WEBVTT - On the Ground at Stop Cop City, Part Two: Remembering Tortuguita 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:25.680 A lot of things have changed in the woods since 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:30.360 I visited last year. The entrenchment Creek Park trailhead at 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:34.639 Wallani People's Park is now basically a massive mud pit, 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:41.000 the trees cut down and all the grass gone. Sidewalks 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.600 and bike paths have all been turned into rubble. As 0:00:44.600 --> 0:00:47.239 we talked about in the last episode, the police have 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:51.360 been increasingly destructive during their more and more frequent raids 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:54.480 on the forest. In the past year, the cops have 0:00:54.560 --> 0:00:59.440 demolished dozens of treehouses and targeted protesters with escalatory tactics. 0:01:00.760 --> 0:01:03.560 The last thirteen people who have been arrested near the 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:07.280 forest have all been charged with domestic terrorism for their 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:11.720 mere association with the stop Coop City movement. As hard 0:01:11.760 --> 0:01:14.319 as the cops are making it to continue being in 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:19.040 the woods, there is still something undeniably special about being 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:23.160 in community in the forest, or else people wouldn't be 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.640 risking life and legal consequences. 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.080 Living in the woods for me was like a dream. 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:30.399 I came to the woods because I was homeless and 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.880 unemployed and was actually living in different woods by myself, 0:01:33.959 --> 0:01:37.080 and to actually came to the woods for similar reasons. 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:39.960 Tort lost their housing in Tallahassee and decided to give 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:41.720 this place a try as a place to live. 0:01:42.600 --> 0:01:47.039 In the forest, there was always over time just developed 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:52.200 like you know, people built coffee shops and like a 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.800 kitchen people used and places for people to just like 0:01:56.560 --> 0:01:59.800 I know, and that continued build time. I never stopped, 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:03.480 will never stop better and they never stopped making life 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:07.880 out better as as comfortable, as comfortable and as welcoming 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:11.200 and as a community best as possible. And that's really 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:12.760 the best thing I feel like I could I could 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:13.320 speak to one. 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:15.400 It is that no matter what was going on, and. 0:02:15.320 --> 0:02:18.880 People were always working to make the forest as as 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:21.040 welcoming out a spaceh to as many people as possible 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:21.560 as they could. 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:26.799 The night of the December thirteenth police raid, Tortuguito went 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:30.160 back to the camp in Willani People's Park to start 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:34.680 rebuilding after police tore down the encampments and protest infrastructure 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:36.360 just hours prior. 0:02:36.960 --> 0:02:40.840 I've never experienced such emotional and material security as I 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:44.200 have living in the Willauni Forest because there are a 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:46.840 community of people that are dedicated to taking care of 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:48.720 each other and making sure that we all have our 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:51.280 needs met. And that was something that tort and I 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.000 did for each other, often making sure that we had 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:57.799 enough water and food and rides to places. It's really 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:00.400 a wonderful place to live, and I've also deep in 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:04.280 my relationship to the earth being there, Like living with 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:06.480 the same trees for over a year is a really 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:10.160 profound experience. And also it's a really stressful place and 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.520 people are always butting heads in really interesting ways, but 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.880 we're committed to remaining in relationship with each other. As 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.480 part of the magic, too, is that if you get 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.560 into a fight with someone at camp, you don't just 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.080 you know, like move to a different apartment and stop 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:26.679 talking to them, like they're still around and there's still 0:03:26.680 --> 0:03:29.640 a comrade. So we're committed to each other in a 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:31.799 way that's it's rare to find in this society. 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:36.200 Here is Cricket talking about the type of support everyone 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.400 has for each other in the movement and how Torte 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:40.360 really embodied that. 0:03:41.200 --> 0:03:42.800 I think one of the things I've seen in my 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:45.000 experience with the movement is just the tremendous amount of 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:48.200 care that everyone has for one another. You don't have 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:50.040 to know one another, we don't have to be on 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:52.880 a legal name basis, and we still fight for one another. 