Distraught Gulf Shrimper Arrested for Pouring Oil on Herself in Senate Energy Hearing Protesting Senator Murkowski's Refusal to Make BP Pay
WASHINGTON - June 9 - Diane Wilson, a fourth generation shrimper from the Gulf, poured oil on herself at today's Senate Energy Committee hearing to protest Senator Lisa Murkowski's refusal to make BP pay for the disaster that has devastating Wilson's shrimping community. Republican Lisa Murkowski, ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee, blocked the bill that would have lifted the oil companies' liability cap (the Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act). Wilson was removed from the hearing and arrested.
But wait:
Wilson is also a co-founder of the organization CODEPINK Women for Peace. She was in front of BP HQ in Houston, Texas two weeks ago to protest the oilspill and draw attention to BP's legacy of negligence.
OMG!!!!!!!!!!! She's CODEPINK! Just like that misguided Medea Benjamin.
"We want people to call Senator Murkowski's office and tell her to stop supporting big oil and support a healthy environment and American livelihoods instead," said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin, who was with Wilson at the hearing. "Our members from across the country have sent Murkowski thousands of emails already. We also want the Senator to call for Diane Wilson to be exonerated. BP CEO Tony Hayward should be in jail, not a distraught shrimper!"
More from Diane Wilson at Grist.com:
The BP oil gusher is just the latest in a long line of assaults on the Gulf of Mexico
I hate to say it, but what I'm seeing now in the Gulf ain't nothing new. The toxic releases, the lies, the cover-ups, the skimping on safety, the nonexistent documents, the "swinging door" with regulators, the deaths. Same ole same ole.
Whenever CODEPINK does some kind of action, there are some who can't help but denigrate those actions. "Not helpful", "Protests don't work", etc..
I have many friends who are CODEPINK and they are willing to accept the consequences of their actions, unlike so many of our elected officials. More power to 'em I say. She should have poured the oil on Sen. Murkowski IMHO, but I have pledged just as those in CODEPINK, to only engage in non-violent action, so her actions were perfect.
Her book: An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
And to Sen. Murkowski,