THOMAS: A MAN OF PRINCIPLE FINAL PAPER
by Joe Tanzi
for Independent Studies Prof. Onuf,
American University
December 4, 1985
Thomas -
I'm graduating from A.U. (the American University) on Sunday,
May 18, 1986, 2pm, DAR Constitution Hall, 18th & D Streets.
Hope to see you there. My whole family & friends will
be there. Hope you will be there too. Sincerely - Joe
William Thomas, better known as Thomas, and Concepcion
Picciotto have been in and out of court and jail since they began
their 24-Hour Anti-Nuclear Vigil on June 3, 1981. They have been
before a judge several times due to violations of conduct regarding
local protest statutes and Department of Interior (DOI) regulations,
but Thomas and Concepcion's latest battle could be their last.
Not many realize the importance of their latest law suit against
the government.
The law suit deals with two separate issues. Thomas has
sued under the Civil Rights Act Title 42, Section 1983 and Section
1985. Section 1983 protects individuals from being deprived of
their rights or privileges, whether it be due to color, regulation,
custom, tradition or ritual. Section 1985 deals with the act of
conspiracy in attempting to deprive such
guaranteed civil rights (The list of defendants Thomas has charged
can be found in Appendix A.)
Since the first report (written
December, 1981) a lot has transpired, both positive and negative.
One individual who affected Thomas tremendously was Norman
Mayer. Thomas viewed Norman,
" ...as a clearsighted, committed, dedicated individual,
who did what he could to communicate his view of reality to his
fellow human beings. Who, it seems to me or seemed to me at the
time, are more concerned with rather mundane and unim portant
issues to give any time to..."
Thomas firmly believes in Norman's 10 Laws of Reality.
They are the key to understanding Thomas' and Norman's philosophy.
(Norman's 10 Laws of Reality can be found in Appendix B.)
Unfortunately, Norman is dead as a result of his threat
to destroy the Washington Monument. He announced that he had explosives
attached to himself and that he would destroy; the monument, if
the press refused to devote at least 50% of their time to covering
the problem of nuclear weapons. A team of Park Police sharpshooters
killed him.
Were the Park Police justified? No, Thomas stated because
there was no proof the explosives did exist, According to Thomas,
Norman did not have any explosives. Asked if Norman's act was
an act of terrorism and if he was permitted to get the attention
he desired would it not encourage other to do the same, thereby
starting "a wave of terrorism?" Thomas replied,
"Norman's 7th Law of Reality said, 'When men are
inconfrontation, they psually do foolish regretable things. Men
with megaton weapons in confrontation will do foolish regrettable
things, finality... Norman was engineering a teaching situation
for the purpose of illustrating the validity of the 7th Law of
Reality."
What really irritated Thomas was that the Park Police were
awarded citations for having shot someone, "... who was no
threat and thereby made a mistake." He believes shooting
people is never justified nor does he believe in threatening destruction.
He believes that Norman thought the same.
"...It was out of character for him, but that
it was strikingly in character for the people that he was trying
to communicate with. The main policy of this government in regard
to the Soviet Union is the threat to':'blow it up.' It seems to
me that Norman had] stepped out of his normal role as a sane and
rational individual and temporarily assumed the role of the President
and Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Pentagon."
A major disappointment was the manner in which the media
reported the situation. The most comprehensive article was written
by Blane Harding for The Washington Post. Harding spent several
hours over 8 period of several days talking with Thomas about
Norman. Thomas gave him Norman's literature and explained Norman's
philosophy. Thomas referred him to a close friend of Norman's,
Jack Bauer, who resides in Florida, The reporter talked to Bauer,
but when the article was printed both, Thomas and Bauer, were
unhappy. Norman's character and philosophy were not explained.
According to Thomas, the article distorted some of the information.
The article was written strictly from the reporter's simplistic
·view. Thomas summed it up easily, "Here's a wanderer
who suddenly got concerned about nuclear weapons and became extreme
when he felt nobody was taking him seriously."
Why is Norman so important to Thomas? It was not that he
altered Thomas' philosophy. It was the importance of Noman's meaningful
conversations, which according to Thomas, "...is an experience
I am not accustomed to . People don't carry meaningful conversations
in my opinion. I was impressed by Norman as being a very wise
and honest person." Norman is also extremely important to
Thomas because when times are rough, which is often the case,
Thomas thinks of what Norman said. Norman told Thomas as long
as there were nuclear weapons in existence the 24-Hour Vigil should
be in existence. That is the basic idea that is perpetuating The
Vigil.
Another person who inspires Thomas is his wife, Ellen.
They have been married almost two years. They were married by.
a member of the Quaker Marriage Committee. He came to Lafayette
Park. They married themselves by saying their own vows and the
committee representative signed the marriage certificate. Ellen
thinks just like Thomas, according to Thomas. Thomas and Ellen
do not seem to have any problems because they "...seem to
see things the same way." Thomas did say in a confessing
tone, he found it diffichlt treating everyone the same. He has
a tendency to want to be with her than with others. He views this
as a weakness "...a problem with principles." He tries
not to side with her too much.
