Okay. Not that I don't love seeing your faces, but explain to me again why I had to be here to discuss protests at a gold mine in Chile.
All S1
S1 E15Unfinished Business
And the White House has made it clear that this is a priority.
Ah. Well. Now I understand why I'm here. Okay. Um, Matt... Draft a statement to Foreign Minister Torres reminding him of his country's responsibility to protect our workers. Emphasize the impact on Chile's economy should they jeopardize their trade agreement with us.
So threaten to break up with them if they cheat on us.
Or at least stop hitting us with rocks.
EElziabeth
Okay. I am off to try and figure out how in the world I'm going to pay for three liberal arts educations before I retire.
French horn.
Huh?
It's a guaranteed scholarship.
Oh. Well, somehow, I don't see Alison jumping on that. But Jason could be in for a surprising birthday present.
Alright. Good-bye, Madam Secretary; and hello, just another college mom.
STStudent Tour Guide
Uh, and to your right, you will see a display of what we here at Rafferty nobly refer to as the Wasting of Time.
Wow. That's an important part of the curriculum, if I recall. (she gets laughs from the group)
You're killing it with the college crowd, ma'am.
Mom. Forget it. They're not listening.
I always listen to the voice of protest.
Chile is shutting down Hercutel because some college kids yelled at me?
I give up. Want to watch a crappy pay-per-view?
Why can't I just explain it to them?
Because they grew up thinking that all conflict is injustice. That's what you get for giving everyone a trophy for showing up.
Well, for someone who got quite a few of those trophies, you turned out way cool, you know that?
Thanks, Ma.
Are you never not fully groomed?
It's before 10:00 p.m.
Tell me this isn't real.
It was posted by an indigenous human rights group in Chile. He made the same video in Spanish and his native language.
It says he'll be doing a live feed until he reaches the top or dies, whichever comes first.
He could die?
Well, temperatures at the peak at this time of year average negative forty degrees, so yes.
If he's right, if Chile violated a treaty with their own indigenous people, then everything these kids are yelling could be true.
I hate to say it, but if this thing's up already, it kind of doesn't matter if it's true or not.
Not going there yet.
No, she's right. Nobody cares about the legal sale of mineral rights, but you give 'em an indigenous James Franco taking his righteous cause up the mountain with a GoPro?
Ma'am, there's one other thing. Uh, one of the students from the confrontation yesterday has filed a lawsuit against the State Department.
I'm sorry. Come again?
He feels the DS agent violated his personal space.
It's the confetti-bomb guy. They were a little rough taking him down.
Uh, no, no, it was another one. The, uh, vocal one.
The guy who was just standing there yelling at us?
The screamer feels we violated his personal space?
The government made me yell and now my throat hurts?
Guys! Do you know how fast something like this could turn an election? I mean, it's just ridiculous enough to get way more coverage than it deserves.
What's the kid's name?
He's choosing not to reveal that in the suit.
Brian Andrew Lindstrom. He lives in Foster Hall.
We'll take care of it.
No, no, no. This one I want. Don't worry, I'm not going to violate his personal space as much as I would love to.
Hey, Brian, Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord.
BBrian
Uh, yeah, I know.
I wanted to follow up on our conversation yesterday.
BBrian
Uh, look, if this is about the harassment suit, you'll have to talk to my lawyer.
Right about that. Um, I understand that you felt threatened by Matt here. And he's an intimidating guy, especially when he think I'm in danger. But he was just doing his job.
DMDS Agent Matt
Sorry if I violated your safe space, Brian.
BBrian
Nice try guys. But you can't just show up to my door and intimidate me like I'm some developing nation you can't control.
That's right. I can't. But I think I know someone who can. Blake?
BBrian
I have a right to a safe learning environment. That's what you guys are paying for.
LMr. Lindstrom
We're paying for you to get an education. And I'm starting to wonder if it's money well spent.
LMrs. Lindstrom
And a lawsuit against the U.S. Government. Who's paying for that?
BBrian
There's a legal aid clinic in town. They fight against injustice.
LMr. Lindstrom
Will you listen to this kid? Some security guy bumping into you is not an injustice.
BBrian
I was exercising my right to free speech. They were trying to silence me.
LMr. Lindstrom
God, it's like he's two. You're dropping the lawsuit, Bri. Or you can pay your own tuition.
If I may, um, I think the thing getting lost here, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Lindstrom, is your son's passionate commitment to social justice. Young people rising up against the abuse of power has been a force many times in this country, and Brian was right. Not about the mining contract-- that was legitimate. But about the larger issue. The brutal legacy of colonialism asserting itself once again in Chile. That turned out to be true. And, Brain, without you guys and the Chilean citizens rising up against what you thought was wrong, the Inhawoji people might not have dared raise their voices, too, and found a world ready to listen.
BBrain
Thanks, Mrs. Secretary.
Madam Secretary.
Don't stop speaking truth to power. But maybe the best way to call upon our better selves is for you to show us yours.
Come on, don't hold back. How'd you get college baby to drop the lawsuit?
Was it a total smackdown?
Let's just say his parents helped him see reason.
She's being modest. It was a smackdown.
Okay. Come on, guys, delete the photos.
CKCollege Kid
Or what? Your mom and her fascist goons will hunt me down?
Fascism is the direct opposite of a representative democracy, which you happen to be lucky enough to live in thanks to people like our mother who defend it every single day. And by the way, you attacking and trying to silence people because they don't agree with what you think kind of makes you the fascist.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Madam Secretary pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.