WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.299 Enough is enough. It's such a simple phrase, 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:04.339 isn't it? It is. Just three words. We use it 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:06.620 all the time. I mean, you say it when the neighbor's 00:00:06.620 --> 00:00:08.220 dog won't start working at three in the morning. 00:00:08.279 --> 00:00:10.099 Right. Or when the printer at work jams for the 00:00:10.099 --> 00:00:13.179 tenth time. Exactly. It's usually this release 00:00:13.179 --> 00:00:16.839 of personal frustration, a little micro -explosion. 00:00:17.179 --> 00:00:19.719 And in English, it's three words. In Spanish, 00:00:19.899 --> 00:00:23.760 it's often just two. Basta ya. Basta ya. And 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:27.820 while the feeling is universal, The weight of 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:30.480 those words can change drastically. It depends 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:33.420 on who is saying them, and I think more importantly... 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:35.600 where they're saying them and i feel like we 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:37.259 have all had moments in our lives where we've 00:00:37.259 --> 00:00:39.439 just wanted to scream that from the rooftops 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:43.380 but today we are not talking about you know bad 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:46.200 traffic or broken printers we are talking about 00:00:46.200 --> 00:00:48.640 a moment where that phrase became a container 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:51.600 for something so much bigger it wasn't just a 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:54.320 complaint it was a roar it was a line in the 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:56.939 sand drawn by thousands of people all at the 00:00:56.939 --> 00:01:00.399 same time it absolutely was a line in the sand 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:03.600 and what makes this specific Enough is enough. 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:07.819 So compelling is the context. We're not talking 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:10.620 about being fed up with high taxes or, you know, 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:13.280 a pothole in the road. Those are perfectly valid 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:15.280 civic complaints. Sure. We're talking about a 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:19.859 visceral civic reaction to terrorism, to violence. 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:23.099 We are taking a deep dive into the organization 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:27.920 literally named Bastaya. Right. This was a Spanish 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:30.780 grassroots group. And I think that term grassroots, 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:33.040 it gets thrown around a lot these days, doesn't 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:35.000 it? It really does. It's become a bit of a buzzword. 00:01:35.099 --> 00:01:36.799 It has. You see it in marketing and political 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.780 campaigns. You see these grassroots movements 00:01:38.780 --> 00:01:41.180 that are, you know, actually funded by massive 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:44.280 corporations. But here, looking at the source 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:46.680 material, it really seems to fit the dictionary 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:48.859 definition. They weren't a government agency. 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:50.359 They weren't a political party. They were just 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:53.959 people. Precisely. The sources call them a civic 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.709 initiative. And that distinction is going to 00:01:56.709 --> 00:01:58.709 be crucial to everything we talk about today. 00:01:58.930 --> 00:02:02.090 Because when you look at the records, the organization's 00:02:02.090 --> 00:02:06.409 history, their ideals and their eventual dissolution. 00:02:07.259 --> 00:02:10.599 You see a story that is really quite rare in 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:13.340 modern politics. You see a story of people stepping 00:02:13.340 --> 00:02:17.400 out of their designated lanes to address a crisis 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:19.300 that the traditional structures just weren't 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:21.819 solving fast enough. I'm honestly so eager to 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:24.520 unpack the human story here, because usually 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:26.900 when we talk about political movements, especially 00:02:26.900 --> 00:02:29.000 in Europe, it can be very tribal. You have the 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:30.719 left, you have the right. And they don't talk 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:32.360 to each other. They live in different worlds. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:34.139 They read different newspapers. They go to different 00:02:34.139 --> 00:02:37.759 rallies. But this. This seems different. The 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:40.199 source material suggests a crossover that shouldn't, 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:42.620 you know, technically exist. It was very different. 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.219 And our mission today is to explore exactly how 00:02:45.219 --> 00:02:48.139 that happened. How do you get a group of citizens 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:51.360 who probably disagreed on everything from taxes 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:54.300 to health care to education? Right. People with 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:56.860 totally different ideologies. How do you get 00:02:56.860 --> 00:03:00.360 them to unite? What is the glue strong enough 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:04.460 to hold a socialist, conservative and a libertarian 00:03:04.460 --> 00:03:07.180 together in the same room marching under the 00:03:07.180 --> 00:03:10.740 same banner? And spoiler alert, the glue wasn't 00:03:10.740 --> 00:03:13.180 some charismatic leader or a promise of lower 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:16.139 taxes. No. The glue was the defense of the rule 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:18.300 of law and support for the victims of violence. