not even...

It can't even be called a deal.

It could be called a cop-out.

Technically, our politicians are meant

to be on our side but they're not.

So I went to Copenhagen to protest

at what was being proposed

by the governments taking part

in the summit, which is carbon trading,

and disrupt that conference.

In doing that,

hopefully, you hoped that...

.. governments would seek another path

to solving climate change,

which wouldn't be

a capital-based money system.

Everything would be solved

because we told them

not to do that and they listened.

- But they didn't listen to you?

- They didn't listen. Of course not.

You say, "Of course not".

Some people would say you knew

it was futile from the beginning.

Of course it was futile.

But sometimes, even when

you know something is futile,

it doesn't mean you shouldn't try,

because you've got to have hope.

If you don't try, then you never know

if you're going to win or lose.

Because you might surprise yourself

sometimes.

Other people might surprise you.

And you've got to try.

A lot of us came back disheartened.

I know I certainly...

.. interestingly, have shifted my

perspective away from climate change,

and realized I need to shout

more loudly about capitalism.

I need to shout much more loudly

about the system,

rather than what the system's doing.

Copenhagen forced me

into that position.

I went there to discuss climate change

and came out discussing capitalism

and state control.

It totally radicalized me.

So, thank you, Copenhagen police

for pushing me into that corner.

Post-capitalism. It's better

than what we've got already.

I'm not sure how to get there,

I'm not sure how it's going to work.

But I think we can give it a go.

You're into post-capitalism,

aren't you? Give it a go.

Vote Sophie Nathan!

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