[Newspoetry] Patch "Sighting"

[Mike Lehman]

Everyone loves a parade.
Mike

Patch Adams Leads Nude Protest
            7:37 a.m. ET (1144 GMT) October 5, 1999

 SAN FRANCISCO — Led by a naked Patch Adams, a group of anti-nuclear
 protesters paraded nude down a San Francisco street to publicize the
potential
 dangers of a catastrophic Y2K atomic meltdown.

 "Nonviolent people like us really have so few tools to face the
capitalist system,''
 Adams told the protesters as they stripped for their demonstration
Sunday. "All
 we really have are ourselves and our ideas. Our ideas have not done the
job.''

 Adams, an unconventional doctor whose prescription of activism laced
with
 humor was portrayed by actor Robin Williams in a recent movie, was one
of a
 group attending a conference entitled "Creating a Culture of Peace for
the 21st
 Century.''

 The San Francisco Examiner reported on Monday that frustration over
lack of
 media attention prompted Adams and prominent anti-nuclear activist Dr.
Helen
 Caldicott to organize the nude demonstration to publicize the threat
that nuclear
 accidents could occur on Jan. 1, 2000, if computer systems around the
world
 crash because they are unable to handle the date change.

 "To be scared of doing something like this, which is a little thing
compared to
 what's facing us, is just silly,'' Caldicott said, urging participants
to undress. "It just
 shows that people are desperate for this cause and will do whatever it
takes.''

 The naked group paraded briefly down San Francisco's Van Ness Avenue,
 chanting "Disrobe for disarmament,'' and "News, not nukes.'' A few cars
slowed
 to gawk, the Examiner reported.

 "I'm glad to be a part of a community that is as passionate as I am,''
protester
 Carol Brouillet, a 42-year-old mother of three and author of books on
nuclear
 issues, told the newspaper.

 "I'm glad my husband's not here,'' Brouillet added. "He wouldn't do
this, but we
 have different world views.''

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