"There would be no climate crisis if there was no racism, misogyny, and patriarchy."
At the Tribeca Festival, we sat down with legendary actor and climate activist Jane Fonda who had a message for people living with privilege ...
At the Tribeca Festival, we sat down with legendary actor and climate activist Jane Fonda who had a message for people living with privilege ...
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00:00When the white men that are in charge of everything now look at a forest,
00:05they don't see the intrinsic value of trees.
00:10It's inconceivable to them.
00:12For them, it's, look at that tree, flooring, great flooring.
00:20I can get a lot of money for that tree.
00:22Everything is transactional.
00:25So when we look to do something about the climate crisis,
00:31we have to also be thinking about the mentality that brought us the climate crisis.
00:35I'm a climate activist.
00:38And as such, I have learned that there would be no climate crisis if there was no racism.
00:44There'd be no climate crisis if there was no misogyny and patriarchy.
00:49It's a mindset that views the world as a hierarchy.
00:55Some people are more deserving of opportunity and wealth than others.
01:01That would be white men at the top of the pyramid, the hierarchy.
01:06Below them is everybody else, and at the bottom is nature.
01:10We've become alienated from nature.
01:12One of the things that I've learned over the years
01:17is to pay attention to what people on the front lines say and what they're doing.
01:24Communities of color, poor communities, indigenous communities,
01:29they have the answers and they have a mantra that I think is really important.
01:34Nothing about us without us.
01:38So all of us who are white and privileged,
01:41we have to be sure that we are standing in kinship
01:45with those who haven't had the opportunities that we have.
01:49Not charity.
01:51We're not talking about handouts.
01:54We have to stand arm in arm in kinship with people who have struggled all their lives
02:00because they have the answers.
02:02I'm a privileged, white, famous woman.
02:05And I think people assume,
02:08well, if things get rough or last too long, she'll just give up.
02:11I want to show that they're wrong.
02:13I know from 50 years, 60 years of activism that change that matters
02:20and the change that is needed is systemic.
02:24If we're going to tackle climate and racism and the patriarchy,
02:29this is systemic change that we're talking about.
02:32That doesn't happen fast.
02:34This is not a sprint.
02:35It's not even a marathon.
02:37It's a relay race.
02:39I'm in it and I will pass the baton to the young ones coming up.
02:43And with that, I have the message for them, don't give up.
02:48It's a long haul.
02:49You got to stay in it for the long haul.
02:53And if you start getting depressed, up your activism.
02:57I like what Greta Thunberg says.
02:59Don't go looking for hope.
03:01Look for action and hope will show up.
03:04And I know from my own experience that that's true.
03:09You.