The "Granny 7," the seven intrepid women of the Granny Peace Brigade who were arrested and jailed on March 18, 2009, when they protested at the Times Square recruiting station against the Afghanistan war escalation and the retention of 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal date, achieved a victory April 14 for the First Amendment principle protecting peaceful protest.
At a court appearance at Manhattan Community Court, it was declared that the City of New York "declined to prosecute." It would seem that the decision was influenced by the arrest of 18 Granny Peace Brigade members on Oct. 17, 2005, when they tried to enlist at the Times Square recruiting center to replace America's grandchildren in harm's way in Iraq. Those grannies were put on trial for six days in criminal court at the end of which they were acquitted. The resultant world-wide publicity did nothing to polish the image of the Big Apple -- photographs and television footage of old women being handcuffed and poured into paddy wagons for non-violent protest tended to make New York's Finest look more like New York's Meanest.
One can logically assume that the decision of the D.A.'s office not to prosecute on April 14 indicates a less punitive stance by the authorities toward peaceful dissent, a First Amendment privilege. It is hoped that this is indicative of a softer policy of New York City to public protest. Non-violent demonstrators during the last few years have met with harsh treatment, most notably at the Republican convention of 2004 when many were incarcerated for up to two days in a dirty old pier with no sleeping facilities. Prisoners had to sleep and sit on a filthy and oil-stained cement floor and were given hardly any food. Compensation has been paid to some as a result of lawsuits lodged against the City, and many cases are still pending.
The seven grannies are Jenny Heinz, 65; Beverly Rice, 70; Joan Pleune, 70 (one of the original Freedom Riders); Barbara Walker, 75; Nydia Leaf, 76; Carol Husten, 77, and Lillian Lifflander, 89 (a World War II veteran). Ms. Lifflander was unable to make the court appearance because she was admitted to a V.A. hospital with chest pains the night before.
Once the decision was announced, the Granny Peace Brigade marched down Broadway to the Times Square recruitment center, the scene of both their arrests, and briefly demonstrated, again putting a strip of yellow crime scene tape in front of the military building. They vowed to continue their struggle to persuade President Obama to reverse his Iraq and Afghan policies. The grannies mostly have been enthusiastic supporters of the President, but feel he is making a tragic mistake . "We are doing what he asked us to do -- to let him know when we think he is off on the wrong track," said one of the women.
The eminent civil liberties attorney, Norman Siegel, who represented the grandmothers in both the 2006 trial and the current case, stated: "These grannies are women of conscience. They acted in the great American tradition of peaceful non-violence. They protested our government's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. They should be applauded."
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
BREAKING GRANNY'S HEART
I poured my hopes into you, Barack. I gave and gave from my limited fixed senior income to you. I hate calling strangers, but I did -- in Ohio and Pennsylvania, saying over and over that you would bring peace, that you would restore our good name throughout the world. I wrung my hands through the Hillary attacks, publishing satirical articles, songs and one-acts on the Internet to humiliate her. Oh, my God, the stress of those months as the polls undulated up and down. It's a wonder I didn't have a stroke.
And, then, Hallelujah, you did it. I rejoiced in your victory and thrilled at your inauguration. Your own grandmother couldn't have been more proud and joyful than I was.
I was sure you would be different than the other, and at last would end the war in Iraq. You said you would and I believed you. Although you did say that by going into Iraq we took our eye off Afghanistan, I was confident that you would manage that issue peacefully,so that we would extricate ourselves quickly from that potential quagmire as well. I was so happy to think that the world would respect us again and I wouldn't have to hang my head in shame any longer.
Then, you spoke of sending more troops to Afghanistan, but I assumed you were testing the waters, trying to accommodate the war heads, but would in short order change course, pull out and bring them home. How could you do otherwise? You were my beloved hero, a man of peace. I started petitions designed to urge you to re-think your policies in the Middle East, but in a respectful way, certain that you were just waiting for a ground swell so you could justifiably change direction.
One day recently, I read that you had ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan and were retaining 50,000 in Iraq even after the official withdrawal. That was possibly the biggest heartbreak I'd experienced since my first love dumped me unceremoniously. Reluctantly, I helped organize a Granny Peace Brigade protest at the Times Square recruiting center. Some of us old ladies got arrested. Still, I thought that in the end you would do the right thing.
Today, you ordered more troops to Afghanistan. Don't you realize what you've done? Don't you see the destruction, the horrors such an action will cause? How is it you, of all people, can't realize that only diplomacy and humanitarian aid, not weapons, can resolve the crisis of terrorism?
You have broken my heart, Barack. Disillusionment happens all through life, so I should be used to it by now. But, this one hurts so bad.
WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO YOUR GRANNY?
And, then, Hallelujah, you did it. I rejoiced in your victory and thrilled at your inauguration. Your own grandmother couldn't have been more proud and joyful than I was.
I was sure you would be different than the other, and at last would end the war in Iraq. You said you would and I believed you. Although you did say that by going into Iraq we took our eye off Afghanistan, I was confident that you would manage that issue peacefully,so that we would extricate ourselves quickly from that potential quagmire as well. I was so happy to think that the world would respect us again and I wouldn't have to hang my head in shame any longer.
