Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2016)
News Page 12 Street Roots • Feb. 19-25, 2016 Silenced vigil Reflecting on the life of Concepcion Picciotto, who maintained a peace vigil outside the White House for more than three decades before she died in January at a homeless shelter BY ABBY HERSHBERGER CONTRIBUTING WRITER ^T^hree days after her death, Concepcion Piccioto’s protest display JL still stands. Directly across from the White House, a quiet man named Neil Cousins guards the small shelter covered by a plastic tarp shaking slightly in the wind and surrounded by tall wooden signs. Aside from a few scattered bouquets and a handwritten note reading “Concepcion R.I.P. Love, Philipos,” the 24-hour setup looks very similar to how her own career choice. She remembers how it has for the past 35 years. the participation and upkeep of the tent The signs have accumulated and the would ebb and flow depending on the time government critiques have shifted to fit of year and number of volunteers, but current political issues, but the message Picciotto was a nearly constant presence. overall is still a call for world peace. A “D.C. is a very transient city,” Morris said. number of proclamations and condemnations line the wooden structure of “Concepcion’s tenacity allowed people like me to be exposed to her message. Her the display, most of them criticizing government violence. “Radioactive Pollution commitment was remarkable.” Julie Turner is another local social Kills” reads a paper flyer taped to a stack of worker in the area who, like Morris, was milk crates. “Don’t be a lemming,” warns influenced by Picciotto. Turner hopes that another, “Save yourself - renounce Picciotto, whom she casually refers to as genocidal weapons.” “Connie,” will be remembered for her Concepcion Picciotto, who was believed message, not her mental state. “It was clear to be in her early 80s, moved to the United that Connie was mentally ill, but States from Spain as a young adult. After a underneath that illness was a grain of difficult marriage and failed custody battle, truth,” Turner said. she moved to the District of Columbia to Most articles place undue importance on protest government violence, which Picciotto’s appearance and mannerisms, Picciotto believed is the root of injustice according to Turner. “Let’s stop talking and terror in the world. She died on Jan. 25 about all that,” she said. “Let’s talk about after more than three decades of constant the enduring peace movement that Connie protest in front of the White House. She stood for.” Turner emphasized that Picciotto spent her last days at N Street Village, a shelter for women. protested more than nuclear proliferation and gun control. She opposed the violence Picciotto adamantly opposed nuclear of keeping people homeless and hungry, warfare and government violence. Despite and used her own life as a living protest her loud and abrasive way of protesting, Picciotto’s primary message was one of against homelessness and systemic peace. She was known for feeding LaFayette violence. Square Park’s squirrels and handing out Turner believes that reading material painted “peace rocks” to visitors of her written by nonviolent scholars and activists- tent. she mentioned Thomas Merton, Ignatius Willa Morris, a social worker in the Loyola, John Dear, the Berrigan Brothers District, remembers coming across and Dorothy Day - can provide a better Picciotto’s protest decades ago. Morris grasp on Picciotto’s ideas. “We would visited D.C. frequently when she was young, understand why Connie was there.” and seeing Picciotto outside the White Turner also offered a foil to the media’s House left a big impression on her. typical portrayal of Picciotto’s personality. “I remember she was very articulate “She was genuinely a kind woman,” Turner about the issues at hand,” Morris recalled, said. “She was always making sure “And she was very passionate. She taught (participants in the 2011 Occupy me about the power that one single person Washington movement) had enough food.” can have.” While most of Picciotto’s signs Picciotto’s method of peace protest was were bold and eye-catching, Morris very controversial. Some questioned her remembers being especially impressed with sanity, others criticized the way she related several full-color pictures of exploding to people. Nonetheless, those who knew atomic bombs that she saw as a young her - and even those who didn’t - can person. acknowledge that she was fiercely Morris believes that witnessing committed to her message. Picciotto’s commitment to peace and ' “Connie was a peace activist who change may have had something to do with happened to be mentally ill.,” Turner said. PHOTO BY REUTERS/ MARK WILSON “A lot of people only saw the mental illness part, and because of that, they minimized Concepcion her. Over the years no one took Connie’s Picciotto at her message seriously. She was treated like a vigil outside the sideshow attraction.” White House Picciotto defended her ideas for over three decades, persevering through extreme weather, health problems and verbal and physical abuse. “Connie didn’t want a social worker, she wanted peace,” said Turner, who had worried about Picciotto’s health and safety outside. “She wasn’t very forthcoming with her personal information. That wasn’t important to her. It was about her message. Connie was there to tell people to "She Wäs very articulate about stop blowing each tie issues at hand. And she Was other up!” very passionate. She taught me Picciotto did not about the power that one single live to see the laying person can have." down of weapons that -WILLA MORRIS DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SOCIAL WORKER she dreamed about. Instead of retiring signs and messages from her display, she was constantly adding new ones. But the fact that Picciotto’s protest did not bring about world peace does not mean that her message should be forgotten. Turner believes that behind Picciotto’s eccentricities, there is still plenty to learn. “Hold fast and steady to your beliefs,” she said. “We can’t all set up tents, but we can take other steps. We can elect officials who can help.” Turner also encouraged practicing nonviolence on a small scale. Not all violence comes in the form of drone attacks and gunfire. There are systems in place that make it nearly impossible to get medical attention, or a good education, or even enough food. “That’s violence too,” Turner said. “To change that, we can practice nonviolence in our daily lives. We can work to understand what it means to live in peace.” Courtesy ofINSP.ngo / Street Sense, Street Roots sister paper in Washington, D.C.