0:03:53.240 --> 0:03:55.480 We still protect one another, we still try to save 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:59.200 one another, and that is something I saw tort embody regularly, 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:04.160 and I'm grateful to everyone who has helped keep me safe. 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:07.400 And I always, yeah, I'm always trying to keep everyone 0:04:07.400 --> 0:04:10.640 else safe in any capacity that I can. So we've 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:14.080 done a lot of safety trainings. Something that Tort was 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:18.239 a really big part of was medic medic trainings, making 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:20.599 sure that people have access to life saving techniques and 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.560 skills that are often kept away from really vulnerable folks. 0:04:24.080 --> 0:04:26.880 So that is something we've been trying to contribute and 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:29.800 that we're trying to continue now that tort is no 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:33.880 longer with us. We were supposed to meet yesterday to 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:38.920 put together a curriculum of marginalized, vulnerable people who face 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.360 gun violence both from the state and from right wing 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:46.320 neo Nazi fascists, you name it, and will be continuing 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:48.000 that work in their name. 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:52.280 When spending time in the Wilani Forest and even for 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:56.240 the many peripheral aspects of the movement, people will choose 0:04:56.360 --> 0:05:00.400 a forest name. It's like a nickname that helps your 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:06.560 legal identity and nom de plume. Many chose Tortigita, which 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:10.880 is Spanish for little turtle. But it wasn't just chosen 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:16.200 for its cute animal association. I'll read from bitter Southerner quote. 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.520 It was a nod to the colonial era indigenous military 0:05:19.520 --> 0:05:23.120 commander of the same name, who led Native American forces 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.599 to one of their most decisive victories against the then 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:32.479 nascent US army in seventeen ninety one. Now, Tort was 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:37.039 allegedly apprehensive to share the meaning behind their chosen name 0:05:37.400 --> 0:05:41.240 with a journalist who was interviewing them, because quote, that 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:44.680 does not make us look like peaceful protesters. We are 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:49.000 very peaceful people, I promise unquote. There is a few 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:53.239 other quotes attributed to Tort across various articles that seem 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:58.320 to espouse a belief in nonviolence as a tactical strategy. Quote, 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:03.760 it's incredibly important to continue having popular support. Copcity is 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:08.640 incredibly unpopular already. We're very popular. We're cool. We get 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.720 a lot of support from people who live here, and 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.800 that's important because we win through non violence. We're not 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.640 going to beat them at violence, but we can beat 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:22.279 them in public opinion in the courts. Even unquote. Based 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:26.880 on frequent phone calls with Tort about forced defense Tortighita's 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:31.599 own mother has shared similar sentiments about Towrt's politics, saying 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:35.960 they quote carry no malice quote. I'm gonna read one 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:40.240 more quote from Torti Ghita about this topic. The right 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:44.320 kind of resistance is peaceful, because that's where we win. 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:47.880 We're not going to beat them at violence. They're very, 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:52.960 very good at violence. We're not. We win through nonviolence. 0:06:53.080 --> 0:06:56.520 That's really the only way we can win. We don't 0:06:56.560 --> 0:07:00.200 want more people to die. We don't want Atlanta to 0:07:00.279 --> 0:07:23.720 turn into a war zone. During my time in Atlanta, 0:07:23.840 --> 0:07:27.160 I wanted to learn as much as possible about Torta Gita, 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:29.640 about who they were as a person, what kind of 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:32.520 stuff they enjoyed doing, what they were to the movement, 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:37.000 but mostly just listen to people's stories and memories of Torte. 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:41.360 Peter met Torte just shortly after they moved to Atlanta. 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:45.320 So I met tort in May of twenty two, around 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:48.600 the time when they first got to the forest from Tallahassee. 0:07:49.240 --> 0:07:52.880 I met them during that week of action, and they 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:57.040 were like insanely enthusiastic about being there. We met around 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:00.320 a fire and talked about how our enthusiasm for life 0:08:00.320 --> 0:08:03.600 sometimes offended people. That was something that we had in common. 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.280 They talked about their mom a lot. I won't say 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.840 I was a close friend of Tort's, but I was 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:13.960 a dear comrade to them, and being in relationship with 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:18.360 them really sharpened my conflict skills. I was in a 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.800 few different conflict with Tort and also on the sidelines 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.840 for some conflicts that they had with other people, and 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:27.200 I learned a lot about how to be more gentle 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:30.240 with my comrades and how to give people more grace 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:31.400 in times of high stress. 