Then, you spoke of sending more troops to Afghanistan, but I assumed you were testing the waters, trying to accommodate the war heads, but would in short order change course, pull out and bring them home. How could you do otherwise? You were my beloved hero, a man of peace. I started petitions designed to urge you to re-think your policies in the Middle East, but in a respectful way, certain that you were just waiting for a ground swell so you could justifiably change direction.
One day recently, I read that you had ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan and were retaining 50,000 in Iraq even after the official withdrawal. That was possibly the biggest heartbreak I'd experienced since my first love dumped me unceremoniously. Reluctantly, I helped organize a Granny Peace Brigade protest at the Times Square recruiting center. Some of us old ladies got arrested. Still, I thought that in the end you would do the right thing.
Today, you ordered more troops to Afghanistan. Don't you realize what you've done? Don't you see the destruction, the horrors such an action will cause? How is it you, of all people, can't realize that only diplomacy and humanitarian aid, not weapons, can resolve the crisis of terrorism?
You have broken my heart, Barack. Disillusionment happens all through life, so I should be used to it by now. But, this one hurts so bad.
WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO YOUR GRANNY?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
PEACE GRANNIES ARRESTED
Relax, everyone! The New York City police are solidly on the job these days. With rapists, murderers, bank robbers and dope peddlers, not to mention corporate thieves, rampant throughout the City, they made a significant dent in the crime statistics yesterday, March 18, when they arrested seven grandmothers aged 67 to 90 in Times Square.
The grannies, all members of the Granny Peace Brigade, were sent to jail while protesting at the Times Square recruiting station. Their arrest occurred during what is believed to be the first antiwar protest of the Obama Administration, in an attempt to urge the President to reconsider his decision to retain 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal scheduled to be completed in the next 18 months and his order for 17,000 more troops sent to Afghanistan. The women feel strongly that these measures will only result in increased death and destruction for Americans, Iraqis and Afghanis and further solidify anti-American feeling throughout the world. Said 94-year-old Brigadier Marie Runyon, "Peace can only be achieved through diplomacy and humanitarian aid." The Granny Peace Brigade women are mostly strong supporters of Barack Obama but were responding to his request that his constituency pressure him to do the right thing when they feel he is on the wrong path.
The Brigade is not new to demonstrating at the Times Square recruiting station -- eighteen of the grannies were arrested and jailed on Oct. 17, 2005, when they attempted to enlist in the military to replace America's grandchildren in harm's way in Iraq. After a six-day trial in criminal court, they were acquitted.
The seven grannies were arrested at approximately 1:45 p.m. and taken to the Midtown South police precinct. They were not all released until early the next morning, a total of approximately 12 hours. Some of them became shaky and weak after many hours of not eating, but were given no food for another hour and a half.
Prior to the arrest, about 50 grannies and their supporters gathered on Military Island at which a press conference was held including speeches by mayoral candidate Rev. Billy, legendary Broadway actress and activist Vinie Burrows (one of the original 18 granny jailbirds), and a young member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Matthis Chiroux. A sister group, the Raging Grannies, performed some of their original anti-war songs.
During the press conference, grandmothers wrapped yellow police crime scene tape around the ramp near the recruiting center, after which a group, some in wheelchairs and hanging on to walkers, assembled on the ramp leading to the center.
The team of Norman Siegel and Earl Ward, who successfully defended the grannies in 2005, will represent them in their current case, for which the grandmothers are profoundly grateful. Siegel, currently a candidate for New York City Public Advocate, is a favorite of the ladies for his continuous support of them.
The grannies, all members of the Granny Peace Brigade, were sent to jail while protesting at the Times Square recruiting station. Their arrest occurred during what is believed to be the first antiwar protest of the Obama Administration, in an attempt to urge the President to reconsider his decision to retain 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal scheduled to be completed in the next 18 months and his order for 17,000 more troops sent to Afghanistan. The women feel strongly that these measures will only result in increased death and destruction for Americans, Iraqis and Afghanis and further solidify anti-American feeling throughout the world. Said 94-year-old Brigadier Marie Runyon, "Peace can only be achieved through diplomacy and humanitarian aid." The Granny Peace Brigade women are mostly strong supporters of Barack Obama but were responding to his request that his constituency pressure him to do the right thing when they feel he is on the wrong path.
The Brigade is not new to demonstrating at the Times Square recruiting station -- eighteen of the grannies were arrested and jailed on Oct. 17, 2005, when they attempted to enlist in the military to replace America's grandchildren in harm's way in Iraq. After a six-day trial in criminal court, they were acquitted.
The seven grannies were arrested at approximately 1:45 p.m. and taken to the Midtown South police precinct. They were not all released until early the next morning, a total of approximately 12 hours. Some of them became shaky and weak after many hours of not eating, but were given no food for another hour and a half.
Prior to the arrest, about 50 grannies and their supporters gathered on Military Island at which a press conference was held including speeches by mayoral candidate Rev. Billy, legendary Broadway actress and activist Vinie Burrows (one of the original 18 granny jailbirds), and a young member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Matthis Chiroux. A sister group, the Raging Grannies, performed some of their original anti-war songs.
During the press conference, grandmothers wrapped yellow police crime scene tape around the ramp near the recruiting center, after which a group, some in wheelchairs and hanging on to walkers, assembled on the ramp leading to the center.
