John Stewart is a terrorist
It was like a scene out of a New York cop movie. Only it was happening for real. And to me. I had just arrived at New York’s JFK Airport to talk to American activists about the success of the campaign to stop the third runway at Heathrow. They had invited myself and Plane Stupid activist Dan Glass to tour the country – by train - for a month talking about the campaign - http://aviationjustice.org/. But I never left JFK.
When my flight touched down, it was boarded by six New York cops who escorted me off the plane. I had apparently made threats against President Obama. I was questioned by the Immigration Service, the FBI and the American Secret Service. After 7½ hours I was sent back to the UK. I had never before taken a transatlantic flight. Now I had taken two within 24 hours!
But it was the nature of the questioning, particularly by the FBI, which was so revealing. Next-to-nothing about threats to Obama. What they wanted to know about was Plane Stupid, direct action and Dan (who had super-glued himself to Gordon Brown in protest against the 3rd runway). They saw Dan as a man who – shock! horror! – “actively advocated” civil disobedience. They even used the word “terrorist”. When Dan had tried to apply for a visa, they said they were afraid he might super-glue himself to Sarah Palin! When questioning me they said they feared my talks might result in armed protesters occupying JFK Airport! Now that would be material for a movie. Pure fiction!
What is so disturbing is that Plane Stupid – a network whose actions are rooted in the tradition of non-violent civil disobedience – can be branded terrorist. As it happens, I personally have no convictions but somebody didn’t want me, in association with Dan, talking with American audiences. I learnt once I returned to London that a phone-call had been made once by flight had taken off alleging that I had made threats against Obama. We’ll never know who made it but it provided the perfect opportunity for me to be questioned at length at JFK.
A new book by Will Potter suggests that in America, green has become the new red. The US authorities are now seeing a green under every bed planting seeds of revolution and sowing sedition. If that’s the case, a tour telling the story of a successful and radical environmental campaign, which overcame the power of the aviation industry, would have worried the American authorities. If the process were to be repeated across Europe and the US, it would harm the corporate interests of the aviation industry. Potter argues in Green is the New Red that it is precisely to protect the profits of corporate interests that environmentalists are being targeted. He has written, “much like the Red Scare and the communist witch hunts of the 40s and 50s, the Green Scare is using one word—this time, it’s “terrorist”—to push a political agenda, instill fear, and chill dissent”.
I must learn to stop associating with green “terrorists” and super-glue addicts.
