What a week! Our fiercely brilliant and inspirational Betty K. got sent off to jail for 10 months yesterday. The court says they had to do it to "restore their dignity". (I guess Betty made them feel like fools when she refused to obey their orders to stop a construction company from tearing up a precious wetland forest.) I am so ashamed to live in a province that sends 78-year-old great-grandmothers to jail for trying to save a liveable world for everyone's children. In my view the court's "dignity" is further eroded by Madame Justice Brown's action. More here.
Footage of Betty's civil disobedience appears in Conrad Schmidt's brilliant movie, Five Ring Circus which opened on Friday. It was enthusiastically received and deserves to be widely seen.
And because I believe that it is in the power of every person to resist the corporate behemoths that seek to oppress us - by taking back the power of creating with our own hands - I will be co-producing the Maker Faire Swap-orama-rama with Wendy Tremayne. This is so exciting - I've already been in touch with some amazing artists and designers from the Bay Area. It will be a fantastic event, I just know.
I'm not supposed to be checking out blogs this week, but here I am. I'm glad you wrote about Betty Krawczyk. I heard about her sentencing on the news last week and felt extremely disheartened. I feel like writing a children's story about her. Something like "My grandmother is a jail bird", but turning the bird image into one of empowerment/hope, with her message soaring out on the wings of many birds..... (?)
ReplyDeleteI'm not supposed to be checking out blogs this week, but here I am. I'm glad you wrote about Betty Krawczyk. I heard about her sentencing on the news last week and felt extremely disheartened. I feel like writing a children's story about her. Something like "My grandmother is a jail bird", but turning the bird image into one of empowerment/hope, with her message soaring out on the wings of many birds..... (?)
ReplyDelete