The team of Norman Siegel and Earl Ward, who successfully defended the grannies in 2005, will represent them in their current case, for which the grandmothers are profoundly grateful. Siegel, currently a candidate for New York City Public Advocate, is a favorite of the ladies for his continuous support of them.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
GRANNY PROTEST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Joan Wile, 917-441-0651
GRANNIES TO RAISE CANE(S) AND CONCERNS 3-18
ABOUT OBAMA'S IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN POLICIES
Their Theme: Pack up Iraq, and Afghanistan Not Againistan
The indefatigable GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE is again in the forefront of the peace movement. They will hold the FIRST public anti-war protest of the Obama Administration on Wednesday, March 18, 12 o'clock p.m. at the Times Square recruiting center, 44th St. and Broadway. Their mission is to urge President Obama to re-think his policies toward Iraq and Afghanistan. Supporters of the President, they nevertheless feel he is making a mistake by proposing to leave 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal and his order to deploy 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan. "He has requested that we let him know when we think he's on the wrong track, and we are taking him at his word," said 94-year-old former NYS Assemblywoman Marie Runyon, the oldest of the peace grannies.
To express their concerns, the grannies plan to symbolically wrap up the wars by wrapping police CRIME SCENE tape around the recruitment station. Prior to doing so, they will hold a press conference, beginning at noon, to which many actors and local officials have been invited. Among those who have agreed to speak are mayoral candidate Rev. Billy; actress Kim Weston-Moran, a star of the new off-Broadway hit, The Lonely Soldier Monologues (Women at War in Iraq); civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel; Broadway and off-Broadway legendary actress Vinie Burrows, and chaplain and Vietnam vet Hugh Bruce, a leader of the local Veterans for Peace chapter.
The GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE has chosen the Times Square location because of its historical importance to them. Eighteen of them were arrested there on Oct. 17, 2005, when they tried to enlist to replace America's grandchildren in harm's way and later were on trial for six days in criminal court at the end of which they were acquitted of all charges. Since then, they have acted as missionaries of peace, traveling in the United States and abroad speaking, performing, protesting and writing of their desire to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The grandmothers will be joined by other granny peace groups -- Grandmothers Against the War, who have held a weekly vigil at Rockefeller Center for over five years, and the Raging Grannies, who will sing a couple of their original anti-war songs. Members of Veterans for Peace will serve as a color guard for the event.
GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE jailbird Eva-Lee Baird explained, "The merchants of war are putting tremendous pressure on President Obama to lead the country down a path of destruction. We the people must pressure him to choose the path of peace."
DATE: Wed., March 18, RAIN OR SHINE
TIME: 12 o'clock noon
PLACE: Times Square recruiting center, 44th St. and Broadway
CONTACT: Joan Wile, 917-441-0651
GRANNIES TO RAISE CANE(S) AND CONCERNS 3-18
ABOUT OBAMA'S IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN POLICIES
Their Theme: Pack up Iraq, and Afghanistan Not Againistan
The indefatigable GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE is again in the forefront of the peace movement. They will hold the FIRST public anti-war protest of the Obama Administration on Wednesday, March 18, 12 o'clock p.m. at the Times Square recruiting center, 44th St. and Broadway. Their mission is to urge President Obama to re-think his policies toward Iraq and Afghanistan. Supporters of the President, they nevertheless feel he is making a mistake by proposing to leave 50,000 troops in Iraq after the official withdrawal and his order to deploy 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan. "He has requested that we let him know when we think he's on the wrong track, and we are taking him at his word," said 94-year-old former NYS Assemblywoman Marie Runyon, the oldest of the peace grannies.
To express their concerns, the grannies plan to symbolically wrap up the wars by wrapping police CRIME SCENE tape around the recruitment station. Prior to doing so, they will hold a press conference, beginning at noon, to which many actors and local officials have been invited. Among those who have agreed to speak are mayoral candidate Rev. Billy; actress Kim Weston-Moran, a star of the new off-Broadway hit, The Lonely Soldier Monologues (Women at War in Iraq); civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel; Broadway and off-Broadway legendary actress Vinie Burrows, and chaplain and Vietnam vet Hugh Bruce, a leader of the local Veterans for Peace chapter.
The GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE has chosen the Times Square location because of its historical importance to them. Eighteen of them were arrested there on Oct. 17, 2005, when they tried to enlist to replace America's grandchildren in harm's way and later were on trial for six days in criminal court at the end of which they were acquitted of all charges. Since then, they have acted as missionaries of peace, traveling in the United States and abroad speaking, performing, protesting and writing of their desire to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The grandmothers will be joined by other granny peace groups -- Grandmothers Against the War, who have held a weekly vigil at Rockefeller Center for over five years, and the Raging Grannies, who will sing a couple of their original anti-war songs. Members of Veterans for Peace will serve as a color guard for the event.
GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE jailbird Eva-Lee Baird explained, "The merchants of war are putting tremendous pressure on President Obama to lead the country down a path of destruction. We the people must pressure him to choose the path of peace."
