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JANUARY 15, 1996: BIRTHDAY OF A LITTLE GIANT

A Tribute

January 15, 1996, Lafayette Park - A living monument to independence and individual determination, Concepcion Picciotto spent her birthday today, day 5,340 of her continuous vigil for peace and justice, at her two 4' by 4' signs in front of the White House.

Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, since August 1981, Concepcion's signs have questioned a system which values security and nuclear arsenals above human life, her motto, "Truth is my sword."

Before the neo-American revolution, Concepcion was already pictured in the Berlitz Travel Guide (presently in its second printing). Before the fall of the Evil Empire, before Tiananmen Square, before Greenham Common, Concepcion was in front of the White House, displaying photographs of victims from the only use of nuclear weapons against human beings, warning the three million people who come to see the White House each year, "Don't Be A Lemming - Save Yourselves" and "Live By The Bomb, Die By The Bomb."

In the spirit of another peacemaker born on this date, Concepcion's actions have urged civilized law (e.g., United States v. Picciotto, 875 F.2d 345 (1989) and helped force the nation to face its shortcomings. Since she began her stand the federal government has passed four regulations, each of which transformed some aspect of her "constitutionally protected" vigil into a "crime." To avoid being arrested for "camping," for the past 14-plus years Concepcion has slept sitting up.

Totally public in a world of deception, under constant surveillance by Secret Service and U.S. Park Police, Concepcion has no secrets. Anyone is free to study Concepcion's actions and decide whether there is a more perfect example of individual focus, consistency and responsibility.

STOP BY AND WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY (even belatedly). If she's not there, wait. She'll be back.

Sincerely,
W. Thomas

Happy Birthday,
Connie
Love, Thomas 1/15/96

Concepcion Information List | Conchita Personal Story
Photographs | The President's Neighbor