Raging Grannies

The Raging Grannies (or just "Raging Grannies") are activist organizations that started in Victoria, British Columbia, over the winter of 1986/87. There are now groups in many cities and towns in different countries.

They are social justice activists, all women old enough to be grandmothers, who dress up in clothes that mock stereotypes of older women, and sing songs at protests. They typically write the lyrics themselves, putting their political messages to the tunes of well known songs.

In May 2005, a California chapter of the Raging Grannies was allegedly spied upon by a unit of the California National Guard after it organized a Mother's Day anti-war rally. California State Senator Joe Dunn launched an investigation and the intelligence unit was subsequently shut down. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/9962459/the_pentagons_new_spies?rnd=1145518061857&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1040 The Pentagon's New Spies : Rolling Stone ] ]

In July 2005, five members of the group were charged with trespassing after they attempted to enlist at a US Army recruiting center in Tucson, Arizona. A spokesperson for the group said they wanted to enlist and be sent to Iraq so that their children and grandchildren could come home. A group also went to New York, where they were arrested for allegedly blocking access to a recruitment center in Times Square; on April 28, 2006, they were acquitted of all charges. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,,1764088,00.html Meet Bush's latest enemy in the war on Iraq: the Raging Grannies of Tucson, Arizona | World news | The Guardian ] ]

ee also

* Radical cheerleading
*Gray Panthers
*Granny Peace Brigade - NYC
*Code Pink

Further reading

* Anemona Hartocollis: New York Judge Tells 'Grannies' To Go in Peace. In: [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB071FFF3B5B0C7B8EDDAD0894DE404482 The New York Times - Abstract] , April 28, 2006
* Marc Pitzke: [http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,420529,00.html Omas gegen den Krieg. Die Rache der alten Damen.] In: Spiegel online June 11,2006. (German Newspaper, German)
* Armin Ulm: "Omas müssen nicht nur nett sein." Erboste amerik. Grossmütter demonstrieren vor dem Nato-Hauptquartier für den Frieden und gegen die Politik George W. Bushs. RNZ-Heidelberg July 17th, 2006, P. 3 - 20 Demonstrants of the Granny Peace Brigade before G W B coming to Germany (with big Image, (a German Newspaper, germ. lang.).
* Acker, Alison, and Betty Brightwell. "Off Our Rockers and into Trouble: The Raging Grannies", Horsdal & Schubart Publishers, (September 30, 2004). ISBN 1894898109; ISBN-13 978-1894898102.

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/raginggrannies/ The Raging Grannies' International Website]
* [http://www.vcn.bc.ca/ragigran/ Raging Grannies of B.C.]
* [http://www.ottawagrans.net/ Ottawa Raging Grannies]
* [http://www.raginggrannies.com/ The Raging Grannies of San Francisco Bay Area]
* [http://www.raginggrannies.us/ The Raging Grannies of Fresno, California]
* [http://www.wilpftucson.org/Grannies.html Tucson Raging Grannies]
* [http://www.sofloraginggrannies.org South Florida Raging Grannies]
* [http://www.rochesterraginggrannies.org/ Rochester Raging Grannies]
* [http://www.raginggrannies.us/ Fresno Raging Grannies]
* [http://www.seattleraginggrannies.com/ Seattle Raging Grannies]
* [http://www.raginggranniesdetroit.com/] Metro Detroit Raging Grannies
* [http://www.grandmothersforpeace.org Grandmothers for Peace International] (not a Raging Grannies gaggle)