Check out the upcoming cover of Time Magazine’s.  Finally skateboarding is really getting into the mainstream media and we are being recognized as a real sport with real athletes.  Go Skateboarding Day happens to fall on the same weekend as this issue so without even reading the article, I’m sure the writer of the article will examine the ups and downs of skating and how far it has come.

And I’m willing to bet that the ice cream scoop symbolizes global warming and how hot it is outside.   And how heroes like Lee Breen who was sentenced to five days in prison for using his skateboard as a mean of green transportation.  It’s just amazing how far skateboarding has come. 

Just last week I wrote a story about an environmentally friendly young man (or should I say hero) named Lee Breen from Fredericton, Canada, who non-violently resisted the law by continuing to ride his skateboard around town despite being given a number of citations. His disobedience lead to a judge sentencing him to five days in prison. Luckily Breen served only two days (probably due to an over congested judicial system in Fredericton, Canada).

Breen is truly an international hero to those who believe that skateboarding is not a crime even though it’s looked at as a “nuisance” in places like Fredericton.

Well you would have thought that Breen would have learned his lesson after spending two long hard nights in the slammer. I could only imagine what kind of slow deterioration of his mental state overcame him while he was serving his out sentence. And who knows what kind of counseling he would have to seek after getting out.

But soon after being released onto the streets of Fredericton, Breen was once again cited with a $50 ticket for skateboarding on the streets. It’s because of that kind of determination and moxie are most of us able to get up in the morning and get along with our daily chores. I propose Breen get a national holiday, for Canada. Check out this video of Breen and his supporters.

Myanmar has Aung San Suu Kyi; a pro-democracy activist leader of the National League of Democracy. In 1990, the country held its first democratic election in 30 years earning her the right to be the country’s prime minister. The government refused to step down and imprisoned her for her nonviolent resistance. She is a national hero. Then there is former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela who for his leadership against the apartheid in his Africa was imprisoned for 27 years earning him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. Leaders like the ones mentioned give the people of this world the inspiration needed to fight for what is right.

Well now the world has adopted a new leader in Lee Breen of Fredericton, Canada. Lee who along with millions of other drivers has felt the burden of high gas prices and took it upon himself to go green. Skateboarding became his primary mode of transportation. So Lee bought the best helmet on the market and went skateboarding, despite Fredericton laws prohibiting “sleds, toboggans (how dare they!), wagons, and skateboards” to be used because they are a public nuisance.

After receiving multiple warnings, in the summer of 2007, Lee was issued his very first ticket for $50 (not sure if that’s Canadian dollars). After not paying his fine, the fee increased to $100. Lee mocked the system and continued to stroll around the city. Nothing would stop this helmeted fugitive. A judge then sentenced Lee to five days (all expenses paid) to prison.

It’s uncertain whether or not Lee will serve his full five-day sentence at the Saint John Regional Correctional Centre this Wednesday but a group of 80 people had rallied in support of Lee’s cause outside the courthouse while he was taken into custody.

So next time you go outside and ride your skateboard, wear a teal green ribbon, maybe light a candle, or plant a tree because people like Lee Breen, Nelson Mandela, and Aung San Suu Kyi are fighting for people like us to be free.