Brigette DePape speaks out

Why I did it: Senate page explains her throne speech protest - thestar.com:

Brigette DePape

I am moved by the excitement and energy with which people

from all walks of life across this country greeted my action in the
Senate.

One person alone cannot accomplish much, but they must at least do

what they can. So I held out my “Stop Harper” sign during the throne
speech because I felt I had a responsibility to use my position to
oppose a government whose values go against the majority of Canadians.

The thousands of positive comments shared online, the printing of
“Stop Harper” buttons and stickers and lawn signs, and the many calls
for further action convinced me that this is not merely a country of
people dissatisfied with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s vision for
Canada.

It is a country of people burning with desire for change.

If I was able to do what I did, I know that there are thousands of others capable of equal, or far more courageous, acts.

I think those who reacted with excitement realize that politics
should not be left to the politicians, and that democracy is not just
about marking a ballot every few years. It is about ensuring, with daily
engagement and resistance, that the vision we have for our society is
reflected in the decision-making of our government.

Our views are not represented by our political system. How else could
we have a government that 60 per cent of the people voted against? A
broken system is what has left us with a Conservative government ready
to spend billions on fighter jets we don’t need, to pollute the
environment we want protected, to degrade a health-care system we want
improved, and to cut social programs and public sector jobs we value. As
a page, I witnessed one irresponsible bill after another pass through
the Senate, and wanted to scream “Stop.”

Such a system leads us to feel isolated, powerless and hopeless —
thousands of Canadians made that clear in their responses to my action.
We need a reminder that there are alternatives. We need a reminder that
we have both the capacity to create change, and an obligation to. If my
action has been that reminder, it was a success.

Media and politicians have argued that I tarnished the throne speech,
a solemn Canadian tradition. I now believe more in another tradition —
the tradition of ordinary people in this country fighting to create a
more just and sustainable world, using peaceful direct action and civil
disobedience.

On occasion, that tradition has found an inspiring home within
Parliament: In 1970, for instance, a group of young women chained
themselves to the parliamentary gallery seats to protest the Canadian
law that criminalized abortion. Their action won national attention, and
helped propel a movement that eventually achieved abortion’s
legalization.

Was such an action “appropriate”? Not in the conventional sense. But
those women were driven by insights known to every social movement in
history: that the ending of injustices or the winning of human rights
are never gifts from rulers or from parliaments, but the fruit of
struggle and of people power in the streets.

Actions like these provide the answer to the Harper government. When
Harper tries to push through policies and legislation that hurt our
communities and country, we all need to find our inner activist, and
flow into the streets. And what is a stop sign after all, but a nod to
the symbol of the street where a people amassed can put the brakes on
the Harper government?

I’ve been inspired by Canadians taking action, and inspired too by my
peers rising up in North Africa and the Middle East. I am honoured to
have since received a message
from young activists there, saying that we need not just an Arab spring
but a “world spring,” using people power to combat whatever ills exists
in each country.

I have been inspired most of all by Asmaa Mahfouz, the 26-year-old woman who issued a video
calling for Egyptians to join her in Tahrir Square. People did, and
they together made the Egyptian revolution. Her words will always stay
with me: “As long as you say there is no hope, then there will be no
hope, but if you go and take a stand, then there will be hope.”

Brigette DePape is a recent graduate of the
University of Ottawa. She has started a fund to support peaceful direct
action and civil disobedience against the Harper agenda: www.stopharperfund.ca

Let Freedom Rain delves into the corporate media's misunderstanding of DePape's protest.
Jarvis doesn't get it. What needs to be done in this country is to
destroy Canada's conservative journalism. The overwhelming
misinformation and prejudice of our journalists' overreaching embrace of
conservative values and money is what is rotting away in Canada's
psyche. We are tired of a news monopoly owned by the Conservative party.


Brigette DePape broke through that monopoly and made its beneficiaries,
like Jarvis, squirm in their privileged seats. While DePape thrives in
blogs, news stories and on T-Shirts, Jarvis collects cheques for doing
virtually nothing but represent the Globe's beloved Conservative party.

