Monday, April 16, 2007

"Liberal, Tory, Same Old Story"

National Newswatch has a backgrounder on Briony Penn, Liberal candidate for Saanich-Gulf Islands. I think the intent was to paint Penn in a bad light, but I view this as a fantastic illustration of the new Liberal Party:


A field naturalist wearing only panties and an ankle length blond wig rode a horse through downtown Vancouver Monday in a Lady Godiva-style protest against logging on Saltspring Island.
Briony Penn, five more bare-breasted women and another 30-odd demonstrators became a traffic-stopping sight for more than an hour as they circled the city block around the Howe Street offices of Texada Land Corp. four times.

Penn said their action was the result of desperation.

"We've tried everything to raise awareness about endangered ecosystems, but they won't listen to the scientists and they won't listen to the people," said Penn, 40, who has a doctorate in geography.

"So we're exploiting the media, taking our clothes off. And look at all of you."

More than a dozen television camera operators, newspaper photographers and reporters encircled the 40-year-old woman on the horse.

"I've got a PhD and no one listens," she declared. "I take my clothes off, and here you all are. So thank you."

Now I know what my NDP friends would say, a real progressive wouldn't have worn panties ;)

13 comments:

lance said...

Steve, there's nothing new in a nude protest. I can't speak for your circle, but we always called them, 'nuts'.

Cheers,
lance

Steve V said...

Did I say it was new? More a commentary on an environmental activist finding a home in the new Liberal Party.

Librocrat said...

Yeah... um... Save the whales?

You know, I didn't listen to my Geography teacher either. But I think if he took his shirt off it wouldn't have gotten my attention.

Anonymous said...

Nothing quite as newsworthy as a PhD with bare tits.

The story is few years old now but I'm as certain as the sun will rise that a simliar stunt today would get coverage that a standard presser wouldn't.

Tits and the environment.

Two things sure to piss of Conservatives.

Concerned Albertan said...

I wonder if after doing this she would have still passed the greenlighting process that she had to pass earlier?

Red Tory said...

She'll make a great candidate and we'll be very happy to have her as a another Liberal MP from Victoria.

Anonymous said...

Nuts? When women couldn't get attention about their rights they had to go to extremes to get attention - you know the "tossing in of the bras".

It took millions and millions of blacks in the U.S. marching to get attention.

Sometimes one has to draw attention this way.

Make fun all you want - but it worked didn't it.

bigcitylib said...

I got a lot of flack when I casually mentioned once that Briony was a good looking woman, but seriously, what would have happened if Bev Oda had tried this?

Steve V said...

bcl

What if Jason Kenney did this?

Anonymous said...

Depends.

Jason Kenney showing up in the Calgary Stampede wearing a cowboy hat and leather vest, a la Stephen Harper?

A former Canadian Alliance so-con who can't ride a horse.

Dr. Tux said...

I heard of this story before, but I didn't know it was Briony Penn.

What's hilarious is that I'm working on Briony Penn's campaign to oust Gary Lunn. I thought Briony was just a co-founder of the Land Conservancy. I never connected her to this. Very funny.

Steve V said...

Good luck Sheeple!

Stephen K said...

If Jason Kenney did that and I saw it, I would need therapy.