Protesters Favor Soft Hats, Tough Lyrics-the Raging Grannies

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http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/08/1057/

Protesters Favor Soft Hats, Tough Lyrics
by Brian MacQuarrie

They operate with a sense of outrage, a commitment to nonviolence, a love of song, and an irreverent brand of humor. Meet the Raging Grannies, feisty women of a certain age who protest war, nuclear power, bio hazards, degradation of the environment, and a panoply of other causes.0508 04They protest with a smile while wearing outlandish hats and singing self-composed ditties that take biting, acerbic aim at the powerful.

“I know for a fact I was born with a gene for justice,” said Susan Gracey, a 72-year-old grandmother of two from Brookline, who dates her activism to a plea for better playing fields for the girls in her elementary school.

The Grannies unabashedly seek attention, and they usually succeed. Founded in 1987 in British Columbia by women whose targets ranged from nuclear submarines to clear-cut log ging, the Raging Grannies have expanded to a worldwide movement of more than 60 autonomous chapters, or “gaggles,” which include a Boston-area chapter with about 18 active members and a Western Massachusetts gaggle with 40.

Their activism has led to arrests — dozens of times for a few members — as the Grannies spread their message around the region at sites such as Army recruiting offices, high schools, and the gates of nuclear power plants. And while they use humor to attract attention, the members of this loosely organized group are deadly serious about their concerns.

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