DATE: Wed., March 18, RAIN OR SHINE
TIME: 12 o'clock noon
PLACE: Times Square recruiting center, 44th St. and Broadway
Friday, March 6, 2009
A PROGRESSIVE GRANDMOTHER SPEAKS HER MIND
by Joan Wile, founder/director, Grandmothers Against the War
and author, "Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press, May 2008 --available at amazon.com and in book stores)
At 77, I'm supposed to have gained a measure of wisdom. But, funny thing
-- I don't feel a bit wiser than I did at, say, 40. I am absolutely certain about maybe a few things -- I know absolutely, for instance, that it is wrong to discriminate against persons because of their color, ethnicity, sexual preference, or religious affiliations. But, it doesn't take wisdom to recognize this -- only humanity.
I should add Republicans to that list, but I can't quite bring myself to do so, because the Republicans (at least the ones who were in power) caused so much harm not only to our nation but to all people across the globe. Of course, they had a lot of help from the Democrats, I can't deny. I could do without some of the religious fundamentalists, too, if truth be told, but that is discriminatory and really not in keeping with my anti-prejudice beliefs. Still, I'd like to see them vanish from our politics. OK, I'm far from being pure in my ethics. Part of old age is, or should be, the ability to see one's failings, always easier to do in retrospect.
I have a few other certainties, but they have not been formulated from wisdom so much as recognizing the obvious. I try to be kind to children, animals, the poor, the sick and disabled, but it didn't require advancing years to assume these attitudes. I've always had them. Of course, the passing of time has given me a greater sense of responsibility so that I can implement these impulses more effectively.
For the last five plus years I have added a new certainty -- I've learned beyond the shadow of a doubt that our invasion of Iraq was wrong, wrong, wrong, and I have devoted a good part of my time and energy to trying to reverse it. I know now that any preemptive war we launch is wrong. This includes Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and all the countries we have threatened, or, in the case of Afghanistan, actually deployed troops and bombers to. Again, I can't claim wisdom in this regard. Any half-way intelligent person of any age can see the futility and the wrong-headedness of our military ventures.
Having been a child during World War 2, I must exclude that from my list of bad wars. Let the historians hash out whether we were justified in entering it -- I will always think we had to fight to eliminate the Nazis from our planet. And, speaking of WW2, I'd like to state how fortunate I've been to be an American. Despite all its flaws and mistakes, the fact is that we civilians here have never suffered as the people of other lands have. I never had to confront bombs destroying my home, my family or myself. Haven't we Americans been lucky, though? True, my beloved stepfather went off to Europe and didn't return -- not because he was killed but because the war did something to his head which prompted him to, well, not come back to my mother and me. A heartbreak, but not anywhere near the pain experienced by the children outside North America whose lives were destroyed by both sides of the conflict. Certainly, I can't erase Hiroshima and Nagasaki from my mind.
My belief that our invasion of Iraq was a horrendous misdeed led me to one of the most gratifying segments of my long life. Since 2003, I have devoted myself to organizing anti-war grandmothers to protest the war. Eventually, I put together Grandmothers Against the War, which began a vigil at Rockefeller Center on January 14, 2004, There were just two of us at first, but gradually we blossomed into a group of anywhere from 20 to 50 people standing on Fifth Avenue every Wednesday afternoon. We are by now something of a tourist attraction, which we don't mind a bit. People from all over the world see us and thereby learn that there is valid opposition to the war. Who can doubt grandmothers, after all? This was particularly important in the earlier years of the occupation when people from abroad often had the misconception that ALL Americans supported Bush's ill-advised attack.
We grannies then took more daring action. Eighteen of us, named the Granny Peace Brigade, decided to try and enlist in the military at the Times Square recruiting station. We were denied entrance, so exercised our constitutional right to non-violent dissent and refused to budge from the site. We were arrested and jailed and then put on trial for six days in criminal court for the ridiculous charge of blocking entrance to the recruitment center, something video footage of the event disproved.
Because of the notoriety we achieved through that incident, we began years of spectacular actions and travels in the U.S. and abroad to spread our message. This made for a fulfilling and adventurous old age for all us grannies, some in their late 80's and 90's. True, we've certainly had much excitement and gratification, but we feel great frustration and sadness, too, in that all our efforts as well as those of so many others have not yet brought America's grandchildren home from the war zones. We earnestly hope that President-elect Obama will rectify this. In that regard, please consider signing my Peace Grandmothers Petition to him requesting that we leave Iraq and Afghanistan now. All are invited to sign, not just grannies.
Peace Grandmothers Out of Iraq and Afghanistan
So, being a progressive grandmother has reaped many rewards in terms of allowing me to lead a productive and interesting life at an age when old women are stereotypically depicted as sitting in their rocking chairs knitting baby blankets and watching continuous soap operas. I tried to get this across in one of the many songs I've written about the grannies (hear it on YouTube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXVAsHtitW0).