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.210 It was about survival. in a civic sense that 00:03:22.210 --> 00:03:24.210 is the absolute core of it we're going to look 00:03:24.210 --> 00:03:27.870 at their rise their philosophy which by the way 00:03:27.870 --> 00:03:31.270 moved from moral criticism to political criticism 00:03:31.270 --> 00:03:33.409 which is a fascinating shift we really need to 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:36.270 dissect absolutely and their eventual end which 00:03:36.270 --> 00:03:37.849 i have to say is one of the most interesting 00:03:37.849 --> 00:03:40.129 parts of this whole story the way they ended 00:03:40.129 --> 00:03:42.389 it's almost counterintuitive to everything we 00:03:42.389 --> 00:03:45.310 know about how organizations work but okay we'll 00:03:45.310 --> 00:03:47.370 get there let's start at the beginning who exactly 00:03:47.370 --> 00:03:50.689 was bastia If I walked into one of their meetings 00:03:50.689 --> 00:03:54.069 in, say, the year 2000, what would I see? To 00:03:54.069 --> 00:03:56.069 understand Bastia, you first have to understand 00:03:56.069 --> 00:03:58.310 what they were not. As we touched on, they were 00:03:58.310 --> 00:04:00.610 not a coalition of political parties. It wasn't 00:04:00.610 --> 00:04:03.569 like Party A and Party B shook hands, made a 00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:05.830 logo, and decided to share a platform for the 00:04:05.830 --> 00:04:08.229 next election. So it wasn't some strategic alliance 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:10.909 to get more votes. No, not at all. It was a union 00:04:10.909 --> 00:04:13.669 of individuals. And that is such a critical distinction. 00:04:13.949 --> 00:04:16.529 When you join a party coalition, you're often 00:04:16.529 --> 00:04:19.449 doing it because your party boss told you to 00:04:19.449 --> 00:04:22.110 or because it's politically expedient. Right. 00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:25.649 This organization was defined as a civic initiative. 00:04:26.390 --> 00:04:29.029 The source material is very specific about this. 00:04:29.329 --> 00:04:32.129 It welcomes citizens of differing ideologies. 00:04:32.329 --> 00:04:34.389 I love that distinction because parties have 00:04:34.389 --> 00:04:37.449 baggage, right? If I'm a diehard supporter of 00:04:37.449 --> 00:04:40.490 Party X and I see Party Y organizing a protest, 00:04:40.810 --> 00:04:43.670 my first instinct is to stay away even if I agree 00:04:43.670 --> 00:04:45.910 with the protest's topic. Of course. Because 00:04:45.910 --> 00:04:48.629 I don't want to be seen supporting them. Exactly. 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:51.129 Parties have baggage. They have platforms. They 00:04:51.129 --> 00:04:52.990 have whips who tell you how to vote. They have 00:04:52.990 --> 00:04:55.389 all these historical grievances with other parties. 00:04:55.470 --> 00:04:58.670 This organization just bypassed all of that. 00:04:58.990 --> 00:05:01.889 They effectively said, leave your party card 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:04.230 at the door. We don't care who you voted for 00:05:04.230 --> 00:05:06.170 in the last election. We care about where you 00:05:06.170 --> 00:05:09.189 stand on violence and the law. So you could be 00:05:09.189 --> 00:05:12.750 a conservative, a liberal, a socialist. As long 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:14.790 as you are willing to play an active part and 00:05:14.790 --> 00:05:18.269 you adhere to their three basic principles. It 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:21.750 was an identity based on action and values, not 00:05:21.750 --> 00:05:24.069 on political affiliation. OK, before we get to 00:05:24.069 --> 00:05:25.730 the principles, we have to talk about what they 00:05:25.730 --> 00:05:27.949 were fighting against, because enough is enough 00:05:27.949 --> 00:05:29.689 implies there's something you can't take anymore. 00:05:29.790 --> 00:05:31.569 There has to be an antagonist in this story. 00:05:32.209 --> 00:05:35.269 What was the target? The primary target explicitly 00:05:35.269 --> 00:05:38.959 was terrorism. specifically the terrorism of 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:41.360 ETA. Right. And for our listeners who might need 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:44.060 a quick refresher, ETA was a separatist group 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:46.360 operating mainly in the Basque country in Spain. 00:05:46.660 --> 00:05:49.720 And this was a time when car bombs, targeted 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:52.180 assassinations, extortion, these were realities 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:55.040 of life in that region. It was a very, very heavy 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:58.040 atmosphere. I mean, fear was a daily companion 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.300 for a lot of people, especially public figures, 00:06:00.459 --> 00:06:03.279 journalists, or really anyone who spoke out against 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:06.519 the nationalist agenda. Sebastião was first... 00:06:06.569 --> 00:06:09.029 foremost a reaction to that physical violence. 00:06:09.250 --> 00:06:12.410 It was. But, and this is where it gets more nuanced, 00:06:12.629 --> 00:06:15.449 it wasn't just the physical violence. This is 00:06:15.449 --> 00:06:17.509 where the civic part comes in, isn't it? It wasn't 00:06:17.509 --> 00:06:20.069 just an anti -violence group. They had a political 00:06:20.069 --> 00:06:23.829 stance on the law itself. Correct. They positioned 00:06:23.829 --> 00:06:26.069 themselves against political maneuvers that they 00:06:26.069 --> 00:06:28.910 felt threatened the established legal framework. 00:06:29.350 --> 00:06:31.990 Specifically, the records mentioned their opposition 00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:35.310 to the proposal for a new statute of autonomy 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:37.480 of the Basque country. And this is the plan that 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:40.660 was released by President Juan Jose Ibarex. That's 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:43.160 the one, the Ibarex plan. Now, I want to be careful 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:45.540 here because we aren't here to debate the merits 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:48.220 of that plan. We're not taking a side on Bastille. 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:50.100 No, and that's an important boundary to draw. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.540 Our role here is to report on why this specific 00:06:53.540 --> 00:06:56.939 group, Bastille, opposed it. From their perspective, 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.959 their mandate was to defend the Spanish Constitution 00:06:59.959 --> 00:07:03.139 and the existing statute of autonomy. They viewed 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.620 the Ibarex plan as a challenge to that rule of 00:07:05.620 --> 00:07:09.199 law. So for them, opposing that plan wasn't necessarily 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:12.019 about right versus left politics. It was about 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:15.120 rule of law versus outside the rule of law. That's 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:17.740 the key. That's exactly it. They saw the Constitution 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:21.240 not just as some dry legal text, but as the guarantee 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:24.459 of their civil liberties. In their view, if you 00:07:24.459 --> 00:07:26.540 start playing fast and loose with the constitutional 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:28.639 framework, especially in the middle of a conflict, 00:07:28.860 --> 00:07:31.500 you're destabilizing the very foundation that 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:35.000 protects citizens from violence. So opposing 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:37.680 the plan was, in their eyes, an extension of 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.120 opposing the chaos that terrorism thrives in. 00:07:40.350 --> 00:07:41.970 That really fits into that theme of stability. 00:07:42.290 --> 00:07:44.069 They wanted to protect the ground rules of democracy. 