By GZ Vigileer Mack Johnson
(Featured Photo caption: Phil Davis, Sue Ablao, Mack Johnson, Scooby, and Lisa Johnson vigil against nukes at Bangor main gate. In the background is “Mitch’ Mitchell, Bangor security chief, who Ground Zero works closely with before our actions. Photos by Mary Gleysteen)
With stay-at-home orders limiting Ground Zero’s typical education and action at the Ground Zero Center on Mother’s Day weekend, some people found a way to get the message out that abolishing nukes needs our attention even during a pandemic. 
After the excellent webinar presented by Lily Adams of the Union of Concerned Scientists, five GZ locals made our way separately to the main gate. Our notification to security forces stated that we would not have any gathering of people, would social distance and use masks, and would not try to leaflet or risk arrest. We kept vigil for an hour before the heat wave called us all back into the shade.
We carried GZ signs saying “Abolish Nuclear Weapons” and “Our Children Deserve Better”, and handmade messages stati
ng “This Mask Won’t Protect Us from Nuclear Weapons” and “De-Fund Nukes, not the Post Office!” Traffic was light but we got more waves than fingers, so to speak. One person called out out to us, “I hate the Navy too!” Hmm, he got the wrong idea! We’ll have to make a sign that reads, “We Hate Nukes, not the Navy”. That should clear things up….
I felt a heavy sense of irony wearing a cloth mask so near to these incredibly powerful instruments of death. I found myself thinking today that if a virus can disrupt the world so much, a nuclear detonation or exchange must be infinitely worse.
It was good to see friends/activists for a brief time. Our local impact was small, but I felt we represented the whole world when we found a way to “COVIDgil”.