Brigette DePape: Silently speaking truth to power

Brigette DePape: Silently speaking truth to power | rabble.ca
Excerpt:

Brigette was fortunate to have found herself in an unusual position -
privileged yet powerless. On the one hand, she was honoured to have
been selected as a Senate page, a position difficult to attain and one
coveted by students dreaming of political careers. But for someone with
Brigette's integrity and passion for justice, the excitement of being a
page soon wore thin. At some point she realized that it presented a
creative way for her to turn a completely powerless position into an
opportunity to express her political views with the hope of raising
awareness and mobilizing toward change.

In an age when newspapers have the power to influence voters by
endorsing politicians who put business interests before public interest;
in a society where a political party is given a majority government in
spite of demonstrating its disregard and disrespect for the
parliamentary process; and in a society where the acquisition of a
hockey team gets more media attention in one day than many issues of
significant public relevance get in a decade, Brigette selflessly and
brilliantly played the card that she had available to her, in spite of
the unknown consequences to her as an individual.

In this single act of peaceful defiance, Brigette has become a symbol
of hope for many who are concerned with the direction the Harper
government may try to take us in. She has sent a signal to her
generation, and to all of us, that we have an important role to play in
changing that course. And she has re-energized the progressive but often
cynical members of her parents' generation to continue to press for
change. Brigette stepped up when we needed a shot of hope and optimism.

Senate protester DePape offered job by Michael Moore

Doc maker Michael Moore backs rogue page over stunt - thestar.com
"For a young person to do that and to do it peacefully, and quietly
and with grace, I thought it was a very powerful moment,” Moore told The
Canadian Press on Sunday from New York.

“Every now and then there is an
iconic moment where an individual takes action, and it inspires others
to think about, you know, what else would we be doing.”

...
“It's nice to have the support of people who think critically,” DePape said by phone on Sunday.
...

Moore said a functioning democracy should “encourage you to be disrespectful, to question what is going on.”

“I think that Canada and Canadians
probably need to put aside the full respect thing and bring out their
inner hockey stick and get to work on preventing their government from
turning into a version of ours,” he said.

DePape said she has no regrets about
the incident and remains convinced the best way to stop the Harper
government is through acts of civil disobedience.

“I really think it's only through
inappropriate action that you can challenge the status quo and have real
change,” she said, adding that she's been overwhelmed by positive
feedback from Canadians.

“It's been really inspiring.”

More than a dozen Facebook pages in
support of DePape have already popped up, with names such as “Canadian
hero” and a “True Canadian Patriot.”

“You are such an encouragement for
this old WWII veteran and I so admire your courage and commitment to
this just cause for which you stand so bravely,” said a comment
attributed to Bruce Jones that was posted on one Facebook page.

A “Stop Harper” protest inspired by DePape has already been planned for Ottawa on June 10.

From Moore's web site:

Best Contempt of Parliament Ever!
Speaker of Canadian Senate holds DePape in "Contempt of Parliament" – the same thing Stephen Harper's government was charged with for lying to and concealing information from parliament.

Brigette Marcelle - Stop Harper Facebook page.

Brigette DePape reminds us of our duty

Some people are upset with the protest in the Senate by Senate page Brigette DePape.
The issue is not when and where and how she protested (in the Senate in the middle of the Throne Speech). The issue is that the Canada that we value and have worked hard to put together and improve is at stake. The electoral system has failed us. 40% of those who voted, a minority, voted for the Conservatives. And, of all the eligible voters, this only represents 24%. With support of only 24% of Canadian voters, we now have a Conservative majority
government that is hell-bent on dismantling our country. Make no mistake - their clear goal is nothing but to loot our country and dismantle all that we value and have worked for.

This calls for drastic measures by the Canadian public to bring more attention to what is at stake, and to put pressure on the Conservative government to not follow through with their plan of destruction, but to properly govern and represent the majority in their policies and actions.

Brigette reminded us today of our duty.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.


Update:
iPolitics.ca - Behind DePape's protest, a question: "What will change things, then?"