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Anti-War Grannies Arrested Trying to Enlist
ATLANTA, Georgia - As part of actions across the United States to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 10 "Grandmothers for Peace", ranging in age from 57 to 80, were arrested Monday while trying to enlist in the United States Army. Acts of civil disobedience are planned this week in at least 17 other U.S. cities.
As exclusively observed by IPS, the Grandmothers for Peace entered the Army Recruiting Station at the Midtown Place Shopping Centre in Atlanta, Georgia at around 9:30 am. The women broke up into three groups, each approaching a different recruiter's desk to engage them in questions.
"When do you get the bonuses? Do you get them right away?" a Grandmother asked.
"You guys are on a fishing expedition to catch people in lies," declared one recruiter, who said her name was "Ms. Reed".
"What we're doing is, we're very much against the Iraq war. We'd like for you to let us enlist," said Bobbie Paul, 58, executive director of Atlanta Women's Action for New Directions.
"We have to make sure people are physically pre-screened," said a recruiter named Kevin Wells.
"Could we enlist today? So the youth don't have to go? Can you give us a list of jobs?" Paul persisted.
"There are regulations we have to follow, set by the government, as far as entry and recruiting," Wells responded.
"Would you take me? I'm 80," said Doris Benit of Kennesaw, Georgia.
"Me personally? Absolutely! But as far as the Army, there is a process," Wells answered.
"What's the first step?" Benit asked.
"The first step is to have a seat," Wells said. Then, the 10 grandmothers all took seats around his desk.
Meanwhile, dozens of activists were beating drums and chanting outside under a banner that read, "Take Us, Not Our Grandchildren!"
"We need an application," said Gloria Tatum, 65, of the Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition, Atlanta.
"I believe in action. You're doing what you can. I'm doing what I can. We're in the same direction. This country is the greatest in the world. There's many ways to do things. I'm very passionate about this country and worry where it's going. It needs you. It needs me. It needs that young man over there [IPS reporter]. It needs that kind of passion," Wells said.
Then, "I want everybody outside!" Reed shouted, after calling for backup and talking with her supervisor.
Finally, the Atlanta Police Department showed up. "People have 10 seconds to get off the property because it's private property or else you'll be arrested immediately," one police officer said through a loudspeaker.
"We're grandmothers -- it takes us 10 seconds just to get our bones coordinated," commented Rev. Sylvia Carroll of the First Iconium Baptist Church, who was one of the 16 "support grandmothers" who did not get arrested.
"I feel great. I think we made a statement this war needs to end now. [President George W. Bush and Congress] have broken international law... [and] trashed the Constitution," Tatum told IPS before getting arrested.
"The police officer told me, you should take care of yourself. I've lived a full life. I want these young men to be able to do the same. We have nothing against these young people. We don't want them to die," Benit said.
"I think it was a great success, in the sense we were able to stay in there as long as we were and having an exchange. We kept 'em occupied, to draw attention to ourselves. We refused to leave until they told us we were arrested," added Dot Shaw, 73, of Snellville, Georgia.
"Anyone in charge?" the police asked as the women stood downstairs chanting, waiting for a police van to take them away.
"We're not a battalion," Paul responded.
"We insist! We enlist! Grandmothers for Peace!" they chanted. "We protest! We're under arrest!"
"We're cold out here, so take us in," Benit told Officer "C. Mac." "What's jail like? Is it warm?"
"Okay, hello everyone... I'm against this war as much as you. However, we still have to conduct business as usual. We have to restore a level of normalcy. We have received complaints," Officer Mac told the Grandmothers.
Betsey Miklethun, 74, of Norcross, Georgia, read a letter she had written to her grandchildren before getting arrested.
"This week marks the fifth anniversary... I'm gonna cry because I love them so much... of the war and occupation of Iraq. Much could be said about this, from me to you. Today I plan to participate in a nonviolent act of civil disobedience. I've never done this before," Miklethun said. "Somebody's got to stand up and say, I care."
IPS asked an Army spokesperson why the Grandmothers for Peace were not allowed to enlist.
"They were turned away because they were disrupting business," said Tim Humphreys, public relations for the Atlanta Recruiting Battalion.
"Anyone who is serious about enlisting in the Army can go to Army.com to fill out the paperwork and can schedule an appointment. These ladies apparently were not interested in that," Humphreys said, adding the age limit is 42.
