The Littlest Protester

Since they stood at only about two-and-a-half feet tall, a handful of three-year-olds assembled in front of a Bronx congressman’s office were having a difficult time getting their construction paper leaves on their 12 foot-tall “Tree of Peace.” So,they just handed the glittery cutouts to their peacenik parents.

The May 30 protest against the war in Iraq drew a small group of moms, dads and toddlers from a classroom at AmalgamatedNursery School to the district office doorstep of Congressman Eliot Engel (D-Bronx/Westchester/Rockland). The handmade tree, crafted by 17 children during pre-school class time, was a statement against American troops remaining in Iraq, and a call to pursue peaceful paths to end all world conflicts. This gift, however, seemed more like a Trojan horse, designed to gain an invitation inside so that the children’s far-left leaning parents could rail against the war and the congressman’s initial vote in support of it.

So what exactly do these miniature protesters know about the war in Iraq?

“They know that we’re bringing it to encourage this person to help make a peaceful solution for this world,” said Valerie Coleman-Palansky, the teacher who organized this project and mother of two tiny participants.

But is it appropriate for three-year-olds to protest war?

“I think it’s appropriate for three-year-olds to know that the world needs to be a peaceful place for everybody to live in and a safe place for everybody to live in,” Coleman-Palansky said.

The parents explained that similar to the way children are taught in school to “use their words” as opposed to striking another child over a snack, the government should navigate every global conflict with this cookies-and-milk diplomacy.

“You don’t first use your words and then say, ‘Aw, we gave it a shot.’ You know there’s no alternative to using your words for as long as it takes,’ said Ira Coleman-Palansky. “Negotiate with your friend, your neighbor. You’ve got to do it. It’s the only solution that’s acceptable in school, the only solution acceptable on the street here and it needs to be the only solution that’s acceptable even more so for something like the conflict in Iraq.”

The mini anti-war advocates sung “It’s a Small World,” and then were invited into the congressman’s conference room, where they fidgeted in their chairs and at one point crawled underneath the table. The tiny protesters, of course, didn’t really grasp the reason for their presence.  Before entering the office, when asked about the war, one of the tots, three-year-old Freida (last name redacted), twirled her blond locks and ran off to play with her friends. Another preschooler, three-year-old Josiah (last name redacted), couldn’t answer an inquiry about the importance of peace, even as his mother attempted to guide him.

Although the City’s youngest (and maybe most antsy) protesters had to leave the congressman’s conference room to stay with a parent outside while the adults held a more mature discussion, at the conclusion of the impromptu meeting Congressman Engel’s chief-of-staff gave the kiddies something more age-appropriate: a black and white outline of the Capital building, just begging to be colored.

Their parents will probably draw in some anti-war signs in the background.