Laying in bed and writing peace signs with the wife? Now that's my kind of protest.
Though I suppose John Lennon and Yoko Ono deserve some credit for their "bed-in" slacktivism. After witnessing the media spectacle over their wedding, the couple decided to turn their honeymoon into a call for world peace, inviting cameras into their hotel rooms from 9 am to 9 pm for every day of their stay.
“We sent out a card: ‘Come to John and Yoko’s honeymoon: a bed-in, Amsterdam Hotel.’ You should have seen the faces on the reporters and the cameramen fighting their way through the door!" recalled Lennon in Anthology.
"There were we like two angels in bed, with flowers all around us, and peace and love on our heads. We were fully clothed; the bed was just an accessory. We were wearing pajamas, but they don’t look much different from day clothes – nothing showing.”
Despite the positive message, some critics derided the bed-in as a publicity stunt while others scoffed at the tongue-in-cheek tone, calling it a mockery of true activism.
Clearly chastened, the following Christmas the couple chose a slightly more subtle approach: billboards in 11 major cities around the world reading "WAR IS OVER! If You Want It - Happy Christmas From John and Yoko".
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