november 3, 2011: just met amy goodman at syracuse university. she had been invited by the syracuse peace council as part of their 75th anniversary celebration. she talked about the importance of independent media and the power of grassroots movements – occupy wall street, the egyptian revolution, the gaza flotillas. she talked about her arrest (along with two other democracy now reporters) outside the republican national convention in 2008 and how they had just won concessions from the st paul police dept and the u.s. secret service (a rare victory). the lesson there is that when the police tell u to stop filming, that’s exactly when u turn on ur camera – it’s a constitutional right. she talked about covering troy davis’s execution and that was the only time her voice broke. very deliberately, she compared it to lynching. she explained how people involved in social change, whether they see the results in their lifetime or not, r in fact shaping the future. she mentioned frederick douglass, susan b anthony and rosa parks. she called them troublemakers and stressed the importance of not being silent.
she speaks fast and jumps from one world event to another. she is knowledgeable and witty but what i related to most was her passion. u can feel it in everything she says – in her excitement about people’s movements, in her commitment to truth and justice. it’s palpable. it’s contagious. i told her about my documentary work and about how, when i speak to students on college and university campuses, the first thing i urge them to do is to watch democracy now. she was v pleased and introduced me to her producers who r also pakistani-american. on the way out i met dear, like-minded friends and got to catch up with them. the air was brisk but not too chilly and the city of syracuse lit up the view from the campus. a lovely evening…
