I first came to the White House Peace Vigil with my father in 1981. It’s manned 24/7 by a group of volunteers. It was originally mostly about the nuclear war. Now it’s about a range of issues such as climate change, Palestine and Black Lives Matter.
I’ve been doing a regular shift for over 40 years. Sometimes I’m stationed here for over 17 hours at a time. People come up and talk to me and that’s how we share our message – through conversation and education. I never have to call in Uber eats. People bring supplies. See here’s someone bringing food now.
I got injured in 1987 in Palestine while doing research on the impacts of war. I was watching two boys play soccer and when one of them ran to retrieve the ball. I heard a clicking sound before a landmine detonated.