On Friday evening demonstrators gathered at a downtown BP service station to express their outrage at the unprecedented oil spill affecting the Gulf Coast. Protesters fanned out along the Lafayette Street side of the BP gas station at Houston Street and Crosby Street.
Police ringed the service island with metal barricades to prevent entry. The large station is usually overrun with taxis jockeying to get refills at the pumps. The dozens of active demonstrators seemed matched in number by press, curious passerby, and grumbling commuters trying to make their way home for the Memorial Day weekend.
A handful of young demonstrators doused their scantily-clad bodies with mock oil, which pooled at the curb line. Leafleters surrounded the area and some of the more veteran protesters shouted their anger at BP and Big Oil as some of the the dripping youth voiced their concerns to the gathered press.
Upon seeing one of the protesters get drenched in faux oil, one passerby–gussied up for a night on the town–wondered aloud, “Is that bad for your skin?”
For the full Flickr photoset of the protest, click here.
{ 0 comments… add one now }