GRANNIES, LET'S UNITE
words and music by Joan Wile, ASCAP
I WAS SITTING AROUND WATCHING SOAPSJUST A USELESS OLD SAD SACKBUT THEN I HEARD THOSE REPUBLICAN DOPESSAY WE HAD TO BOMB IRAQ
WELL, I JUMPED UP RIGHT OUT OF MY SEATGOT MY BANNERS AND PEACE SIGNS OUT THEN I HURRIED DOWN TO THE STREET AND STARTED TO YELL AND SHOUT
GRANDMAS, GET OFFA YOUR TUSH
WE'VE GOT TO GO AFTER BUSHLET'S TORMENT THAT LYING JERKWIPE AWAY THAT REPULSIVE SMIRKOH, THEY GAVE US THE PATRIOT ACTWATCH OUR RIGHTS DRIBBLE DOWN THE TUBES SEE OUR CONSTITUTION ATTACKEDLET'S KEEP PESTERING THOSE ARROGANT BOOBS
GRANDMAS, GET OFFA YOUR BUTTS
FIGHT AGAINST THOSE MEDICARE CUTS
DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE WAR
MAKE A STINK THEY CAN'T IGNORE
JUST FORGET YOUR RETIREMENT PURSUITS
AND GET OUT YOUR OLD MARCHING BOOTS
LET’S TELL CONDI, BUSH AND CHENEY
(speak) “YOUR POLICIES REALLY PAIN ME!”
GRANDMAS, GET OFFA YOUR FANNIES
WE NEED MORE FIGHTIN’ GRANNIES
LET’S SHOW ‘EM OUR GREAT GREY POWER
MAKE THOSE EVIL MONSTERS COWER
GRANDMAS, LET’S UNITE
WHILE WE ARE STILL UPRIGHT
LET’S PROTEST THAT PARASITE
WATCH OUT! WE’VE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!
and author, "Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace" (Citadel Press, May 2008 --available at amazon.com and in book stores)
At 77, I'm supposed to have gained a measure of wisdom. But, funny thing
-- I don't feel a bit wiser than I did at, say, 40. I am absolutely certain about maybe a few things -- I know absolutely, for instance, that it is wrong to discriminate against persons because of their color, ethnicity, sexual preference, or religious affiliations. But, it doesn't take wisdom to recognize this -- only humanity.
I should add Republicans to that list, but I can't quite bring myself to do so, because the Republicans (at least the ones who were in power) caused so much harm not only to our nation but to all people across the globe. Of course, they had a lot of help from the Democrats, I can't deny. I could do without some of the religious fundamentalists, too, if truth be told, but that is discriminatory and really not in keeping with my anti-prejudice beliefs. Still, I'd like to see them vanish from our politics. OK, I'm far from being pure in my ethics. Part of old age is, or should be, the ability to see one's failings, always easier to do in retrospect.
I have a few other certainties, but they have not been formulated from wisdom so much as recognizing the obvious. I try to be kind to children, animals, the poor, the sick and disabled, but it didn't require advancing years to assume these attitudes. I've always had them. Of course, the passing of time has given me a greater sense of responsibility so that I can implement these impulses more effectively.
For the last five plus years I have added a new certainty -- I've learned beyond the shadow of a doubt that our invasion of Iraq was wrong, wrong, wrong, and I have devoted a good part of my time and energy to trying to reverse it. I know now that any preemptive war we launch is wrong. This includes Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and all the countries we have threatened, or, in the case of Afghanistan, actually deployed troops and bombers to. Again, I can't claim wisdom in this regard. Any half-way intelligent person of any age can see the futility and the wrong-headedness of our military ventures.
Having been a child during World War 2, I must exclude that from my list of bad wars. Let the historians hash out whether we were justified in entering it -- I will always think we had to fight to eliminate the Nazis from our planet. And, speaking of WW2, I'd like to state how fortunate I've been to be an American. Despite all its flaws and mistakes, the fact is that we civilians here have never suffered as the people of other lands have. I never had to confront bombs destroying my home, my family or myself. Haven't we Americans been lucky, though? True, my beloved stepfather went off to Europe and didn't return -- not because he was killed but because the war did something to his head which prompted him to, well, not come back to my mother and me. A heartbreak, but not anywhere near the pain experienced by the children outside North America whose lives were destroyed by both sides of the conflict. Certainly, I can't erase Hiroshima and Nagasaki from my mind.
My belief that our invasion of Iraq was a horrendous misdeed led me to one of the most gratifying segments of my long life. Since 2003, I have devoted myself to organizing anti-war grandmothers to protest the war. Eventually, I put together Grandmothers Against the War, which began a vigil at Rockefeller Center on January 14, 2004, There were just two of us at first, but gradually we blossomed into a group of anywhere from 20 to 50 people standing on Fifth Avenue every Wednesday afternoon. We are by now something of a tourist attraction, which we don't mind a bit. People from all over the world see us and thereby learn that there is valid opposition to the war. Who can doubt grandmothers, after all? This was particularly important in the earlier years of the occupation when people from abroad often had the misconception that ALL Americans supported Bush's ill-advised attack.
We grannies then took more daring action. Eighteen of us, named the Granny Peace Brigade, decided to try and enlist in the military at the Times Square recruiting station. We were denied entrance, so exercised our constitutional right to non-violent dissent and refused to budge from the site. We were arrested and jailed and then put on trial for six days in criminal court for the ridiculous charge of blocking entrance to the recruitment center, something video footage of the event disproved.
Because of the notoriety we achieved through that incident, we began years of spectacular actions and travels in the U.S. and abroad to spread our message. This made for a fulfilling and adventurous old age for all us grannies, some in their late 80's and 90's. True, we've certainly had much excitement and gratification, but we feel great frustration and sadness, too, in that all our efforts as well as those of so many others have not yet brought America's grandchildren home from the war zones. We earnestly hope that President-elect Obama will rectify this. In that regard, please consider signing my Peace Grandmothers Petition to him requesting that we leave Iraq and Afghanistan now. All are invited to sign, not just grannies.