00:07:44.410 --> 00:07:46.569 It's like you're playing a soccer game where 00:07:46.569 --> 00:07:48.370 one team is trying to hurt the other players 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:50.250 and another group is trying to change the shape 00:07:50.250 --> 00:07:52.009 of the field in the middle of the match. That's 00:07:52.009 --> 00:07:54.290 a great analogy. And Bastiat was basically saying, 00:07:54.430 --> 00:07:57.110 hey, stop hurting people and leave the field 00:07:57.110 --> 00:08:00.079 lines where they are. That is a very apt analogy. 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:02.079 Yeah. And if you look at their membership criteria, 00:08:02.180 --> 00:08:04.860 it becomes even clearer. They had three basic 00:08:04.860 --> 00:08:07.000 principles that every single member had to agree 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.680 to. And these weren't, you know, vague, feel 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.899 -good statements. They were quite specific. Okay. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:13.980 Let's break those down. Principle number one. 00:08:14.980 --> 00:08:17.939 Defend against terrorism of any sort. Of any 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:20.199 sort. That feels very intentional. It feels like 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:23.139 they're closing a loophole there. It is deeply 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:26.459 intentional. The source material specifies. regardless 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:31.040 of origin or intensity. This is such a crucial 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:33.720 stance for a human rights group. You see, in 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.419 conflict zones, it is so common for people to 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:38.840 fall into the trap of my terrorists are freedom 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:40.519 fighters, but your terrorists are criminals. 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:42.779 Right. Or to say, well, state violence is OK, 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:45.860 but insurgent violence is bad or, you know, vice 00:08:45.860 --> 00:08:48.440 versa. The whole ends justify the means argument. 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:53.120 Exactly. Bastia took a hard line. Terrorism is 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:55.460 terrorism. Violence used to achieve political 00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:58.080 ends is illegitimate, full stop. It doesn't matter 00:08:58.080 --> 00:08:59.679 if it comes from the extreme left, the extreme 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:01.879 right, or anywhere else. It doesn't matter if 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:04.519 it's a car bomb or a street beating. That kind 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:07.360 of moral consistency must be hard to maintain 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.000 in heated conflicts, but it's so powerful. It 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.179 just strips away all the excuses. You can't say, 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:15.820 yeah, but. There is no but. And that brings us 00:09:15.820 --> 00:09:18.000 right to the second principle. Support for all 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.340 victims. And again, that inclusivity is key. 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.240 Victims of terrorism or of political violence. 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:25.639 Why is that distinction important? All victims. 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:28.460 What's the thinking there? Because in a polar 00:09:28.460 --> 00:09:31.059 society, victims often get politicized. If our 00:09:31.059 --> 00:09:33.639 side gets hit, we mourn them as martyrs. If their 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:35.899 side gets hit, there's silence. Or maybe even 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:37.860 a quiet feeling that they, you know, deserved 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:41.779 it. Basaya was trying to break that. cycle. The 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:43.879 goal was to wrap their arms around anyone who 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:45.740 had suffered, making sure they weren't marginalized 00:09:45.740 --> 00:09:48.419 or forgotten, regardless of their personal politics. 00:09:48.740 --> 00:09:51.379 It's humanizing the cost of the conflict. It's 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:54.019 saying this person isn't a symbol. They are a 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:56.779 human being who was hurt. And that leads directly 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:59.039 to the third principle, which is the mechanism 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:03.000 for protection. Defend the rule of law. And they 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:05.320 got specific here, too. The Spanish Constitution 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:08.039 and the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country. 00:10:08.279 --> 00:10:11.159 So those are the three pillars. No terrorism 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:14.360 support victims follow the law. It sounds simple, 00:10:14.500 --> 00:10:17.080 but I imagine in a volatile environment, just 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:19.000 standing on those three pillars together can 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:21.620 be an incredible act of defiance. It is absolutely 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:24.460 an act of defiance because by asserting the rule 00:10:24.460 --> 00:10:26.820 of law, you are denying the legitimacy of the 00:10:26.820 --> 00:10:29.320 terrorist. You are saying you do not get to make 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:32.059 the rules with your gun. We make the rules with 00:10:32.059 --> 00:10:34.759 our votes and our laws. This leads us to their 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:37.100 philosophy. Because it wasn't just about showing 00:10:37.100 --> 00:10:39.580 up and shouting slogans. They had a very specific 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:41.799 intellectual framework for why they were protesting. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.080 I found this part fascinating. The notes, this 00:10:44.080 --> 00:10:46.340 distinction they made between moral criticism 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:50.639 and political criticism. Yes, this is a subtle 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:53.120 but really profound point. And it's one that 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.740 I think often gets lost in modern activism. The 00:10:56.740 --> 00:10:59.919 organization explicitly stated that criticism 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:03.809 of terrorism on moral grounds is important. but 00:11:03.809 --> 00:11:06.450 not enough not enough okay let's unpack that 00:11:06.450 --> 00:11:08.929 because usually when we say something is immoral 00:11:08.929 --> 00:11:12.009 that's like the ultimate condemnation if i say 00:11:12.009 --> 00:11:15.409 thou shalt not kill that's the highest law for 00:11:15.409 --> 00:11:18.070 many people why isn't that enough for basta ya 00:11:18.070 --> 00:11:20.850 well think about the nature of moral criticism 00:11:20.850 --> 00:11:23.190 it's often internal it's personal okay you could 00:11:23.190 --> 00:11:24.750 sit in your living room watch the news about 00:11:24.750 --> 00:11:27.289 a bombing and say that is terrible that is evil 00:11:27.289 --> 00:11:29.580 i condemn that in my heart and then what You 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:31.379 change the channel, you go make dinner. Right. 