We praise people like Gandhi who fought bloodlessly for rights and freedom through civil disobedience. Such actions occur when the controlling government denies the rights of citizens through control of the very institutions that were established to protect us.
What recourse is then left, when your own government, found in contempt, suffers no repercussions but is in fact rewarded by a majority won through poor voter representation, manipulation of information, and the backing of private, corporate interests (including the media)?
Senator Kinsella had the gall to attack DePape, criticizing her for what he calls contempt of Parliament when his own master, harper, was found in contempt by Parliament itself but thumbed his nose at the finding and now sits with a majority in which he seeks to change the system of governing so that he will be virtually untouchable while putting forms of free speech and peaceful protest at greater risk.
Senator Munsen had a good approach, expressing concern for DePape, validating her concerns, but still mentioning that what she did is against protocol. It is. That's the civil disobedience part, and Munsen had a responsibility to point that out.
However, unlike other politicians who have failed so miserably to hold our prime minister to account, Munsen did not condemn her with the word "contempt."
That's good. If you took the time to see her protest or read her words, or listen to her interviews, what we see is not contempt for the system, but a passionate, level headed concern for our country and the dysfunctional parliament that cannot hold it's own prime minister to account.
So all of you - Trudeau, May, Kinsella - who say she should not have brought this into such a respected venue as Parliament, consider this: that an institution has to earn and maintain respect of those it serves, and if it fails to do so thus failing to protect our rights, citizens have every right to fight for themselves and the country they love. Peacefully, of course, as in acts of civil disobedience.
A young lady kicked all your asses on the Hill yesterday. Have to good grace to acknowledge that, and to pay attention to the message she sent at cost to herself: you are not there to serve yourself or your party. Canadians want the abuses that happen with the governing body to stop.
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Politicians should understand that if they cannot and will not be true to their oath of office and serve the interests of the public (instead of self serving interests), that eventually the entire citizenry will no longer follow the government, pay the government, or grant any moral authority to the government.
We will instead focus on ignoring them, and eventually putting those in jail who sell out the public interest.
Thank you Brigette DePape for standing for what you believe in.
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