Peace Grandmothers Out of Iraq and Afghanistan
So, being a progressive grandmother has reaped many rewards in terms of allowing me to lead a productive and interesting life at an age when old women are stereotypically depicted as sitting in their rocking chairs knitting baby blankets and watching continuous soap operas. I tried to get this across in one of the many songs I've written about the grannies (hear it on YouTube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXVAsHtitW0).
GRANNIES, LET'S UNITE
words and music by Joan Wile, ASCAP
I WAS SITTING AROUND WATCHING SOAPSJUST A USELESS OLD SAD SACKBUT THEN I HEARD THOSE REPUBLICAN DOPESSAY WE HAD TO BOMB IRAQ
WELL, I JUMPED UP RIGHT OUT OF MY SEATGOT MY BANNERS AND PEACE SIGNS OUT THEN I HURRIED DOWN TO THE STREET AND STARTED TO YELL AND SHOUT
GRANDMAS, GET OFFA YOUR TUSH
WE'VE GOT TO GO AFTER BUSHLET'S TORMENT THAT LYING JERKWIPE AWAY THAT REPULSIVE SMIRKOH, THEY GAVE US THE PATRIOT ACTWATCH OUR RIGHTS DRIBBLE DOWN THE TUBES SEE OUR CONSTITUTION ATTACKEDLET'S KEEP PESTERING THOSE ARROGANT BOOBS
GRANDMAS, GET OFFA YOUR BUTTS
FIGHT AGAINST THOSE MEDICARE CUTS
DEMONSTRATE AGAINST THE WAR
MAKE A STINK THEY CAN'T IGNORE
JUST FORGET YOUR RETIREMENT PURSUITS
AND GET OUT YOUR OLD MARCHING BOOTS
LET’S TELL CONDI, BUSH AND CHENEY
(speak) “YOUR POLICIES REALLY PAIN ME!”
GRANDMAS, GET OFFA YOUR FANNIES
WE NEED MORE FIGHTIN’ GRANNIES
LET’S SHOW ‘EM OUR GREAT GREY POWER
MAKE THOSE EVIL MONSTERS COWER
GRANDMAS, LET’S UNITE
WHILE WE ARE STILL UPRIGHT
LET’S PROTEST THAT PARASITE
WATCH OUT! WE’VE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
GRANDMOTHERS OF AMERICA, UNITE!
by Joan Wile, author
Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace (Citadel Press, May 2008)
How could our beloved Barack Obama do this to us? How could this prospective savior who promised peace turn around and promote war? We peace grannies supported him, rang doorbells for him, telephoned strangers for him, contributed small sums from our meager senior citizen fixed incomes to him, in great part because of his vow to end the war in Iraq.
Last night, in his address to Congress, he informed us that he would remove two-thirds of our troops from Iraq within 19 months and leave 50,000 vulnerable G.I.'s there. WHAT? 50,000 is not chopped liver! And, wouldn't a smaller force be in greater danger as those bent on destroying our American kids would be encouraged to attack more boldly a down-sized presence? No, no, no! Bring all our children and grandchildren home, and do it sooner, much sooner.
And, as if that weren't bad enough, President Obama has recently issued orders to send in 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a policy he restated in his speech. IS THIS FOR REAL? Our Peace President has bought the argument that we can defeat Al Quaeda and the Taliban if we flood Afghanistan with more troops? Surely, he must know in his heart of hearts that we would create an even greater quagmire there than we produced in Iraq, and that the only possible road to the defeat of terrorism is through diplomacy and peacetime assistance. The Soviets, the British learned all too well that YOU CAN'T WIN A WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. And, think of the resultant loss of life, limb and over-all destruction such an increase in the military would cause! The Obama we know and love would not want that on his conscience, would he? Doesn't he recognize that his legacy, if he goes through with this dangerous and foolhardy plan, will be Obama's Failed War in Afghanistan, as Bush is known for his Failed War in Iraq, and Johnson/Nixon are remembered for their Failed War in Vietnam? My God, Lyndon Johnson's catastrophe in Vietnam even managed to eclipse his truly valuable achievements in the civil rights movement.
We just can't let this happen. We peace grandmothers -- members of the Granny Peace Brigade, the Raging Grannies, Grandmothers for Peace International, and Grandmothers Against the War, to name a few -- will once again have to be in the forefront of the struggle to end our immoral and self-defeating attacks on other countries. We were among the early protesters of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, way before most of the U.S. finally woke up and saw the light. Some went to jail when 18 of us grannies tried to enlist in the military at the Times Square (NY City) recruitment center. Others have protested, marched, been arrested and gone to jail. Women in their 80's and 90's, no less. Women in wheelchairs, on crutches and walkers. Women who have fought for peace and justice all their lives, and now in what should be a time for rest and leisure, gird themselves once more for arduous battle.
So, I call upon all you dedicated and noble women to sign the Peace Grandmothers Petition to President Obama requesting that he withdraw ALL troops from Iraq AND Afghanistan NOW. One doesn't have to be a grandmother to sign -- friends and supporters are also asked to be signatories.
