At PNC Bank headquarters, Pittsburgh community members joined together on the 76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima to commemorate the 150,000 civilians who were murdered by the U.S. government. Demonstrators participated in a die-in to protest nuclear weapons with the Stop Banking the Bomb campaign to show the devastating effects of war and weapons that could annihilate the world.
Powerful speakers demanded that PNC Bank be held accountable and fund our local community, rather than wars. “PNC markets itself as a philanthropic leader, but we say they need to fulfill this commitment and divest from nuclear weapons. This poses a grave existential threat to all of humanity.” said Steph, from Party for Socialism and Liberation. “Once again, COVID is surging. The Delta variant is spreading throughout the U.S. At the same time, the federal government is undergoing a nuclear posture review, in which they plan to modernize nuclear weapons and over the next few years invest billions of dollars. So, while they are saying ‘no money for housing,’ they are saying ‘unlimited money for war.’ This fight against nuclear weapons and war and for housing and food security are all one in the same.”
“[The attack on Hiroshima] was not an ordinary act of war. These were civilians — men, women, and children — who were wiped out and evaporated that day by the use of the first nuclear weapon. It was the greatest crime, for which we have never heard an apology from our government or the perpetrators of that crime. Furthermore, in the enormity of this crime, it normalized the killing of citizens, like you and me, who are not part of an army.” said Michael Drohan, from the Pittsburgh Anti-Imperialist League. He continued, “How on Earth can a bank, which calls itself the ‘people’s bank,’ underwrite with our dollars this madness which is the nuclear establishment? So, let us strengthen our voices today, let this not be one off, and let us continue this struggle for the abolition of nuclear weapons here in the U.S. and all over the world.”
“I continue to hold in my heart the longing of the people of our time, especially young people, who thirst and make sacrifices for peace. I carry, too, the cry of the poor, who are always the first victims of conflict. It has never been clearer that for peace to flourish, all people need to lay down the weapons of war,” said Joyce Rothermel, from the Pittsburgh Association of Priests and the Stop Banking the Bomb Campaign.
Anti-imperialism and working-class solidarity songs filled the air, while several people laid down in front of PNC Tower in downtown Pittsburgh to have their bodies outlined with chalk by those in hazmat suits to display the magnitude of PNC’s crimes. Big-wigs stood outside with cops waiting with dogs, even though half of the protesters were elderly, disabled, or both. The body outlines were left in chalk on the sidewalk with phrases like, “PNC killed me.” The CEOs forced workers to immediately wash the evidence away, while they stood there and watched employees take scrub brushes and water to hide their misdeeds.
PNC Bank continues to invest billions of dollars in nuclear weapons manufacturing. The pressure is on until PNC gives up its dedication to weapons of mass destruction.
