Editor:
Re: Sorry, Trans Mountain protesters, grandparents aren’t above the law, NOW blogs, July 12
I think the comment about grandparents being “above the law” is erroneous, but it seems to be the only thing that grabs media attention. Our behaviour is called “sinister” and “pernicious” by the Crown.
When we seniors - grandparents or otherwise - take action about the pipeline it is because we care about
climate change, indigenous rights and the safety of our community.
Because the media likes to play up the sensationalism of older people being arrested, it draws attention.
I don't see any of my fellow arrestees complaining about our judgments - we were capable of making those decisions when we take action.
I think early arguments by some seniors may be why were our cases expedited to trial when murder suspects were released because their trials took too long and other criminal activities had to wait months before coming to court because there were no trial dates available?
It would seem to me that there is a distortion of what is criminal activity in this system when peaceful protests are given precedence over violent or abusive activity in the justice system regardless of the age of protestors. We prefer the title defenders.
Proudly served eight days in jail out of a 14-day sentence and now am in the criminal registry because my arguments regarding the health and safety of my community, family and self (acknowledged by the judge) had no sway in the court of law - I broke the injunction zone in a public way and apparently stopped work trucks from exiting the main gate.
Elan Gibson, Burnaby