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:33.679 It's a judgment, but it's not necessarily a plan. 00:11:33.879 --> 00:11:36.039 It just stays in the realm of feelings or ethics. 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:38.299 Exactly. It doesn't cost you anything, and it 00:11:38.299 --> 00:11:40.440 doesn't necessarily force the world to change. 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:43.779 It classifies the violence as a tragedy or a 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:47.580 sin. Bastia argued that criticism must also be 00:11:47.580 --> 00:11:50.139 political. But, and I want to be clear here, 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:52.080 they didn't mean political in the sense of vote 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:54.379 for this party. No, and this is where language 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:57.850 gets tricky. We often hear political. and immediately 00:11:57.850 --> 00:12:01.350 think partisan. They meant political in the classical 00:12:01.350 --> 00:12:04.429 sense, relating to the polis, the city, the public 00:12:04.429 --> 00:12:06.970 square, the way we govern ourselves as a society. 00:12:07.149 --> 00:12:10.370 OK, so how did they define this political criticism? 00:12:10.590 --> 00:12:12.409 What does that look like? They understood it 00:12:12.409 --> 00:12:15.009 to be based on universal values, specifically 00:12:15.009 --> 00:12:18.230 human rights. Their argument was that human rights 00:12:18.230 --> 00:12:20.950 are common to all Democrats, regardless of their 00:12:20.950 --> 00:12:24.230 party affiliations. I see. So by framing terrorism 00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:26.909 as a violation of human rights, it stops being 00:12:26.909 --> 00:12:29.389 a sad tragedy and becomes a political failure 00:12:29.389 --> 00:12:32.149 that demands a response from the state. Precisely. 00:12:32.190 --> 00:12:35.029 It shifts the burden. If terrorism is just evil, 00:12:35.169 --> 00:12:37.750 we pray for it to stop. If terrorism is a violation 00:12:37.750 --> 00:12:40.330 of the rule of law and human rights, we demand 00:12:40.330 --> 00:12:42.789 the government fix it. We demand that the institutions 00:12:42.789 --> 00:12:45.730 protecting those rights actually work. That is 00:12:45.730 --> 00:12:48.070 a massive shift in mindset. It really empowers 00:12:48.070 --> 00:12:49.909 the citizen. You aren't just a mourner anymore. 00:12:49.990 --> 00:12:52.649 You are a claimant of rights. And the source 00:12:52.649 --> 00:12:56.029 material says they were created to promote social 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:58.970 mobilization. They wanted to demand that authorities 00:12:58.970 --> 00:13:01.330 fulfill the requirements of current legislation. 00:13:01.669 --> 00:13:03.809 So it's just asking the institutions to do their 00:13:03.809 --> 00:13:06.789 job. Respect the rule of law. That was the chant. 00:13:06.990 --> 00:13:09.649 It wasn't create new laws, not necessarily, but 00:13:09.649 --> 00:13:12.049 enforce the ones we already have that protect 00:13:12.049 --> 00:13:14.610 life and liberty. They were effectively saying, 00:13:14.669 --> 00:13:18.070 we have a contract, the Constitution. We are 00:13:18.070 --> 00:13:19.889 keeping our side of the bargain. You need to 00:13:19.889 --> 00:13:22.009 keep yours. The European Parliament actually 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:24.009 weighed in on this, didn't they? I remember they 00:13:24.009 --> 00:13:26.269 had a summary of the group's ideals. They did. 00:13:26.389 --> 00:13:28.509 When the European Parliament looked at Bastia, 00:13:28.610 --> 00:13:32.169 they identified four main ideals that defined 00:13:32.169 --> 00:13:34.519 the group. It's a really good summary of what 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:36.179 we've been discussing, but seeing it through 00:13:36.179 --> 00:13:38.679 the lens of a major international body. Lay them 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:41.960 on me. First, a clear and peaceful opposition 00:13:41.960 --> 00:13:45.419 to terrorism of any kind. And notice that emphasis 00:13:45.419 --> 00:13:49.419 on peaceful. Right. They fight violence, but 00:13:49.419 --> 00:13:51.519 not with violence. They don't form militias. 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:53.799 They don't become vigilantes. They demonstrate. 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.240 Yeah. If you fight violence with violence, you 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.340 just become another faction in the war. They 00:13:59.340 --> 00:14:02.559 stayed above that. Second, support for victims. 00:14:03.210 --> 00:14:05.750 And this is the flip side accountability for 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:08.230 perpetrators. They wanted to ensure that criminals 00:14:08.230 --> 00:14:10.509 were made responsible for their actions through 00:14:10.509 --> 00:14:13.370 the legal system. Justice, basically. Not revenge, 00:14:13.389 --> 00:14:16.509 but justice. Third, and this touches on the atmosphere 00:14:16.509 --> 00:14:18.809 of the time we mentioned earlier, the right to 00:14:18.809 --> 00:14:22.029 hold non -nationalist views without aggression, 00:14:22.350 --> 00:14:25.379 marginalization, or discrimination. That really 00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:27.460 implies that just holding those views was dangerous. 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:29.840 It implies that there was a pressure cooker environment 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.120 where differing from the nationalist viewpoint 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.940 could lead to social exclusion, to threats, or 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:37.779 worse. It suggests a society where freedom of 00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:40.960 speech was being stifled by fear. Bastia was 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.379 fighting for the right to simply disagree without 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:45.360 constantly looking over your shoulder. And the 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:48.159 fourth point. That democratic institutions must 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.929 respect the rule of law. It all comes back to 00:14:50.929 --> 00:14:53.129 that. The institutions have to be the adults 00:14:53.129 --> 00:14:55.429 in the room. They have to hold the line. It's 00:14:55.429 --> 00:14:57.750 amazing how consistent they were. They really 00:14:57.750 --> 00:15:00.690 stayed on message. They didn't drift into economic 00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:03.789 policy or foreign wars or environmental issues. 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:06.350 That discipline is required for a movement like 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:10.149 this. If you drift, you lose that broad coalition. 