Raging Grannies Protest Draws Police

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jul 26, 2005 9:27 AM EDT

These Raging Grannies (associated with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom) aren't sitting at home knitting with a cup of tea—they're out being cited for trespassing after attempting to enlist in the Army in order to "bring their grandchildren home."

"We would like to replace our young who are in the firing line," Ms. Birnie, 75, said.

The Grannies rallied outside of the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Tucson, AZ, holding signs and flags, as well as singing songs in protest. Afterwards, the Grannies entered the Recruiting Center and read a prepared statement (Click "Read More" to view the statement read by the Raging Grannies) and told the recruiters inside that they wished to enlist.


Grannies reading a prepared statement

After being asked to leave, the Grannies went outside where police asked the recruiters to point out those who had been in the office. Nine people were cited at the event; five elderly activists and four journalists. The Raging Grannies have held protests outside the Tucson Armed Forces Recruiting Center every week for three years.

According to Lt. Col. Hickins, a Battalion Commander from Phoenix, the charges were pressed by the landlord of the building, not the Army itself. He declined to give any other information about the incident.

No one was expecting to be arrested for the action. "This is the only contingency we hadn't planned on," Birnie said afterwards.

Birnie said that the Raging Grannies have already contacted Mayor Walkup's office about the incident, but he was out of town for the day.

"My sense is that it's such an absurd charge that the judge will excuse it," she said.

The Grannies' offer to enlist may have been turned down this time, but if the war in Iraq drags on for several more years, they may be surprised to find themselves in boot camp one day.

One blogger has chronicled the entire event in detail. You can read the account at: http://www.buildpeace.blogspot.com
WHY RAGING GRANNIES want to ENLIST in MILITARY FORCES
9:00 am Wednesday, July 13, 2005 U.S. Army Recruiting Station, 2303 E. Speedway, Tucson, AZ

The Raging Grannies want to enlist in the U.S military forces to make possible the immediate return of all U.S. service personnel, and to set an example of what REAL diplomacy can achieve. We would meet with our counterparts in Iraq (women) and come to a mutual agreement of how best for Iraq to regain its own independence, as all U.S. troops, bases and corporations leave their country.

The Raging Grannies are angry about the U.S. maintaining a Permanent War Economy, using military might as the U.S.?s primary tool of Foreign Policy.

The Raging Grannies are angry about the U.S. military recruitment system that lies to young people about the reasons for needing more people in the military. We are angry that our young peoples? lives are at risk for reasons that have nothing to do with defending our country.

The Raging Grannies are angry that the U.S. is using and has used quantities of Depleted Uranium weapons in Iraq, and other places in the Middle East, jeopardizing the health and environment for 4.5 billion years (providing a source for birth defects, leukemia and other adverse health effects for our own service personnel as well as innocent citizens).

The Raging Grannies are angry that the U.S. is building 14 permanent bases in Iraq. We are angry that U.S. policies are driven by fear-mongering and growing losses of First Amendment Rights. We abhor the use of torture by U.S. forces against detainees.

The Raging Grannies firmly believe that:
The Iraq invasion was planned before 9-11 as documented by the Downing Street Memos;
The Iraq war has nothing to do with Al Quida (Saddam Hussein was not a part it);
The Iraq war has nothing to do with Weapons of Mass Destruction;
The Iraq war has everything to do with U.S. controlling access to Middle Eastern Oil; and that
The Iraq war is an illegal, immoral war that has everything to do with U.S. world domination.
We insist that Recruiters tell the truth to our grandchildren who come to serve their country.

The Raging Grannies want all U.S. corporations and military personnel (official military troops and mercenaries) withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible, and that the U.S. finance the re-building of what we have destroyed, with local people doing their own re-construction work. The military bases that have been built should be turned over to the Iraq and Afghanistan people to use as they can, for whatever purposes they may have. The U.S. should spend recruitment dollars to (instead) improve education for all students, and gain a boost in our economy for this investment.

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