The Rights and Wrongs of being Betty

Today environmental elder Betty Krawczyk returned to court to face a yet another jail sentence. Without knowing the predictable outcome, Betty has garnered more and more support for causes, specifically the need to amend the law so that protestors can be charged under the criminal code.

As it stands environmental protest fall between the cracks in the justice system. If, like Betty and the 20 or more protestors of Eagle Ridge Bluffs, you are charged with "contempt of court" then your legal rights are severely diminished compared to a straight criminal court case.

The intention of which is to completely dissuade protestors for becoming inspired in the first place. Imagine if you knew you would have a fair trial for your protesting activities, wouldn't that inspire you to go live outside for 30 days in a tent beside a busy freeway ? Of course not !

It is interesting to look at the perception of public protest in BC over the last twenty years. Under the BC NDP government, environmentalists were labelled as the "enemies of progress" by the premier of the day [Glen Clark]. Under the Liberals, protests have become more common place, yet more marginalised. The Liberals have not taken on the protestors in the media but in the court rooms. Yet, in East Vancouver particularly, the notion of protest has never been so prevalent has never been so strong, yet how far are protestors willing to go for their cause ?

Are we willing to go to jail to stop the freeway expansion ? Are we willing to risk a strip search in order to protest against the 2010 Olympics ? Are we willing to risk rough treatment from the VPD in order to stop the gentrification on yet another DTES hotel ?

Everyone has their limit - Betty K's limit involves going to jail in order to protect our future. However, not everyone is a Betty K in the making. Betty's age and demeanour is directly related to how successful she has been in bringing attention to her causes. Would a twenty year old have the same success ? Would a twenty year old get the same treatment by police ?

We should not let an unfair justice system stop us from acting, in fact we should seek inspiration from such a system to act even more; like Betty we must risk our personal freedoms in order to save what we value most.