Lucy Lawless Sentenced, Greenpeace, Oil Protest, Shell: Warrior Princess’ 120-Hour Community Service Sentence ‘Victory’ Against Oil Drilling
Lucy Lawless is celebrating despite her 120-hour community service sentence for her protest demonstration on-board a Shell oil driller last year. The “Xena: Warrior Princess” star says that she has won a “great victory” after the sentencing was followed by the declining of a reparation request from the oil company. Shell sought for costs to be paid by the actress for her role in the protest. Seven other Greenpeace activists were sentenced along with the television star after pleading guilty to trespass charges. The New Zealand judge ordered them to pay $547 (or 651 New Zealand Dollars) to a port company on top of the 120-hour community service sentence.
Read more at MStars
“So Lucy Lawless was sentenced, but the actress says she still has no regrets over protesting, and admits she will be “happy to pick up litter, clean toilets or anything else asked of her as part of community service.”” —examiner.com
Trespassing on private property is still illegal for celebrities.
-mutters about the downfall of society and the erosion of the fabric of civic order for the next twenty minutes-
I think she and everyone else is aware of the fact that’s true. She’s gotten sentenced, obviously. Y’know, since they charged her and she’s paying for it.
And she damn well should be.
There are a hundred legal ways to protest in the world, when you’re talking about first world countries. Legal, effective ways. I know, I’ve used them, and I’ve organized protests. It’s kind of my area of expertise.
You do not need to break the law to protest. New Zealand is not Iran, where people are arrested and tortured for protesting. It is not Hussein’s Iraq, where they disappear in the middle of the night.
If you break the law when you did not have to, zero respect, zero sympathy, full extent of the law.
Fuck you. Fuck the law. When a law is immoral it is up to courageous people to defy it. In fact, getting arrested is a time-honored way to protest. Yes to civil dissemblance. It’s the only way things can change peacefully.