0:08:32.360 --> 0:08:35.560 This is a snippet from my conversation with Cricket on 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.880 what TORTI Ghita brought to the movement and how they 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:40.720 really lived their politics. 0:08:41.120 --> 0:08:44.040 Tort was hilarious. They were someone who always brought fun 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:46.680 to whatever they were doing. And I'm sure through the 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:49.280 folks that you're seeing, the folks that people can see 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:51.480 on social media with like the outpour and of support 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.160 for Tort, that they were involved in so many different groups, 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:57.440 like so many different causes, and they were an incredibly 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.800 dedicated activists, but someone who really felt that resistance could 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:04.280 be fun, could be joyful, could be celebratory. Uh, it 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.240 was always an opportunity to meet new people, to hug 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.680 new people. They were a big hugger. They were someone 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:11.679 who was always checking in on other people. They were 0:09:11.720 --> 0:09:14.360 someone who was always there to lend a hand, either 0:09:15.240 --> 0:09:18.840 literally or or or metaphorically. And they really inspired I 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:20.680 think a lot of people, And I think that that 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:22.920 was something huge that they contributed to the movement, not 0:09:23.000 --> 0:09:26.080 just as a person, but also bringing that joyfulness, bringing 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:29.760 that that energy, that passion and excitement. Uh really inspired 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:31.000 me and inspired a lot of people. 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.360 It's funny, a lot of the people I've talked to 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:37.840 were like have have like mentioned just because of the 0:09:37.840 --> 0:09:39.760 different like you know, affinity groups that they've been in 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:41.960 and stuff. There's like a lot of people I've talked 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.400 to you have talked have mentioned a lot like that 0:09:44.480 --> 0:09:46.920 they would not like regularly, but like everyone you know, 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:48.880 like get into conflicts with toar it like there was 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:51.880 there was someone who you would you would sometimes who 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:54.720 there would be just happened to be disagreements with. But 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:59.640 despite disagreements, they were like one of the kindest people 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:04.440 that they met. Even when they're you know, arguing about something. 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:06.800 It's like they would go so far to make sure 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.800 that other people knew that they were like cared for 0:10:09.880 --> 0:10:14.000 and would would got just be very open towards like 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:14.880 everybody they meet. 0:10:15.480 --> 0:10:18.040 Yeah, I think they really tried to live into and 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:21.839 walk the walk of abolition and noncarceral conflict of it's 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.719 okay to disagree, and disagreement doesn't mean that you got 0:10:24.760 --> 0:10:27.040 to get kicked out. It does not mean that you're 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:30.240 a bad person. They allowed for complexity and allowed for 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:33.240 processes of working through things, of talking through things, and 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:37.960 that's a huge gift. I mean, I think anyone, regardless 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.440 of their level of activism, can relate to the idea 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:44.800 that it's hard to disagree, it's hard to be in 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.760 conflicts sometimes. But I do think that they were really 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:51.199 committed to building relationships of trust where you could disagree, 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.960 where you could have different opinions, but that there was 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.320 still so much love and still so much care, and 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.800 that those things were not themselves in conflict. Those things 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:02.760 were actually very very much related. And yeah, no, it 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:08.239 was They're special and yeah, I'm just I'm just sorry, 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:09.640 I'm just heartbroken. 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:14.719 Tortighita's partner and a close friend of theirs, recorded a 0:11:14.800 --> 0:11:19.280 video shortly after the shooting, just talking about who Torteghita 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:23.120 was and how they lived in community. I got permission 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:25.960 from their partner to use clips from that video in 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.679 this episode. Tour was always a. 