Eighty-four-year-old activist Dorli Rainey spoke to Countdown host Keith Olbermann on Wednesday night after being pepper sprayed by police the previous night during an “Occupy Seattle” protest.
The protest was formed in downtown Seattle in solidarity with “Occupy Wall Street” after it was raided by authorities. Police claimed they gave warnings to protesters for blocking streets during rush hour before trying to disperse them
Rainey said the protesters had decided to leave the intersection, and that police almost certainly knew this because of the protester’s “people’s microphone” method of communication. But before they could leave, police moved in and fired pepper spray at the crowd.
She said a “wonderful” young Iraq veteran protected her during the scuffle with police, preventing her from falling on the ground.
Rainey, who grew up in Nazi Germany, expressed her displeasure with the mainstream American media, who only reported “soft, fluff entertainment” instead of hard-hitting news.
She also told Olbermann that she was inspired by the Catholic nun and activist Jackie Hudson, who said, “whatever you do, take one more step out of your comfort zone.”
“It would be so easy to say, ‘Well I’m going to retire, I’m going to sit around, watch television or eat bonbons,’ but somebody’s got to keep ’em awake and let ’em know what is really going on in this world,” Rainey said.
Countdown video link…
The video below shows a vet coming to the aid of Dorli Rainey:
Related articles
- Dorli Rainey becomes unlikely face of the Occupy movement (telegraph.co.uk)
- Dorli Rainey, octagenarian pepper-sprayed by police at Occupy Seattle, on “the importance of activism” (video) (boingboing.net)
- Mayor Apologizes for Pepper Spraying of Peaceful Protesters (slog.thestranger.com)
- Cops Soak ‘Occupy Seattle’ Protesters, 84-Year-Old Woman with Vicious Pepper Spray Assault: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
- Dorli Rainey, 84, Pepper Sprayed by SPD at Occupy Seattle Protest (slog.thestranger.com)
- Seattle police use pepper spray on Occupy activists (independent.co.uk)
- Dorli Rainey, 84-Year-Old Occupy Seattle Protester, Pepper Sprayed In The Face (alwaysquestionauthority.wordpress.com)
- Elderly woman hit by spray at protest: I’m ‘tough’ (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- Pepper-sprayed woman gets mayor’s apology (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Pingback: 84-Year-Old-Seattle-Woman Hit With Pepper Spray « Kashfi Fahim, Journo