THERE HAS
BEEN A LOT OF PROPAGANDA IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA REGARDING THE
WATER PROTECTORS I STANDING ROCK.
ALLEGATIONS THAT THEY
RIGHTED AND THAT THEY'VE BEEN VIOLENT OR THEY ARE DESTRUCTING
PRIVATE PROPERTY, BUT THE REALITY IS THAT A LOT OF THESE
WATER PROTECTORS HAVE BEEN PEACEFUL AND THEY BEEN MET WITH
A GREAT DEAL OF VIOLENCE.
IN FACT, WE HAVE ONE OF MANY
EXAMPLES FOR YOU THAT IS A NATIVE AMERICAN WOMAN WHO HAD
BEEN STRUCK BY TWO GAS, CANISTER AND SHE WAS ALSO SHOT IN THE LEG
WITH A RUBBER BULLET BEFORE BEING PULLED FROM A BRIDGE BY
OTHER PROTESTERS.
JORDAN SHERIDAN SPOKE TO HER AND GOT
MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HERÖ TO THE STORY IS THAT SHE
UNFORTUNATELY LOST COMPLETE EYESIGHT IN ONE OF HER
EYES, THAT I THAT WAS STRUCK AS A RESULT OF HER BEING PART
OF THIS PROCESS.
TAKE A LOOK.
FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW, YOU RUN THAT BRIDGE ON NOVEMBER
20, FREEZING WATER BEING SHOT.
ACTUALLY NO, ACTUALLY I GOT TAKEN OUT IN THE FIRST 30
MINUTES.
I AM DISPATCH, THEY TOOK ME OUT WITHIN THE FIRST 30
MINUTES.
THEY POINTED A CANNON AT MY HEAD SHOOTING FIVE OR SIX
ROUNDS THAT I REMEMBER FROM MY SITE WHILE THEY BARRELED MY FACE
AND ONE ACTUALLY HIT MY EYE AND I EMBRACE THAT PAIN BUT ACTUALLY
NO, I WAS TAKEN OUT VERY EARLY.
1ST 30 MINUTES OF THE SIX HOUR
BATTLE.
WAR CRIMES AND WERE TACHY TO TAKE OUT YOUR
INFORMATION HAD FIRST AND WE HAVE WITNESSES POINTING ME OUT
FROM THE OFFICERS WHICH THEY DID A GOOD JOB OF THAT.
THE TEARGAS CANISTERS WERE SHOT PRETTY MUCH POINT-BLANK.
YES 15 FEET IN FRONT OF ME, I GOT A HEADSHOT.
I HAD THIS MUCH
ROOM BEFORE THEY WOULD ACTUALLY HIT MY TEMPLE, I WOULD HAVE
BEEN DEAD REALLY GOT A MONOXIDE FOR CHILDREN AT HOME.
USE OF THE FIRST 72 HOURS IS CRITICAL, IF YOU HAD GOTTEN
THE PROPER HEALTHCARE THEY WOULD'VE SAVED YOUR RETINA.
THEY TOOK TOO MANY DAYS AND I'LL NEVER SEE AGAIN.
THAT'S
WHY I'M SITTING HERE NOW.
I KNOW THERE IS A BIGGER BATTLE.
I
SAVED HERE TO SAVE THE WATER WHICH I HOPE WE DID.
I DON'T
KNOW WHERE THEY ARE RELOCATING THIS, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT
WENT OUT YESTERDAY I'M NOT TOO SURE ABOUT THESE THINGS.
I
THINK THEIR PLOY TACTICS TO TRY TO CHASE OFF PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO OUR NATIVE AMERICAN HEALTH INSURANCE AND
OUR STATE HEALTH INSURANCE AS ARIZONA MEDICAID, I DID NOT GET
THE TREATMENT AND THE THINGS THAT I NEEDED TO SAVE MY EYE IN
72 HOURS.
I'LL NEVER SEE AGAIN.
THIS HER WINDOWS TO YOUR SOUL.
IT'S EVERYTHING, YOUR EYES ARE EVERYTHING THAT I WOULD'VE LOST
AN ARM OVER MY EYE ANY DAY.
BY THE WAY, SHE TALKS ABOUT HEALTHCARE THERE BUT
ANOTHER ISSUE THERE IS THAT THEY DIDN'T ALLOW AMBULANCE OUR
MEDICS TO BE THERE SO THERE WAS A LOT OF VOLUNTEER MEDICS
THAT COURAGEOUSLY DONATED THEIR TIME AND THEIR RESOURCES TO
HELP WATER PROTECTORS WHO WAS WHO WERE INJURED AS A
RESULT OF THE BRUTALITY THAT THEY FACE.
THE GOVERNOR PRETENDED THAT HE CARED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF
WATER PROTECTORS AND SAID THAT IS WHY I LIKE TO FIX THEM FROM
THEIR CAMP, BECAUSE I'M WORRIED ABOUT THEIR SAFETY IN THE MIDDLE
OF WINTER.
IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE YOUR GUYS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT
THEIR SAFETY WHEN THEY WERE FIRING THEM WITH TEARGAS
CANISTERS AND 15 FEET AWAY.