Here it is!
Peace Grandmothers Out of Iraq and Afghanistan
Let's deluge this plea with names and heartfelt comments about the futility of this proposed escalation and, hopefully, remind the President of who he is and what he should do to fulfill his enormous potential.
Barack, baby, listen to your grannies!
Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace (Citadel Press, May 2008)
How could our beloved Barack Obama do this to us? How could this prospective savior who promised peace turn around and promote war? We peace grannies supported him, rang doorbells for him, telephoned strangers for him, contributed small sums from our meager senior citizen fixed incomes to him, in great part because of his vow to end the war in Iraq.
Last night, in his address to Congress, he informed us that he would remove two-thirds of our troops from Iraq within 19 months and leave 50,000 vulnerable G.I.'s there. WHAT? 50,000 is not chopped liver! And, wouldn't a smaller force be in greater danger as those bent on destroying our American kids would be encouraged to attack more boldly a down-sized presence? No, no, no! Bring all our children and grandchildren home, and do it sooner, much sooner.
And, as if that weren't bad enough, President Obama has recently issued orders to send in 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a policy he restated in his speech. IS THIS FOR REAL? Our Peace President has bought the argument that we can defeat Al Quaeda and the Taliban if we flood Afghanistan with more troops? Surely, he must know in his heart of hearts that we would create an even greater quagmire there than we produced in Iraq, and that the only possible road to the defeat of terrorism is through diplomacy and peacetime assistance. The Soviets, the British learned all too well that YOU CAN'T WIN A WAR IN AFGHANISTAN. And, think of the resultant loss of life, limb and over-all destruction such an increase in the military would cause! The Obama we know and love would not want that on his conscience, would he? Doesn't he recognize that his legacy, if he goes through with this dangerous and foolhardy plan, will be Obama's Failed War in Afghanistan, as Bush is known for his Failed War in Iraq, and Johnson/Nixon are remembered for their Failed War in Vietnam? My God, Lyndon Johnson's catastrophe in Vietnam even managed to eclipse his truly valuable achievements in the civil rights movement.
We just can't let this happen. We peace grandmothers -- members of the Granny Peace Brigade, the Raging Grannies, Grandmothers for Peace International, and Grandmothers Against the War, to name a few -- will once again have to be in the forefront of the struggle to end our immoral and self-defeating attacks on other countries. We were among the early protesters of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, way before most of the U.S. finally woke up and saw the light. Some went to jail when 18 of us grannies tried to enlist in the military at the Times Square (NY City) recruitment center. Others have protested, marched, been arrested and gone to jail. Women in their 80's and 90's, no less. Women in wheelchairs, on crutches and walkers. Women who have fought for peace and justice all their lives, and now in what should be a time for rest and leisure, gird themselves once more for arduous battle.
So, I call upon all you dedicated and noble women to sign the Peace Grandmothers Petition to President Obama requesting that he withdraw ALL troops from Iraq AND Afghanistan NOW. One doesn't have to be a grandmother to sign -- friends and supporters are also asked to be signatories.
Here it is!
Peace Grandmothers Out of Iraq and Afghanistan
Let's deluge this plea with names and heartfelt comments about the futility of this proposed escalation and, hopefully, remind the President of who he is and what he should do to fulfill his enormous potential.
Barack, baby, listen to your grannies!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
60'S FREEDOM RIDER NOW PROTESTS WAR WITH THE GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE
We have many courageous and dedicated grandmothers in the Granny Peace Brigade. In the last few years, our grannies, some in their late 80s and 90s, have rallied, protested, been arrested and jailed, walked miles, traveled here and abroad, given speeches, sung, even done a chorus line dance in the middle of Broadway in an attempt to end the war in Iraq, and now, Afghanistan. Many of them have spent lifetimes fighting for peace and justice. Indeed, they are all certainly heroines, but one of the most gutsy grannies of all has to be Freedom Rider Joan Pleune, now 70 years old, and a grandmother of four and two-thirds.
Think about that. At the tender age of 22, in June 1961, she left the University of California at Berkeley and embarked on an extremely dangerous venture on behalf of the civil rights movement. Riding on integrated buses and trains throughout the racist South exposed one to the potential for beatings, jail and even death. Yet, Pleune, with her sister, Kathy, risked all that because of the strength of her principles. Honestly, how many of us then would have done the same?
Luckily, she was neither beaten nor killed, but she did spend a number of weeks in jail. After riding the rails from California to New Orleans, she took another train to Jackson, Mississippi, where she was arrested in the station waiting room. Pleune doesn't remember the details of the arrest but recalls that she wasn't frightened. "I don't know why I wasn't scared. I still don't know. I knew about the bus bombings in late May in Anniston, Alabama, and I should have been frightened, but somehow I wasn't."
Joan was sentenced to six months in prison and taken to the Hines County jail where she, very tanned at the time and thought to be African-American by the arresting authorities, was separated from her sister and herded with three black women into a windowless storeroom. Anticipating a long incarceration in this cramped and airless space, Joan finally felt the cold stab of fear. But, she was soon moved into a big cell with 41 other women. There was one toilet. Mattresses on the floor were the sleeping accommodations. They were actually ensconced in an area in Death Row, and could hear the doomed inmates from behind a wall. They attempted to communicate with them and even tried to share their food (an inedible blend of lima beans and lima beans) after they learned that Death Row prisoners were barely fed.