00:15:10.809 --> 00:15:14.009 If Bastia had started taking positions on tax 00:15:14.009 --> 00:15:16.090 rates, half their members would have walked out 00:15:16.090 --> 00:15:18.289 the door. Right. They had to stay focused on 00:15:18.289 --> 00:15:21.649 the minimum common denominator, life, liberty 00:15:21.649 --> 00:15:24.519 and the law. Okay, so we have the theory. We 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:26.840 have the principles. But what did this actually 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:28.860 look like on the ground? Because you can have 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:31.419 the best mission statement in the world, framed 00:15:31.419 --> 00:15:33.960 by the smartest philosophers, but if nobody shows 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:35.940 up to your protest, it doesn't really matter. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.659 And people did show up. The year 2000 is really 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:40.519 the case study for their mobilization power. 00:15:40.679 --> 00:15:43.820 It was a huge turning point. The year 2000, Y2K. 00:15:43.940 --> 00:15:45.799 While the rest of the world was checking their 00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:48.659 computers for bugs, Bastia was hitting the streets. 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:52.590 And the world noticed. In 2000, Bastia won the 00:15:52.590 --> 00:15:54.929 Sakharov Prize. Tell us about that prize. That 00:15:54.929 --> 00:15:56.789 is a big deal. That is not some local participation 00:15:56.789 --> 00:16:00.250 trophy. It is a huge deal. The Sakharov Prize 00:16:00.250 --> 00:16:03.289 is awarded by the European Parliament for the 00:16:03.289 --> 00:16:05.909 defense of human rights and freedoms. It's one 00:16:05.909 --> 00:16:08.009 of the most prestigious recognitions a human 00:16:08.009 --> 00:16:10.850 rights group or individual can receive. It puts 00:16:10.850 --> 00:16:12.730 you in the history books. Who nominated them? 00:16:12.909 --> 00:16:15.490 They were nominated by Gerardo Galeote Quesedo, 00:16:15.649 --> 00:16:19.279 José Ignacio Salafranca, And others. But what's 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.259 interesting is why they were nominated. The European 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:24.899 Parliament didn't just give it to them for being 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:27.820 good people or having a nice logo. They cited 00:16:27.820 --> 00:16:30.480 three distinct activities from that year that 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:32.840 proved their impact. OK, let's walk through these 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:34.940 three events, because I think they paint a really 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:37.000 vivid picture of what it must have felt like 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.179 to be there. This wasn't just one march. It was 00:16:39.179 --> 00:16:41.840 a campaign. The first event cited was in February 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:45.200 2000. A demonstration in San Sebastian. In San 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:47.559 Sebastian. Doing this there is significant. That's 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:49.419 not a neutral location. It's the heart of the 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:51.940 region. It's a beautiful city. But at that time, 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:53.960 it was also a center of significant tension. 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:57.799 The slogan for this march was, Por la libertad, 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:02.519 ETA Campora. For freedom, ETA out. Simple. Direct. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:07.220 Uncompromising. And the scale. The records say 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:09.700 it gathered more than 100 ,000 people. 100 ,000 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:11.920 people. I'm trying to visualize that. in a grassroots 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:15.319 demonstration. That is a sea of humanity. Imagine 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:17.440 the sound of that many people. For a civic initiative, 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:20.079 it is absolutely staggering. It showed that the 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:22.539 silent majority was no longer silent. It showed 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:24.440 that the fear that had kept people indoors was 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:26.660 starting to break. People looked around and saw 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:28.400 their neighbors, their grocers, their doctors, 00:17:28.420 --> 00:17:30.839 all standing together. That creates a safety 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:33.500 in numbers. But then, interestingly, the second 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:36.920 event they cited was silent. Yes, the silent 00:17:36.920 --> 00:17:39.160 demonstration. This took place at the boulevard. 00:17:39.549 --> 00:17:41.869 The atmosphere described in the records is quite 00:17:41.869 --> 00:17:44.150 moving. You have a specific member of the platform 00:17:44.150 --> 00:17:46.890 inviting citizens to support the cause. And the 00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:48.769 slogan here was different. It wasn't get out. 00:17:48.970 --> 00:17:52.170 It was let's defend what joins us together. Let's 00:17:52.170 --> 00:17:54.069 defend what joins us together. That is such a 00:17:54.069 --> 00:17:55.990 pivot from the first one. The first one is rejection, 00:17:56.289 --> 00:17:59.230 ETA out. The second one is affirmation. This 00:17:59.230 --> 00:18:01.210 is what we share. It touches on that philosophy 00:18:01.210 --> 00:18:04.869 of unity we discussed. A movement can start with 00:18:04.869 --> 00:18:08.140 what it's against, but to survive. It usually 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:10.720 needs to define what it's for. Right. They were 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.960 for the bonds that held society together. It's 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.400 psychologically clever, too. It invites the other 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.579 side to consider what they share rather than 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:20.019 just highlighting the conflict. And then the 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:22.980 third event cited for the prize was the For Life 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:27.079 and Freedom demo. Por la vida y la libertad. 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:31.200 The full slogan was, For life and freedom, let 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:34.640 us defend what unites us, statute and constitution. 00:18:35.390 --> 00:18:37.369 They really hammered that home, the statute and 00:18:37.369 --> 00:18:39.069 the Constitution. They weren't just abstract 00:18:39.069 --> 00:18:41.690 concepts for them. They were the shield. Exactly. 00:18:41.789 --> 00:18:43.569 They were the tangible things that guaranteed 00:18:43.569 --> 00:18:45.430 the freedom and life they were fighting for. 00:18:45.670 --> 00:18:48.410 By linking life and freedom directly to statute 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:50.549 and Constitution, they were making the point 00:18:50.549 --> 00:18:52.650 that you cannot have the former without the latter. 