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:33.439 Very welcoming presence. They're always one of the greatest organizers 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:36.000 we had out there. They took care of everyone who 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:37.920 came through. They always want to make sure everyone was 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:41.800 taken care of. They were the ones who would welcome 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:44.760 you into the forest and they would make sure you 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:47.959 have a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, attent, whatever you 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.760 could possibly need. Always making sure people are getting fed, 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:58.200 and just kind of like transparent you've ever had. 0:11:59.240 --> 0:12:02.360 One of the people I spent with. Noah also talked 0:12:02.360 --> 0:12:06.240 about how Tortigito was quick to welcome people into the 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:07.680 movement a new. 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:11.160 Tour through various actions, center in the forest and doing 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:14.199 medical work with them. 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:16.120 I think I think a lot of people have ever 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:17.920 good this, but I remember them as being one of. 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.920 The kindest and most welcoming people that I ever met 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:21.840 working on the forest. 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.240 Kind of whenever new people comment, was very like. 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:29.000 Very often kind of like one of the first people 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.360 to greet them and was always very like open to 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:33.880 letting people come and see and be a part of 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.240 the community that had been established out in the woods. 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.600 It was a very it was an extremely welcome in person. 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:40.960 They were a very welcome in person. 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:44.480 I was always willing to put there to help somebody 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:47.880 out and to do the work it took to make 0:12:47.880 --> 0:12:49.640 sure that the community was safe out there and that 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:51.000 it could continue. 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:53.840 So much of the stuff around the forest, it's all 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:57.840 about like the militants in the woods, and toward kind 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.839 of fell into that category, you know, people who are 0:13:00.840 --> 0:13:03.920 wearing black lavas camping out in the forest. Most of 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.040 the people I've interviewed are also more on that side 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:10.360 of things, but not everyone feels like they have the 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:12.480 ability to put on a ski mask and live in 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.559 the woods. One of the people I spoke with was 0:13:15.600 --> 0:13:19.840 a mother named Karen, who started doing local neighborhood organizing 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:22.440 after connecting with Torti Ghita last summer. 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.320 So I met tort Less summer and there was like 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.400 lots of things happening in the park, and you know, 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.959 I'm a neighbor, and so I was the who really 0:13:33.000 --> 0:13:35.200 fought for you know, tried to get the city council 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.040 to vote against it. And so I was interested, you know, 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.640 curious and interested about all of these events happening at 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:45.360 the park. They were all like mostly at night time, 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.199 and I have a toddler, and so I'm like boring 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:51.480 and have a strict bedtime, so I don't, you know, 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:55.679 go out at night time. So I was like trying 0:13:55.720 --> 0:13:58.160 to find a place for me and like people like me, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.160 and oh they're boring, you know, parents. And so I 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:05.920 got connected with Tort and we start We started, I 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:09.000 guess going during the daytime and I'm taking my toddler 0:14:09.040 --> 0:14:12.440 over there to the park to explore, and you know, 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:15.880 we Tort and I talked a lot about well, at first, 0:14:15.880 --> 0:14:19.440 they were really excited about all the the idea, like 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.520 children being at the park. They really wanted it the 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:25.200 park to be for everyone. I'm very much like a 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:28.240 neighborhood mom. I was new to activism and I. 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:29.040 Didn't even know. 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.880 I was like, you know, I thought we were just 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:35.840 like visiting a park, but you know, there's like a 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.680 whole lot of different things about being in it that 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:41.680 Tort really kind of helped me navigate and showed me around. 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:45.560 In my experience, it takes a special kind of person 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:48.400 to on board somebody new to this sort of thing. 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:53.040 Some anarchists can come off as a bit pompous sometimes 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.880 or at least hesitant to welcome new people in. Karen 0:14:56.920 --> 0:15:00.000 spoke on how Tortighita kind of showed them the rope 0:15:00.280 --> 0:15:04.840 and helped educate on everything from local organizing to security culture. 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:08.680 Well, I didn't have signal before. I was like, okay, 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.400 I want to reach out to try and make my 0:15:10.440 --> 0:15:15.280 neighborhood aware. I made flyers and just like put like 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:17.760 the environmental effects, you know, and I send it to 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:20.480 tort and they were like, okay, yeah, this looks good. 