Dear RN, Here are some activists who can really show us what they're made of - and inspire us to dare to be imaginative in our work. all the best, Jan :-) ******************************************************** Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 23:23:30 +0000 From: Paul Swann <•••@••.•••> Subject: Nudes, not nukes! Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1999 14:03:06 -0700 (PDT) To: •••@••.••• From: Wendy Tanowitz <•••@••.•••> Subject: [y2k-nuclear] Nudes, not nukes! Our Y2K World Atomic Safety Holiday campaign people were at a forum on nuclear weapons last night. It was a ho-hum affair until Helen Caldicott and Patch Adams related a story about how they had called a press conference in Washington D.C. to talk about the possibility of extinction because of y2k as it relates to nuclear weapons and power. No one came. So last night, Helen said, "What does it take to get their attention? Do I have to take my clothes off?" Then Patch Adams asked the audience how many would be willing to take their clothes off. Dozens raised their hands. One of our Y2K WASH folks called the press, we all disrobed and marched down Van Ness Avenue chanting, "disrobe for disarmament, and "Nudes, not nukes!" The SF Examiner and Channel 5 did fair coverage--no frontal nudity, however. They both get the story right about the reason we were doing this. This is the story which appeared in the San Francisco Examiner today, 10/4. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ examiner/hotnews/stories/04/naked.dtl Activists reveal naked truth about nuclear catastrophes By Ray Delgado OF THE EXAMINER STAFF Monday, October 4, 1999 50 people march nude on Van Ness to draw attention to Y2K dangers Some activists get arrested to draw attention to their cause. Others scream and rant in hopes that people will listen. Some nuclear activists, on the other hand -- well, they get naked. About 50 people who gathered Sunday night near City Hall for a conference on the potential dangers of Y2K-induced nuclear catastrophes ended the session with a mass nude demonstration along a block of Van Ness Avenue. Desperate for press attention for their cause, they opted to get covered by uncovering. The nude march was led by Patch Adams, an activist and doctor who inspired the movie based on his lifetime of unconventional approaches to adversity. "Non-violent people like us really have so few tools to face a capitalist system," Adams told the crowd as they uncomfortably disrobed outside Herbst Theater in the War Memorial Building. "All we really have are ourselves and our ideas. Our ideas have not done the job." With those words, the crowd whooped and hollered their way out of the building and onto Van Ness for a quick stroll down the street, chanting, "Disrobe for disarmament," and, "News, not nukes." Along Van Ness Avenue, some cars slowed to gawk and others honked at the protesters, who cheered in response. The night air was chilly enough to have a noticeable effect on some participants, but there was no shortage of enthusiasm among the participants. "I'm glad to be a part of a community that is as passionate as I am," said Palo Alto resident Carol Brouillet, a 42-year-old mother of three who has written books on nuclear issues. "I'm glad my husband's not here. He wouldn't do this, but we have different world views." The conference, titled Creating a Culture of Peace for the 21st Century, was well-attended by interested participants but generated little media interest until Adams and prominent activist Dr. Helen Caldicott called for the nude demonstration. Although many ideas were discussed at the forum, the main thrust of the meeting was the dangers of nuclear accidents occuring on Jan. 1, 2000, if computer systems in countries around the world crash because they are not prepared to handle the date change. Caldicott warned that some countries are unprepared for the Y2K problem, and she said too little attention is being paid to the dangers and consequences of nuclear fallout. Shedding her own clothes was not easy, she said, but was worth it to call attention to the problem. "To be scared of doing something like this, which is a little thing compared to what's facing us, is just silly," Caldicott said. "It just shows that people are desperate for this cause and will do whatever it takes." ©1999 San Francisco Examiner Examiner Hot News http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/ examiner/hotnews/stories/04/naked.dtl ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/y2k-nuclear http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