00:18:52.849 --> 00:18:55.650 The law isn't a bureaucratic hurdle. It's the 00:18:55.650 --> 00:18:58.150 prerequisite for a free life. So you have these 00:18:58.150 --> 00:19:00.990 massive spikes of activity, big marches, hundreds 00:19:00.990 --> 00:19:03.980 of thousands of people. But a movement can't 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:06.779 survive on just three big days a year. You can't 00:19:06.779 --> 00:19:08.920 sustain momentum if you only show up every four 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:11.500 months. You're right. Adrenaline fades. And that 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:14.380 is why the regularity of their protest is the 00:19:14.380 --> 00:19:18.480 next key point. In June of 2000, they initiated 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:21.039 a mass meeting on the first Thursday of every 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.880 month in San Sebastian. Every month, like clockwork. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:28.450 Every first Thursday. Rain or shine. The purpose 00:19:28.450 --> 00:19:31.710 was specifically solidarity with citizens who 00:19:31.710 --> 00:19:34.390 were threatened or attacked for defending democratic 00:19:34.390 --> 00:19:37.410 values. That is just brilliant strategy. It normalizes 00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:39.910 the protest. It does. It transforms it from a 00:19:39.910 --> 00:19:43.009 special event into a civic habit. It was a way 00:19:43.009 --> 00:19:44.829 of saying to the aggressors, we are not going 00:19:44.829 --> 00:19:47.029 away. You can't wait us out. It was a way of 00:19:47.029 --> 00:19:49.430 saying to the victims, you are not alone. We 00:19:49.430 --> 00:19:51.289 will be here every single month to prove it. 00:19:51.529 --> 00:19:53.509 That kind of consistency creates a community. 00:19:53.650 --> 00:19:55.529 If you go every month, you start to know people. 00:19:55.589 --> 00:19:58.150 You build networks. It strengthens the very civic 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:00.250 fabric they were talking about defending. Exactly. 00:20:00.369 --> 00:20:03.069 It builds resilience. So we have the masses in 00:20:03.069 --> 00:20:06.190 the streets. But who was steering the ship? Who 00:20:06.190 --> 00:20:08.910 were the faces of Bastoya? Because even a grassroots 00:20:08.910 --> 00:20:11.349 movement usually has some spokespeople. And the 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:13.750 ecosystem of people is quite interesting. It 00:20:13.750 --> 00:20:16.710 wasn't faceless. The records list several well 00:20:16.710 --> 00:20:18.470 -known figures associated with the platform. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.119 Names like John Huaristi, Mayete Pagasartundua, 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.400 Arkady Spada, Carmen Iglesias, Javier Ocuzu, 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:28.680 and Fernando Savater. Fernando Savater, he's 00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:30.500 a philosopher, right? A very prominent philosopher 00:20:30.500 --> 00:20:33.720 and writer. And having intellectuals, writers, 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:36.579 and public figures involved gave the movement 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:40.200 a certain articulate power. How so? Well, often 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.799 grassroots movements have all the passion, but 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:45.750 they can struggle to articulate the why. to the 00:20:45.750 --> 00:20:48.130 broader world or the media. These were people 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:50.890 who could explain the philosophy, who could write 00:20:50.890 --> 00:20:52.650 the op -eds, who could debate on television. 00:20:52.950 --> 00:20:55.230 They provided the intellectual ammunition for 00:20:55.230 --> 00:20:57.029 the movement. And that's brave. I mean, putting 00:20:57.029 --> 00:20:59.009 your name on a manifesto or standing at the front 00:20:59.009 --> 00:21:01.769 of a march in that climate, that was not a PR 00:21:01.769 --> 00:21:04.670 stunt. That was a risk. Absolutely. These weren't 00:21:04.670 --> 00:21:07.170 anonymous faces. They were putting their reputations 00:21:07.170 --> 00:21:10.170 and potentially their safety on the line. When 00:21:10.170 --> 00:21:12.910 you are a public face of an anti -terrorism movement, 00:21:13.109 --> 00:21:16.859 you become a target. Their visibility gave courage 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:19.099 to others who might have been more hesitant to 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.400 step out. Okay, now let's talk about the practical 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:24.599 side, funding. Revolutions might run on passion, 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:27.279 but organizations run on money. You need to print 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:29.440 those banners. You need sound systems for the 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.700 rallies. Who paid for all this? This brings us 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:35.119 right back to the grassroots definition. The 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:37.680 primary source of financing was contributions 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.319 from private citizens. Just regular people writing 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.819 checks. Exactly. Passing them small donations. 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:46.039 It implies a really broad base of support. But 00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:48.680 they also had support from foundations. The Miguel 00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:50.960 Angel Blanco Foundation is mentioned specifically 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.059 as providing a subvention for their September 00:21:53.059 --> 00:21:54.980 demonstration. And there were others, right? 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:57.700 The Gregorio Ordonez Foundation. White Hands 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:01.099 and Denon Artean. These groups all formed a sort 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:04.200 of support network. It shows that Bastia wasn't 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:06.519 operating in a vacuum. They were part of a larger 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:09.200 ecosystem of civic groups, all pushing for peace 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:11.819 and law. It's like a constellation of organizations 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:14.920 all moving in the same direction. Yes. And regarding 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:18.460 funding, we can't forget the prize. Winning the 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:21.000 Sakharov Prize came with more than just a certificate. 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:24.079 It came with cash. It did. It came with 50 ,000 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:26.700 euros. That's not chump change for a civic group. 00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:29.359 No, it's significant. Yeah. Especially back then, 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:32.099 the records note that the group had that money 00:22:32.099 --> 00:22:34.759 at its disposal to further their activities. 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:37.599 But again, look at the mix. Private citizens, 00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:40.880 other foundations, and international prize money. 