After being released early after six plus weeks, Joan returned to Berkeley and got a degree in psychology. She took California state tests for social worker and probation officer, and, though she scored second highest in the State, was unable to get employment. She assumes the State of Mississippi had a hand in sabotaging her job search. She then went to New York City and became a case worker until she began her family. She bore three children, the last at the relatively advanced age of 43 as a single mother. Beginning in the mid-1980's, Joan began work as a site advisor for adult literacy programs in three New York City public libraries, where she worked until she retired three years ago.
At that time, she learned on television of the Granny Peace Brigade action in which 18 women were arrested and jailed when they tried to enlist in the military at the Times Square recruitment center. Joan thought, "This is for me. This is how I'll spend my wind-up years." Appealing to her persistent youthful rebellious spirit, she was spurred to join the grannies and has been one of their most active and daring members ever since. Her protests have led her to more jailings and innumerable protests. Her most recent incident was in Washington DC where she was part of a group arrested for hanging five banners from the Hart Senate Office Building protesting the U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza.
The story of the brave Freedom Riders lay somewhat dormant through the years until a book, Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders, by Eric Etheridge, was published in 2007 and the vital history was resurrected for a new generation. Since the book's release, Joan and other Freedom Riders have participated in public forums about the landmark civil rights episode, and Smithsonian magazine printed a story in their February 2009 issue about the book featuring a dramatic photo of the current Joan. Pleune, a modest person who shies away from the limelight, nevertheless has found it exhilarating to be recognized as a significant player in such a crucial event in U.S. history.
When asked recently what compelled her to risk life and limb for the sake of integrating the South, Joan said, simply, "I couldn't not." This expression exemplifies the courageous and committed spirit of the Granny Peace Brigade. Granny bonnets off to Joan Pleune, Freedom Rider.
Think about that. At the tender age of 22, in June 1961, she left the University of California at Berkeley and embarked on an extremely dangerous venture on behalf of the civil rights movement. Riding on integrated buses and trains throughout the racist South exposed one to the potential for beatings, jail and even death. Yet, Pleune, with her sister, Kathy, risked all that because of the strength of her principles. Honestly, how many of us then would have done the same?
Luckily, she was neither beaten nor killed, but she did spend a number of weeks in jail. After riding the rails from California to New Orleans, she took another train to Jackson, Mississippi, where she was arrested in the station waiting room. Pleune doesn't remember the details of the arrest but recalls that she wasn't frightened. "I don't know why I wasn't scared. I still don't know. I knew about the bus bombings in late May in Anniston, Alabama, and I should have been frightened, but somehow I wasn't."
Joan was sentenced to six months in prison and taken to the Hines County jail where she, very tanned at the time and thought to be African-American by the arresting authorities, was separated from her sister and herded with three black women into a windowless storeroom. Anticipating a long incarceration in this cramped and airless space, Joan finally felt the cold stab of fear. But, she was soon moved into a big cell with 41 other women. There was one toilet. Mattresses on the floor were the sleeping accommodations. They were actually ensconced in an area in Death Row, and could hear the doomed inmates from behind a wall. They attempted to communicate with them and even tried to share their food (an inedible blend of lima beans and lima beans) after they learned that Death Row prisoners were barely fed.
After being released early after six plus weeks, Joan returned to Berkeley and got a degree in psychology. She took California state tests for social worker and probation officer, and, though she scored second highest in the State, was unable to get employment. She assumes the State of Mississippi had a hand in sabotaging her job search. She then went to New York City and became a case worker until she began her family. She bore three children, the last at the relatively advanced age of 43 as a single mother. Beginning in the mid-1980's, Joan began work as a site advisor for adult literacy programs in three New York City public libraries, where she worked until she retired three years ago.
At that time, she learned on television of the Granny Peace Brigade action in which 18 women were arrested and jailed when they tried to enlist in the military at the Times Square recruitment center. Joan thought, "This is for me. This is how I'll spend my wind-up years." Appealing to her persistent youthful rebellious spirit, she was spurred to join the grannies and has been one of their most active and daring members ever since. Her protests have led her to more jailings and innumerable protests. Her most recent incident was in Washington DC where she was part of a group arrested for hanging five banners from the Hart Senate Office Building protesting the U.S. policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza.
The story of the brave Freedom Riders lay somewhat dormant through the years until a book, Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders, by Eric Etheridge, was published in 2007 and the vital history was resurrected for a new generation. Since the book's release, Joan and other Freedom Riders have participated in public forums about the landmark civil rights episode, and Smithsonian magazine printed a story in their February 2009 issue about the book featuring a dramatic photo of the current Joan. Pleune, a modest person who shies away from the limelight, nevertheless has found it exhilarating to be recognized as a significant player in such a crucial event in U.S. history.
When asked recently what compelled her to risk life and limb for the sake of integrating the South, Joan said, simply, "I couldn't not." This expression exemplifies the courageous and committed spirit of the Granny Peace Brigade. Granny bonnets off to Joan Pleune, Freedom Rider.
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