Yesterday was the anniversary of this protest my my mom held against a nuclear ship that docked in Vancouver’s harbour. Just her and the boat driver as she held the sign “Go Home Death Machine” it’s an inspiring and humbling image, and because of the press of this protest with Greenpeace, they changed the laws so that no nuclear war ships could dock in Vancouver harbour ever again.
In her words
It was an amazing, scary day! We were running around Vancouver harbour for about 5 hours in the rain until the marine police finally caught up with us, punctured the side of our zodiac and we were forced into their boat enroute to jail. We were able to delay the setting of the anchor for a few hours at least. Even the cops were arguing with each other over whether what we were doing had validity. The whole episode created a media sh*t storm which lasted for some time. You see, the USS Ranger, had come straight up the coast from San Diego for some R and R for about 1800 sailors. Greenpeace's issue was that the vessel was capable of carrying nuclear weapons, to which they would neither confirm nor deny presence on board. The visit was timed during the UN proclaimed International Disarmament Week - obviously conflicting with our goals of no nukes in the harbour. Despite receiving personal death threats and having to change phone numbers, the following spring thousands of people marched for a nuclear free city and that designation still stands in Vancouver. Sometimes the smallest things can turn into something much bigger. Take a stand!
We all have a voice and power individually! I hope this posts finds inspiration for some of you today ✌🏽