00:22:40.980 --> 00:22:43.039 What's missing from that list? Government funding, 00:22:43.240 --> 00:22:46.900 corporate sponsorship, political party stipends. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:49.819 Right. This financial independence is crucial. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:52.599 It reflects that civic nature of the initiative. 00:22:52.859 --> 00:22:55.670 It allowed them to be critical. They could criticize 00:22:55.670 --> 00:22:58.230 the IberX plan, a government plan without fear 00:22:58.230 --> 00:23:00.390 of losing their government grant. They could 00:23:00.390 --> 00:23:02.509 criticize political parties without fear of the 00:23:02.509 --> 00:23:04.630 party cutting off their funding. It really is 00:23:04.630 --> 00:23:06.930 the definition of a bottom -up initiative. They 00:23:06.930 --> 00:23:09.309 were answerable only to their members and their 00:23:09.309 --> 00:23:11.289 principals. And that independence is a superpower 00:23:11.289 --> 00:23:14.230 in politics. If you can't be bought, you can't 00:23:14.230 --> 00:23:16.470 be controlled. So let's just pause and look at 00:23:16.470 --> 00:23:18.509 where we are in the story. They have the people. 00:23:18.630 --> 00:23:20.829 They have the funding. They have international 00:23:20.829 --> 00:23:22.869 recognition. They're winning prizes in Europe. 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:27.980 They are mobilizing hundreds of thousands. Usually 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:29.779 this is the part of the story where we talk about 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:32.359 how they expanded. Right. How they opened chapters 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:35.559 in Madrid, Paris and London. How they became 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:38.339 a permanent institution with a headquarters and 00:23:38.339 --> 00:23:42.319 a pension plan. Usually, yes. The bureaucracy 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:44.920 tends to perpetuate itself. Once an organization 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:48.279 is built, its primary goal often becomes simply 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:50.740 staying alive. But that is not what happened 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:53.140 here. No. This is perhaps the most unique part 00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:55.359 of the Bastille story. The dissolution. They 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.619 shut it down. They shut it down. In 2007, the 00:23:58.619 --> 00:24:01.220 organization was dissolved. Why? Did they run 00:24:01.220 --> 00:24:03.079 out of money? Did they have a massive internal 00:24:03.079 --> 00:24:05.819 fight? Did a scandal bring them down? No. None 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:07.599 of that. They dissolved because they felt they 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:10.119 were no longer needed. That is. Wow. I mean, 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:11.519 you really have to think about that. How often 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:13.119 do you hear that? Thanks, everyone. Job done. 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:16.099 Go home. It's incredibly rare. But look at their 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:19.230 reasoning. The source material says they declared 00:24:19.230 --> 00:24:22.230 a wish to dissolve as soon as possible because 00:24:22.230 --> 00:24:25.130 their very existence implied a crisis. Right. 00:24:25.210 --> 00:24:27.210 If you have an organization called Enough is 00:24:27.210 --> 00:24:29.009 Enough and you're still in business 20 years 00:24:29.009 --> 00:24:31.450 later, it means you still haven't had enough 00:24:31.450 --> 00:24:34.089 or that the problem is still there. Exactly. 00:24:34.390 --> 00:24:38.349 The very existence of Bastia was a symptom that 00:24:38.349 --> 00:24:40.410 something was deeply wrong with the state. It 00:24:40.410 --> 00:24:42.970 was an emergency flare. And once the rescue boat 00:24:42.970 --> 00:24:46.210 arrives, you put out the flare. If Bastilla exists, 00:24:46.690 --> 00:24:49.789 it means the institutions aren't working. So 00:24:49.789 --> 00:24:51.869 closing the doors was the ultimate sign of success. 00:24:52.250 --> 00:24:54.329 What were the specific conditions that allowed 00:24:54.329 --> 00:24:56.549 them to say mission accomplished? Because the 00:24:56.549 --> 00:24:59.390 world wasn't perfect in 2007. No, it wasn't perfect. 00:24:59.549 --> 00:25:01.569 Right. But they cited two main reasons that met 00:25:01.569 --> 00:25:04.549 their criteria. First, that citizens of Spain 00:25:04.549 --> 00:25:06.750 were no longer running the risk of being assassinated 00:25:06.750 --> 00:25:08.829 or attacked because of their ideas or identities. 00:25:09.190 --> 00:25:11.569 Safety. The physical threat had subsided enough. 00:25:11.809 --> 00:25:14.619 Safety. The days of looking under your car for 00:25:14.619 --> 00:25:17.640 a bomb were fading. The acute emergency was over. 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:20.460 And second, that the rule of law was working 00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:23.160 in a reasonable way. Working in a reasonable 00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:25.660 way. I love that phrasing. It's such a pragmatic 00:25:25.660 --> 00:25:28.700 benchmark. They didn't say the world is utopia 00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:30.900 now. They didn't say everyone loves each other 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:33.299 and sings Kumbaya. They just said the system 00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:35.240 is working reasonably well. It's a very mature 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:37.980 political stance. They recognize that democracy 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:41.359 doesn't mean perfection. It just means the institutions 00:25:41.359 --> 00:25:44.799 function, the laws are upheld, and violence isn't 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.279 the primary tool of political discourse. Once 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:49.660 that bar was met, they felt they could step back. 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:51.500 It's almost like a volunteer fire department. 00:25:51.720 --> 00:25:53.579 You don't hang out at the burning house once 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:55.839 the fire is out. You go home. You don't keep 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:58.059 spraying water on dry walls just to look busy. 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:00.599 That is a perfect analogy. You don't want the 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:02.460 fire department to be a permanent fixture in 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:04.619 your living room. You want them to leave so you 00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:08.200 can live your life. Bastaya recognized that the 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:11.160 fire was under control. The institutions, the 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:13.380 professional fire department, if you will, could 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:15.339 handle it from there. But they did leave a caveat, 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:17.579 didn't they? They didn't just burn the fire trucks. 