Joey Skaggs and Santa’s Missile Tow 1 Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Nov 13 2012

Location: 

New York NY

On November 13, 2012, Joey Skaggs dressed up as Santa Claus and rode a three-wheeler to the United Nations in New York, NY. Skaggs’ bike was equipped with a fake mobile rocket launcher and a sign that read “ Peace on earth, or else!” A group of elves also accompanied Santa to the UN, and they alternated between handing out green toy soldiers to bystanders and singing their altered version of Jingle Bells, as seen below:

Lyrics:
Jingle bells, we're going to Hell, burning all the way
Oh what fun it is to die, in a fiery nuclear way, Hey!
Jingle bells, we're going to Hell, Burning all the way
Oh what fun it is to die in a fiery nuclear way
Burning through our skin, in a thousand degree heat
Melting the bones of kin, from their heads down to their feet,
Ha Ha Ha!
Every nation must have one, to have atomic fun
From North Korea to Pakistan, there's nowhere you can run, oh!
Jingle bells, let's go to Hell, from our foolish way
All will die, both you and I, leaving piles of ashy grey.

Skaggs’ "missile tow" caught the attention of UN employees, tourists, and media outlets alike, especially once “Santa” and his anti-nuclear elves lead a procession to Times Square. According to Skaggs, the purpose of his "missile tow" was to make people think twice about the potential of nuclear annihilation. He said “Unless we do something to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons, which is totally out of control, from Iran to North Korea to sleeper cells hiding in plain sight all over the world, there will be large scale public annihilation somewhere, some time soon.”

Prior to this event, Skaggs mailed hundreds of announcements to UN diplomats and their media representatives. The announcements were disguised as Christmas cards, and an image can be seen below.

Posted by jng280@nyu.edu on