A decades-long no-nukes protest thrives in DC.
“Just Make It Go Away” is the new rallying cry against a decades-long anti-nuclear display erected in 1981 by William Thomas. The White House Peace Vigil is a fixture in front of the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue in Lafayette Park. One Republican, however, has decided that the longest-running uninterrupted anti-war protest in US history is an eyesore and must be nuked – pun intended.
The monument consists of a small tent flanked by big yellow signs calling for an end to nuclear proliferation. “Live by the bomb, die by the bomb” and “Ban all nuclear weapons or have a nice doomsday” were the dire warnings. Well, Thomas was not wrong. And when he passed away, Concepción “Connie” Picciotto camped there in Lafayette Square, protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, for three decades. She was immediately relieved by another messenger who had been there from the start: Philipos Melaku-Bello. For more than 30 years, he has taken it on full-time.
The monument is crude, without fancy signs, T-shirts, or technological displays. And it’s a perfect example of an American protest that stays on course: No nukes, please. It’s as 1776 as it gets. So why does Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) have his knickers in a knot? Aren’t there other things to address, like tariffs, budgets, wars, or those mystery drones?
Why Is This a Thing?
Drew fired off a letter to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. It was fiery for a relatively non-issue:
“Let me be clear: nothing in the Constitution guarantees the right to erect permanent structures and occupy public land day after day, year after year, in a manner that creates public safety hazards, degrades the appearance of one of our most iconic parks, and burdens both the District and the National Park Service.”
No one has been injured there yet, so that particular argument was less than effective. His next wasn’t much better: “No group should be above the law, and the continued allowance of this permanent occupation sends the wrong message to law-abiding Americans,” Van Drew wrote. “This isn’t about stopping protest. It’s about upholding the rule of law, preserving one of America’s most iconic public spaces, and ending a double standard that’s made a mockery of both.”
The dissenters have followed the regulations that the White House and the Parks folks have laid down for the safety of protesters and bystanders alike — nearly religiously: The camp has been occupied 24/7 since being propped up in 1981 through blizzards, heat waves, and fragrant spring blossoms. Someone has been on site for more than three decades because, to remain in place, the camp must be continuously attended. Van Drew might need to see the dedication in a mission here to realize the dissidents aren’t breaking any laws.
Connect the Dots on White House Peace Vigil
Have we momentarily lost recent memories of the tearing down and hiding of our historic monuments? Americans were stunned to watch the members of Antifa and Black Lives Matter destroy, degrade, and attempt to cover up some of the most important moments in American history. As Liberty Nation News’ Graham J. Noble wrote: “For 50 or 60 years, give or take, memorials to Confederate soldiers and leaders have stood, unmolested, in public spaces across much of the country. That they mean different things to different people is certain, but they are, still, a part of America’s history.”
Criticizing the White House Peace Vigil is much the same. So, these no-nuke true believers may have not had much success, but they do have a desire to eliminate the one-button threat of complete annihilation of the world in which we live. How does this 12×12 occupied space hurt Van Drew?
The activists did feel some success in 1993 when they circulated a petition calling for nuclear disarmament. At the time, Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC’s congressional delegate, worked with them to write a nuclear disarmament and conversion act. Still, the legislation has never reached Congress for a vote.
The monument has allowed a few alt-progressive messages, but nothing incendiary yet. As peace activist Michael Beer explained to DCMedia Group: “We can’t get rid of war unless we talk about human rights, and so this vigil has taken on human rights around the world. This vigil has grown to include the causes of peace because you can’t get rid of nuclear weapons easily unless we get rid of war.”
Congress has an important agenda: War is bubbling up in the most unstable places. Let the White House Peace Vigil urge this administration to get the job done.
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