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:20.079 They did. Even in dissolution, they expressed 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.160 determination. They said they would mobilize 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.500 again whenever it seems necessary. So it wasn't 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:28.319 a goodbye forever. It was a stand down for now. 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:31.339 It was a vigilant dormancy. We are dissolving 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:35.359 the structure, but the spirit remains. If the 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:37.980 rule of law is threatened again, if violence 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:41.579 returns. The network can reactivate. It's a warning 00:26:41.579 --> 00:26:44.460 to anyone who might threaten democracy. We are 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:47.059 still here. We're just watching from home now. 00:26:47.859 --> 00:26:50.799 That's powerful. It really challenges the way 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:53.759 we think about activism. We so often think success 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:55.759 is getting bigger, getting more followers, getting 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:58.539 more donations. We measure impact by the size 00:26:58.539 --> 00:27:01.880 of the budget. But for them, success was obsolescent. 00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:04.759 It forces us to ask, what is the goal? Is the 00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:07.220 goal the organization or is the goal the change? 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:09.880 If the goal is the change, then the organization 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:12.519 is just a tool. It's a hammer. And when the nail 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:14.700 is driven in, you put the hammer down. You don't 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:16.319 walk around hitting things just because you have 00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:18.339 a hammer. I think that's a lesson a lot of modern 00:27:18.339 --> 00:27:20.700 movements could learn from. It requires a lot 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:23.319 of ego to be checked at the door. You have to 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:26.039 be willing to stop being the leader of a movement 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:28.720 because the movement has succeeded. You have 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:30.779 to be willing to go back to being just a citizen. 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:33.900 So let's recap this whole journey. We started 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:37.160 with the phrase, enough is enough. We saw a group 00:27:37.160 --> 00:27:39.660 of diverse citizens, left, right, center, come 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:42.940 together. Not a party, but a civic initiative. 00:27:43.910 --> 00:27:46.690 Grassroots in the truest sense. United by three 00:27:46.690 --> 00:27:49.910 simple principles. No terrorism. Support victims. 00:27:50.049 --> 00:27:52.809 Defend the law. They shifted the entire conversation 00:27:52.809 --> 00:27:56.170 from moral criticism, which is personal, to political 00:27:56.170 --> 00:27:59.150 criticism, which is about rights and laws. They 00:27:59.150 --> 00:28:01.769 mobilized massive crowds, 100 ,000 strong in 00:28:01.769 --> 00:28:04.750 San Sebastian, and won the Sakharov Prize in 00:28:04.750 --> 00:28:07.609 2004. They were funded by the people, for the 00:28:07.609 --> 00:28:09.650 people, kept their independence. And finally, 00:28:09.730 --> 00:28:11.990 when the risk to life subsided and the rule of 00:28:11.990 --> 00:28:14.329 law was secure, they did the most radical thing 00:28:14.329 --> 00:28:17.150 of all. They dissolved. They fired themselves. 00:28:17.509 --> 00:28:20.349 It's a complete arc. It has a beginning, a middle, 00:28:20.450 --> 00:28:22.670 and an end. It feels like a story that actually 00:28:22.670 --> 00:28:25.819 has closure, which is so rare in history. And 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:29.059 it serves as a historical proof of concept. It 00:28:29.059 --> 00:28:31.299 proves that civil society can stand up to violence. 00:28:31.539 --> 00:28:34.500 It proves that people can cross ideological lines 00:28:34.500 --> 00:28:37.220 when the stakes are high enough. And it proves 00:28:37.220 --> 00:28:39.940 that it's possible to win without becoming the 00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:42.660 thing you hate. That is the hopeful part, isn't 00:28:42.660 --> 00:28:45.940 it? That terrorism and political violence aren't 00:28:45.940 --> 00:28:48.480 inevitable. They can be pushed back. They can 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.099 be pushed back, but not by silence. They're pushed 00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:53.960 back by mobilization, by visibility, and by a 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:56.420 stubborn defense of what unites us. Let's defend 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:58.460 what joins us together. That was the slogan. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:00.779 It's a good slogan. It's a necessary slogan. 00:29:01.059 --> 00:29:03.539 You know, as we wrap up this deep dive, I keep 00:29:03.539 --> 00:29:05.579 thinking about that decision to close up shop. 00:29:06.569 --> 00:29:08.730 In a world where every organization is fighting 00:29:08.730 --> 00:29:11.730 to stay relevant, to keep the lights on, to find 00:29:11.730 --> 00:29:14.869 the next crisis to justify their budget. It is 00:29:14.869 --> 00:29:17.089 deeply counterintuitive. It is, but it's also 00:29:17.089 --> 00:29:19.549 really inspiring. So here's my thought for you, 00:29:19.609 --> 00:29:22.660 the listener, to chew on. We often judge the 00:29:22.660 --> 00:29:24.920 success of an organization by how long it lasts. 00:29:25.140 --> 00:29:28.119 We see established 1900 on a sign and we think, 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.180 wow, they must be good. We see longevity as validity. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:33.799 But maybe we should flip that. Exactly. What 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:36.779 if we judged success by how quickly an organization 00:29:36.779 --> 00:29:39.519 makes itself unnecessary? If you are fighting 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:42.319 a problem, shouldn't your ultimate goal be to 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:45.420 eliminate the problem and, by extension, yourself? 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.569 A doctor's goal is to cure the patient. So the 00:29:48.569 --> 00:29:50.589 patient doesn't need to come back. If the patient 00:29:50.589 --> 00:29:52.890 keeps coming back forever, the doctor hasn't 00:29:52.890 --> 00:29:56.029 really succeeded. Right. So in your own life 00:29:56.029 --> 00:29:58.769 or in the causes you support, are you building 00:29:58.769 --> 00:30:01.250 something designed to last forever? Or are you 00:30:01.250 --> 00:30:02.890 building something designed to solve the problem? 00:30:03.309 --> 00:30:05.529 What can we learn from a group whose ultimate 00:30:05.529 --> 00:30:08.309 victory was to not need to exist at all? That 00:30:08.309 --> 00:30:10.349 is the question. Thanks for listening to this 00:30:10.349 --> 00:30:12.589 deep dive to Bastia. We'll see you next time.