Unfortunately, Thomas and Concepcion's close working relationship
has deteriorated quite considerably. Thomas does not even sit
near Concepcion's table. Thomas claims, "Concepcion can't
get along with Ellen. I think she can, but she refuses to.. She
accuses Ellen of being a C.I.A. agent. She accuses Ellen of being
only interested in publicity."
But Concepcion should be praised for having maintained
her table alone. She should be admired for her tenacity and fortitude.
She feels that Thomas and her have been through so much abuse
since the very beginning, i.e., the police beatings and arrests.
She feels as though Thomas has forgotten what they both endured.
Basically, she feels betrayed.
In the beginning, Thomas and Concepcion were located in
front of the White House on t·he sidewalk. After many encounters
with the police they were told they could no longer stay there
24 hours a day. Instead, they would have to move all their signs
and possessions before night, which they did. They even put their
large signs on wheels to make them easier to transport, but both
were still harassed by police.
Having 'reached his limit,' Thomas set one sign ablaze
because each police unit told him he could not leave it in their
jurisdiction. Their ultimate goal was to confiscate the sign like
they had so many times previously. Rather than the police seizing
it he decided it should be destroyed. Thomas believes a sign is
suppose to communicate a message and if it can not be seen it
no longer has a purpose. Of course, Thomas went to court because
of this incident.
New regulations were issued about protesting in front of
the White House, regarding fire and distance from the fence. The
Moonies held a demonstration in front of the White House to protest
the Soviet's shooting down the Korean passenger airline. By burning
in effigy the late Soviet Premier Andropov_and their standing
so close to the fence, they violated the new regulations, but
according to Thomas no one was arrested. The Committee for Creative
Non-Violence (CCNV) aided Thomas by pitching tents across the
street in Lafayette Park (a:national park), but the court ordered
them to dismantle the tents since the Park does not have camping
facilities. The tents hadbeen' used to protect the Vigil's property,
house the volunteers and. the homeless. Next, Thomas and Concepcion
were forced to move across the street on the Park side of Pennsylvania
Avenue. This occurred on July 19, 1983. They are only permitted
to be on the sidewalk. They are still here to this day, but their
days may.soon be numbered. They could soon be going to jail, if
they should lose the court battle. They do not plan an stopping
their 24-Hour Vigil until their job is done. There is no sleeping
whatsoever, because that is considered to be 'camping.' They can
be arrested for taking 'naps.' An interesting fact which Thomas
cited was the 24-Hour Vietnam Missing In Action (MIA) Vigil. It
has been in existence since Christmas, 1982. It is operated by
war veterans who are attempting to get as much support as possible
for the search of Vietnam MIAs. It is obvious that they have be
camping out because their equipment is out in the open. Their
vigil is on a national park near Constitution Avenue and the Vietnam
Memorial. They are governed by the same regulations, but Thomas
has yet to hear of any arrests.
The legal battle has not been easy for Thomas. He has had
his legal paper work thrown out of court by a judge. It was in
Judge Oberdorfer's opinion that Thomas' complaint was "inartfully
drafted." The judge ordered him to get a lawyer. The lawyer
was from the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.). The lawyer
needed time so the status hearing was postponed.
Has Thomas found the A.C.L.U. to be cooperative? No, there
are deep ideological "rifts" between them. Thomas does
not believe in 'the system' whereas the A.C.L.U. believes 'the
system' is fine and "...needs an occasional 'fine tuning."'
Thomas does not believe in national boundaries or money..They
do. Does he give them a hard time? "I don't think so. I never
screamed at them."
"I feel they're not doing a good job. I feel they
are doing their job as best as they see fit. I think they don't
have a clear perspective of what needs to be done. Their always
in a rush. They don't have time to sit down and discuss things.
They've always got meetings to attend or court hearings or research
to do, so they don't have two hours or three hours to sit down
with me to understand where I'm coming from. They don't seem to
be notably fond of criticism."
The most honest appraisal of the situation was from a lawyer
He told the lawyer that he seemed tb have problems with attorneys,
deep rooted ideological differences. The attorney replied very
simply, "Yes, that's understandable you're a philosopher.
You're interested in truth. We're in this for the money."
Thomas does not think that he should have been forced to
have an attorney draw up the complaint. His legal complaint that
he "inartfully drafted" was correct in the areas of
spelling, grammar and structure. He suggested if that draft did
not meet the judge's specifications why did not the judge tell
him what needed to be corrected? When asked if he thought the
judge wanted to spend the time to explain to him what or how it
should be written? He replied, "I'm wondering is he interested
in justice?"
So he is forced to go to the lawyers and all the lawyers
want money. Thomas concludes,
"Freedom is money in this country. Justice is
money in this country. Equality is justice. Equality is money
in this country. Everything is money. There are no ideals. We
are not an idealistic nation. We have no concern with freedom,
justice or equality. Our only concerns are with money."
