Will Potter coming to speak!

 

The Animal Rights Coalition is hosting a lecture by award-winning, independent journalist, Will Potter, titled: " The Green Scare: Using Terrorism Laws to Silence Political Activists." The lecture will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2009, at 7 p.m. at Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Institute, 301 19th Avenue South, on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota Campus. This event is free to the public. (for directions, CLICK HERE).

Potter, based in Washington, D.C., is a leading authority on the erosion of civil liberties, post 9/11, and how terrorism laws are being exploited to push a political and corporate agenda. Specifically, Potter focuses on how animal and environmental advocates are being branded "eco-terrorists," in what many are calling "The Green Scare." Think red-baiting, with a green twist.

"The entire animal rights and environmental movements, perhaps more than any other social movements, directly threaten corporate profits," Potter states on the website he created, GreenIsTheNewRed.com, where he blogs about the Green Scare and history repeating itself. "They do it every day. Every time activists encourage people to go vegan, every time they encourage people to stop driving, every time they encourage people to consume fewer resources and live simply. Those boycotts are permanent, and these industries know it. In many ways, the Green Scare, like the Red Scare, can be seen as a culture war, a war of values."

Potter has written for publications including: The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, Legal Affairs, The Chronicle of Higher Education, In These Times, The Texas Observer, The Washington City Paper, Z and Counterpunch. His work has been circulated widely on political websites, and has appeared in Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press, 2006), Punishing Protest (National Lawyer’s Guild, 2007), Censored ’08 (Seven Stories Press, 2007), and course materials for universities.

His reporting on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act has been recognized by Project Censored for outstanding investigative journalism,” as one of the top 25 “stories that didn’t make the news” in 2007. He has also received the Mark of Excellence award for feature writing, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists, in addition to recognition from Scripps Howard, Lantern Books, and the Press Club of Dallas.