THAT GIRL ALMOST LOST HER ARM
NIGHT HAVE SOMEONE WHO LOST THEIR SITE AND THESE WATER
PROTECTORS HAVE BEEN PEACEFUL AND PRAYERFUL THROUGHOUT. 2000
VETERAN SHOWED UP, PEACEFUL AND PRAYERFUL, THEY MADE VERY CLEAR
DO NOT BRING WEAPONS.
WE ARE VETERANS AND WE KNOW A LOT OF
YOU HAVE WEAPONS, BUT IF YOU BRING THEM YOU ARE NOT PART OF
US.
IT IS BEEN A COMPLETELY PEACEFUL THROUGHOUT THE
PROTECTOR SIDE AND THEY WERE MET WITH STATE VIOLENCE.
IN THIS
CASE IT'S ALMOST LIKE A LITERAL PARABLE AND I FOR NIGHT LEAVES
THE WHOLE WORLD BLIND.
IN THIS CASE, LUCKILY THE PROTESTERS,
WHETHER IT'S THE WATER PROTECTORS WERE NATIVE AMERICANS
OR THE ENVIRONMENTALIST OF THE VETERANS, THEY DID NOT DO I FOR
NIGHT.
THERE I GOT TAKEN BUT THEY STOOD SURE ALL AND THEY NEVER
RESORTED TO VIOLENCE.
I WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT STATE VIOLENCE AND HOW
WHEN IT COMES TO THE ISSUE OF OUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS, ONE
OF THE BIGGEST ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF LAX GUN LAWS IS THAT
THESE WEAPONS GIVE US THE ABILITY TO PROTECT OURSELVES
AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
IN THIS CASE, THERE WERE NO WEAPONS.
THIS WAS A PEACEFUL PROTEST.
THEY EMPHASIZED REPEATEDLY THAT
THEY DID NOT WANT TO USE ANY TYPE OF VIOLENT FORCE AGAINST
ANYONE IN THIS CASE THE WATER PROTECTORS SAIDÖ JUXTAPOSE THIS
TO THE STORY OF THE RANCHERS THAT ACTUALLY DID HAVE WEAPONS
AND DID THREATEN THE LIVES OF INDIVIDUALS AND HOW MUCH THEY
WERE SUPPORTED.
THEY THREATEN THE LIVES OF POLICE OFFICIALS
AND THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH SUPPORT THEY GOT EVEN THOUGH THEY DID
THREATEN TO USE VIOLENCE WHILE THEY WERE DOING THEIR PROCESS.
THAT IS OKAY BUT IN THIS CASE, YOU HAVE RIGHT-WINGERS TALKING
ABOUT HOW THESE WATER PROTECTORS ARE VIOLENT AND THERE WERE NO
WEAPONS.
THERE'S NO SIGN OF THEM BEING VIOLENT OR CAUSING
ANY DAMAGE.
IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO SEE THAT DOUBLE
STANDARD.
I DON'T KNOW, WHICH ONE IS IT?
DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO
BE ARMED TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE BIG BAD GOVERNMENT OR
IS IT ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE THAT FIT A CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC AND
FIVE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO HAVE THESE WEAPONS.
OF THOSE WATER PROTECTORS HAVE WEAPONS, DO YOU HAVE ANY
IDEA HOW QUICKLY THEY WOULD'VE BEEN ANNIHILATED?
YOU THINK THEY
WOULD'VE WAITED 43 DAYS LIKE THEY DID AT THE BUNDY RANCH?
THEY WOULD'VE STEAMROLLED THEM.
THEY WOULD'VE ROLLED THOSE
HUMVEES RIGHT OVER THEM BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE WEAPONS AND THOSE
VETERANS DON'T HAVE WEAPONS, AND YOU KNOW WHAT?
I'VE TOLD YOU
THIS OF THOUSAND TIMES.
NONVIOLENCE IS THE CORRECT PATH
NOT ONLY BECAUSE IT IS MORE MORAL AND THAT IS A NORMATIVELY
IMPORTANT, BUT IT'S ALSO BECAUSE IT WORKS BETTER.
YEAH, THOSE
BUNDY RANCH GUYS TOOK OVER A THING FOR OVER A MONTH AND EVERY
TIME I THINK ABOUT HOW THEY WERE LET GO IT IS MADDENING.
I
CANNOT BELIEVE THEY GOT AWAY WITH IT AT THE END OF THE DAY,
WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO ACCOMPLISH?
THEY WANTED TO NOT
PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE ORIGINALLY ON THE FIRST BUNDY CONFLICT AND
BASICALLY THEY TAKE A LITTLE BIT FROM ALL OF US TO BE ABLE TO
GRAZE ON OUR LAND AND NOT PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
THAT IS THEIR
BIG CAUSE?
WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO ACCOMPLISH?
NOTHING DOUR AS
THESE GUYS ARE ACTUALLY TRYING TO SAVE THE WATER AND I DON'T
WANT TO BE TOO GRANDIOSE BUT THE PLANET BECAUSE THESE FOSSIL
FUELS ARE KILLING US.
IT'S LEADING TO CLIMATE CHANGE AND
ENDANGERING ALL OF US AND THESE GUYS ARE PEACEFULLY FIGHTING
BACK AGAINST IT.
IT'S A TESTAMENT TO THE BEST
OF AMERICA.