Anti-nuke nudes
Y2K fears drive Calif. protest
¸ 1999 San Francisco Examiner
SAN FRANCISCO - About 50 demonstrators doffed their clothing near San Francisco City Hall to draw attention to the potential dangers of nuclear catastrophes that might be caused by a millennium computer glitch.
The nude march was led by Patch Adams, an activist and doctor who inspired the movie based on his life of unconventional approaches to adversity.
``Non-violent people like us really have so few tools to face a capitalist system,' Adams told members of the crowd Sunday night as they uncomfortably disrobed outside Herbst Theater.
``All we really have are ourselves and our ideas. Our ideas have not done the job.'
With those words, the crowd whooped and hollered its way out of the building for a quick stroll down Van Ness Street, chanting, ``Disrobe for disarmament.'
Some motorists 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.
``I'm glad to be a part of a community that is as passionate as I am,' said Carol Brouillet of Palo Alto, 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.'
A conference that spawned the demonstration, titled Creating a Culture of Peace for the 21st Century, was well-attended but generated little news media interest until Adams and prominent activist Helen Caldicott called for the nude demonstration.
Although many ideas were discussed, the main thrust of the meeting was the dangers of nuclear accidents occurring on or after Jan. 1 if computer systems in foreign countries crash because of 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 |