The hospitality of the group has not changed. They are
friendlier and as thoughtful as ever. While interviewing.Thomas,
Concepcion offered some leftover Armand's pizza, but it did not
look too appetizing. From which dynasty did it originate? In all
seriousness, they could not have been more hospitable.
What are Thomas' immediate goals? (See Appendix C: .Writ
of Mandamus.) What are his long term goals? Educate the public
to immediate threat of a nuclear holocaust, thereby putting pressure
on the government to eliminate all nuclear weapons. Educate the
public about 'the system' and the need for a nonviolent revolution
to end the present money oriented system. He believes the economic
system is not reality.
"It is a reality substitute.. It's a false reality.
It doesn't have anything to do with elements...I think the only
way that we can pos- sibly change things, because violence, revolution
is not going change things. It's only going to put a new name
on it, a new person in the driver's seat. The only way we can
really change things is to stop supporting what's going on, to
wait for a non-violent revolution."
Has Thomas 'veered off' since December, 1981? No, he prefers
to be with Ellen more than others, but according to him he even
feels stronger about the movement, but yet talking with him it
is obvious he has 'mellowed out' a bit. This he does not like
to admit, but would not deny. He attributes his mellowness to
his wife, Ellen, who has approached the movement "with a
lot of gusto." Ellen does seem to be a very outspoken person
after witnessing her deal with people.
Does he think the public's attitude has changed since he
started? Yes, unquestionably! They are more concerned with the
issue of nuclear weapons. Before he would hear, "You're totally
out of touch with society.' 'People will never use nuclear weapons.'
'Its only the threat to use them.' Now he rarely hears that argument.
"Almost everyone seems to view nuclear war as if not inevitable
quite likely, and people who did not seem to consider it much
of a problem before, now seem to be considering it a problem."
People are now stating the ideas of Norman Mayer. The same
people would have never
talked to Norman while he was alive. He cited an example,
Randall Forsberg, Carl Sagan and other scientists last fall held
a one night vigil. They gave speeches, "...and it seemed
like they were reading from Norman's literature." He does
not consider it plagiarizing. It just took them a little longer
to come to the same realizations."
Even though there has been a rise in nationalism, the nationalists
are no longer calling him 'a nut,' because they realize the inevitability
of a nuclear war. They seem.to be prepared to accept the consequences
of a nuclear war, in order to protect 'Old Glory' or whatever
they want to protect.
Thomas is not against the nuclear peace talks. If they
really wanted to eliminate nuclear weapons, they would have expedited
the matter already. The current logic is,,"Yes, we think
that nuclear weapons are terrible and we want to get rid of them
and we've decided the best way to get rid of them is to build
more of them."
Parallel to that line of logic is an editorial that appeared
in The Washington Post. (Thomas read it aloud.) It was written
by Walter Stossel, Jr., Chairman of the Chemical Warfare Review
Commission, who had prepared a report for the President and Congress.
The editorial stated that after studying the present state of
chemical warfare and all the issues around it for a period of
three months with seven distinguished Americans, he came to the
conclusion, "...that the achievement of the ultimate goal
of the verifiable ban on nuclear warfare and its weapons can`be
increased only if we commit to modernize our inadequate and deteriorating
stockpiles." Thomas does not think this is a rational nor
intelligent suggestion.
Thomas is now not only concerned with nuclear weapons destroying
the world, but the government destroying the Vigil. The government
bs attempting to terminate Vigil by creating even more rigid regulations
in regards to protesting in national parks. This past August 20,
the Park Service decided to end the "dump-like atmosphere"
in Lafayette Park. They are attempting to limit the number and
size of posters. They are attempting to regulate the legal distance
a protester may travel from his or her sign before it is considered
"abandoned" and can be confiscated. (Detailed information
on proposed regulations can be found in Appendix D: "American
Freedom Alarm.")
It is easy to dismiss Thomas, Concepcion, Ellen and others,
labeling them as 'obsessed loonies,' 'paranoid crackpots,' who
are suing the government on the grounds of "conspiracy!"
'Get serious!' It is easy to ignore them. It takes time to listen
and read their material. ^One may not agree with their philosophy,
but the important issue is the survival of the 24-Hour Anti-Nuclear
Vigil and their guaranteed rights of freedom of the press and
of speech, along with their civil rights. All of which are threatened
due to the current administration's desire to silence a very successful
and effective Vigil. They have been violating the Vigil's civil
and constitutional rights consistently, but this court case is
quite crucial since it will be establishing the regulations effecting
future protests and demonstrations with regard to Lafayette Park
and could possibly serve as a precedent for all national parks.
One never knows. It is hard to believe that civil and constitutional
rights have been and continue to be violated, especially, in front
of the White House. Best of luck to Thomas; Concepcion, Ellen
and other Vigil people in winning the court case. Give 'em hell!
Peace Park | Reopen
Pennsylvania Avenue
Proposition One | Current
Events