Zombies!

& kangaroos. & elephants! Dressing up isn’t only for Hallowe’en. Activism can be fun!

Once upon a time I used to be an anti-nuclear activist.

A pretty active one for quite a few years, actually!

I’ve been retired from that for several years now.

I’d figured out early in the game (back in about 2006) that nuclear hearings are shams.

Kangaroo courts.

Mere theatre.

Covid-19 goings-on prompted me to write about this business of it being theatre here.

The nuclear proponent always gets his licence!

As Dr. John Gofman once said,

“There has not existed the slightest shred of meaningful evidence that the entire intervention process in nuclear energy is anything more than the most callous of charades and frauds.” – Dr John Gofman, M.D., PhD. in “Irrevy” – An Irreverent, Illustrated View of Nuclear Power

It came to me that, since the hearings are just kangaroo courts, it would be fun to wear a kangaroo outfit to try & get that message across.

So, I did just that, several times.

Sadly, almost nothing seems to work when it comes to really slowing down the nuclear industry.

Because hey ... along the way I also learned that the military-industrial complex runs the whole darn show!

“Government is the Entertainment Division of the military-industrial complex.” – Frank Zappa (from War Is A Racket)

So.

The thing with the kangaroo gigs was, they were fun!

Inside that outfit, I was usually smiling from ear to ear.

Except for the time at one of the Pickering hearings when it was so hot & humid, I thought I was going to melt in there!?

It was a lot more fun wearing the outfit outside the hearing room, than having to listen to all the B.S. & bafflegab taking place inside it!

Lies & bafflegab & obfuscation galore are routine when it comes to nuclear apologists.

Listening to that stuff is hard on the spirit!

Listening to intelligent, informed, passionate & courageous citizens willing to speak up in these hearings was always the uplifting part. Very uplifting indeed! New friendships & networks formed, even, as a result of people encountering one another in these settings. Too bad the majority of the population was never paying any attention. Or the media, either.

Sigh.

Along the way I also did some elephant gigs with fellow activists. On the theme that, when it came to re-licensing the (gigantic) Pickering nuclear station (located pretty much in the backyard of Toronto, Canada’s largest city

and mere kilometres west along the Lake Ontario waterfront from the also-gigantic Darlington nuclear complex), there were “elephants in the room.”

Lots of them.

So, a few elephant gigs also took place.

Those were fun too!

We even got some media coverage!

'Elephants' not wanted at public meeting on nuclear safety. Costumed pair attended to highlight fears about Pickering plant <Feb. 15/17> ** link now dead

And a week later, an editorial, no less! Nuclear safety group overreacted to having 'elephants in the room.' Calling Durham police to public meeting total overkill <Feb. 22/17> ** link now dead. Like the one above, it was working when I posted this.

As I said, regarding nuclear “elephants in the room,” there were plenty of them.

Still are!

And once again, plans are afoot to extend the operation of the Pickering nuke station.

And to throw a serious bucket-load of money into the Darlington complex.

Ai-yi-yi!

These 2 monstrosities remind me of zombies.

They plain refuse to die!

So.

I’m not doing anti-nuclear activism anymore.

I got too burned-out to keep it up.

But there are always lots of things one can stand up against.

Protesting is good for the spirit!

** some great quotes & insights about protesting

So is good old-fashioned fun!

We needn’t leave the dressing up just for Hallowe’en.

Zombie gig coming up, anyone??

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** Learn more about the nuclear scene in the Toronto area from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Here.

** Check out a really dynamite collection of nuclear-related quotations.

** There’s an essay here on the subject of 15 nuclear myths.

** ‘Pandora’s Promise’ was a pro-nuke film released in 2013. Learn about the film’s propaganda here.

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Here’s a sobering thought…