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.160 And then I was like, should it just be like 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:29.000 anonymous or should I you know, like make like Instagram 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:30.880 or should I put my name on it and you 0:15:30.880 --> 0:15:33.440 know all those things? Should I put my number on it? 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.680 And they were like, okay, well, get a Google Voice 0:15:36.760 --> 0:15:39.480 number and you can set up like an email for it, 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:43.120 maybe use Proton. Then I was like, should I just 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:45.920 like I don't have to put any information on it, 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:48.200 but like, what if you know there's people like me 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.880 in the neighborhood. I guess, like, how do you balance that? 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.200 And they said no, I think if you got to 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.840 like organize a neighborhood group, it would be sick. So yeah, 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:59.520 you know, they were conscious of all those things, but 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.600 also knew where, when and where it was like appropriate, 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:07.000 and we just like bounced ideas back and forth. They 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.680 really helped me like navigate that. I really think it 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:13.160 just shows how inclusive they were that they like how 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.760 they were engaged with me and like you know, an 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.600 older neighborhood mom. But they were really supportive and you know, 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:22.480 I guess made me feel valued, never made me feel 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:26.040 embarrassed at anything. I think it was just like if 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:28.400 it wasn't about like the party or I don't know, 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:30.600 like being cool or anything. They just really wanted the 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.440 forest to be for everyone, and just how they were 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:35.200 like willing to engage with the community. 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:40.320 My conversations with Karen and others in Atlanta really showed 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:43.560 Tort as a person who was always thinking about others 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:46.600 and how to support the people around them, not even 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.600 just focusing on themselves while living in the forest, but 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.160 working to expand that care outwards. 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.240 So, yeah, I made this flyer and Tort called a 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:59.560 bunch of other I know if they were people that 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.640 were in the forest or just people and you know, 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:06.720 friends or whatever, but and was like, hey, we're all 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:10.280 going to go canvas and I think they slept in 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.000 that day we met at the park, but me and 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:15.320 a couple of neighbors met, like you know, and I 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:19.240 was like, I had zero expectations. And they texted me 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:21.359 later and was like, I'm so sorry, but we'll do 0:17:21.440 --> 0:17:25.040 it again. But yeah, just that, you know, like they 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:28.760 were willing to come put flyers door to door and yeah, 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:30.400 just like support me in that way. 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:35.480 Karen has continued to do neighborhood organizing since meeting Tort 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:39.240 last summer and is a great example of the variety 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.520 of people involved in the Defend the Atlanta Forest movement. 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:47.200 Based on the many local people she's spoken with, Karen 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:51.199 says the stop Coppacity proposal is pretty unpopular in the area. 0:17:51.960 --> 0:17:55.159 So yeah, we've just been like dropping flyers off and 0:17:55.400 --> 0:17:58.960 just letting them know the environmental effects. And everyone we've 0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:01.480 talked to like, you know, no one wants it, and 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.800 I think lots of people, lots of them called in, 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.840 you know, to city council. But yeah, I guess Tort 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:09.919 and I in our kind of idea was like if 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:13.560 we can make a space. It's like, you know, they 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.760 may not want to go to the forest, but if 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:17.919 we can kind of create a space for them in 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:18.399 the movement. 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:22.560 Cricket talked about the many projects that Tort had a 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:26.280 hand in and it's willingness to just go out there 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:28.720 and do things, not just sit around and wait for 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:32.479 the world to get better. They lived anarchism in a 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:33.840 very active way. 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:36.719 I don't know if anyone mentioned the trans Sanctuary that 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:41.240 Tort built and helped built and helped organize. I just 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:43.240 wanted to uplift that as just another sort of amazing 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:46.880 project that they were involved with. I remember hearing about it. 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:49.840 Tort talked about it and they were like, oh, yeah, 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:51.840 you know, we're going to have a volunteer day. And 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:54.000 then two weeks later we had like another little check 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.080 in and they were like, oh yeah, no, we like 0:18:56.119 --> 0:18:58.760 did it. And I was like, excuse me, Like I 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.480 just just I don't know, they were just like this 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.560 this Tasmanian devil of social justice. Like I felt like 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.080 they were just constantly on the move getting stuff done, 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:09.800 supporting people. It's just it was I don't know, like 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:12.679 that's just another memory that I keep revisiting of just 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:15.399 being like, oh my god, they are not paralyzed like 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.200 they are living. They were living day to day right, 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.080 like they knew that tomorrow could bring another raid. Like 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:25.120 they Yeah, they weren't stupid, they were really actually brilliant 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:27.600 and they could just they just lived every day so 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:28.920 fully and brought everything. 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:32.280 They had a friend of Tortighita's that goes by the 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:36.000 name Levitate the Pentagon, which is definitely in the top 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:38.879 three force names that I've heard. But they gave a 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:42.720 statement to Rolling Stone where they said, quote Tortighita was 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:46.400 a proud and fierce anarchist. The struggle for a total 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:50.200 liberation came as their first commitment in life. We must 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:51.440 honor that commitment. 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:55.119 From a lot of the like none other trends that 0:19:55.240 --> 0:19:59.600 we did together times out there, they were just really fun, 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:00.880 very to make. 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:04.679 People have be like a very common presence during stressful times, 0:20:07.560 --> 0:20:11.119 and they could make like a jerk really out of 0:20:11.200 --> 0:20:12.480 like a any situation. 0:20:12.680 --> 0:20:14.480 But a lot of I remember like a lot of. 0:20:14.520 --> 0:20:17.080 Conversations just about what we were doing in the forest, 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:21.920 and there are like reasons for being out there, and 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.879 they're you know, just kind of outgoing these ideas of 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:30.760 combating the you know, the state, and then then the 0:20:30.880 --> 0:20:31.920 states pushed. 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:33.720 For you know, destroying the forest. 0:20:34.040 --> 0:20:36.240 For the effects that would have on the climate, for 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:39.560 the increasing ability of the place to militarize and to 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:43.640 suppress not just people in Atlanta, but law enforcement agencies 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:44.720 across the country. 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:47.280 Coming to train at the facility to better climp down 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:53.040 on a presence. Yeah, they were just they're really kind, 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:56.000 very tenacious. That's like the two things I can always 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:56.720 kind of come back to. 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:01.400 So there was a person towards capacity for wit under 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:05.199 high stress situations is something I heard from a lot 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:08.840 of different people, including towards friends and their partner. 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:13.080 Just really really like always like had a joke, had 0:21:13.200 --> 0:21:18.159 like a really like good sharp commentary. 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:24.000 Or would like give you like a cigarette professional ship poster. Yeah, yeah, 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:28.440 I mean their mean game on point. 0:21:31.000 --> 0:21:31.800 Yeah, and. 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:36.120 Just always like doing a lot of things. 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.359 And so they were running around a lot, like getting 0:21:38.440 --> 0:21:40.640 things for people and then hanging it off to them, 0:21:40.800 --> 0:21:44.280 and so like, yeah, I think a lot of the 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:47.359 times when we would run into like for like oftentimes 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:50.600 we run into each other, it'd be like, oh, hey, hi, Hi, Okay, 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:53.840 we're doing a thing, and then like okay, I gotta 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:56.080 go buy you know, and there's always like. 0:21:58.840 --> 0:21:59.520 Yeah, I like that. 0:21:59.640 --> 0:22:01.399 Sure, they were super into that. 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:03.399 Oh that smile. 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:04.080 Yeah. 0:22:05.840 --> 0:22:08.399 They love fruit snacks, loved them, couldn't get enough of them. 0:22:08.520 --> 0:22:11.800 And they always helped do the dishes. Can I just say, 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:14.879 like that's a big deal. Yeah, Like no one likes 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:17.120 doing the dishes. It's like they were always there doing 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:19.360