Susan Keith, a board member of Atlanta Progressive News, did bring an application with her to the Recruiting Centre.
"You're trying to ask a loaded question," Humphreys said. Humphreys did not return a phone call from IPS seeking additional comment.
The Atlanta Police Department confirmed the arrest of the 10 Grandmothers for Peace.
The women were charged with criminal trespassing, and taken to Fulton County Jail. They are expected to post bond by this evening. The crime, a misdemeanor, could carry a maximum of one year in jail, although a judge could use his or her discretion, Officer Eric Schwartz said.
"They didn't say anything about them being disruptive," Schwartz said. "The owner of the property has the right to tell them they do not want them there. We don't determine whether the reason the owner is asking them to leave is valid or not."
Others arrested were Ella Ruth Hunnicutt, 79, Roswell, Georgia; Minnie Ruffin, 66, Atlanta; Ann Mauney, 65, Atlanta; and Judy "Artemis" Conder, 60.
Grandmothers for Peace International was founded in 1981 when Barbara Wiender, the first Grandmother for Peace, was arrested protesting the presence of nuclear weapons near her home in Sacramento, California. Today, the group conducts a variety of protests and other actions, including civil disobedience, around issues of nuclear disarmament, peace, and justice. It has offices in the U.S., Germany, Romania, South Africa, and Britain.
© 2008 Inter Press Service
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59 Comments so far
Show AllThey should file an age discrimination lawsuit.
let all the anti-war activists be so active!!
Power to the grannies
Go grannies go!
Let me second the call for an age discrimination lawsuit, a truly american thing for them to do.
If the recruiter's had had a brain they'd have let them fill out forms and thanked them for coming in. Arresting them is a waste of time and money (police time, court time, court costs, etc), letting them fill out forms would have made the granny's point and given the recruiters a good chuckle later. Of course they'd need to have had a sense of humour...
We should all thank these brave and patriotic ladies for the courage of their convictions.
This is not as absurd as it sounds. A 58 year old from California in the National Guard was deployed to Iraq. We are all expendable. Except Bear Stearns of course.
The true war heroes are not the war mongers that get the medals, but the people who work to prevent and stop war.
We should station a few protesters at every military recruiting station in the US during as many hours of its operation as possible (on public property). Each protest could be small and hopefully visually creative (the Abu Graib guy with hood and electrode is one model, but a simple poster would do), and could have fliers with information about the tens of thousands of US personnel who became permanently disabled in Iraq, the way the military treats wounded vets, etc. and where to get more info. High school-oriented recruiting station are especially important.
We need to starve the military of canon fodder; it might be the best way to shut down the war, since the federal government manufactures money (for which we will all pay for decades to come) and has proved unresponsive to democracy (the 2006 election results, in which the American people expressed a clear desire to stop the war, are being ignored). Oh, and thank you grannies!
"We have to restore a level of normalcy."
Normalcy - in this government?
To Recruiter Ms. Reed, who shouted 'I want everyone outside!' What? You got something against letting old ladies stand inside where it's warm while they're waiting to get arrested?
One just might wonder how your grandchildren will treat you. Hmmm ..
Grandma Reed: "Hi grandson Billy, would you like to play 'Cops and Robbers'? I'm really good at it - I took care 'o lots 'o bad guys, you know!"
Billy: "Jasus Christos, grandma! Cops and Robbers? HOW F&^#!NG OLD ARE YOU?"
Grandma Reed: "How about you, granddaughter Molly? Would you like me to tell you a story? I can tell you about when I killed ten people when I emptied my magazine into one of them dark-skinned people's houses."
Molly: "Would you just get out of my face, you ol lady - such a go@ d&mned nuisance."
Grandma Reed spent her birthday and every holiday alone that year ... and every year after that.
i agree, lets get our boys out of that hellhole
What is "The Rule Of Law" in the United States?
It is ok for civilians to go about murdering Iraqi Citizens. All Civilians are immunized from acts of murder.
It is ok for civilian contractors to steal billions of dollars from the U.S. Government. They were immunized.
It is a crime to enter an Army Recruitment Office and Grandma could spend a year in prison......
Ole´to the United States Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court
These wonderful grandmothers put the "grand" in grandmother. Bless their peace loving hearts.
How is that "private property"?
These recruiters and police certainly are NOT respecting their elders.
If the recruiting office is leased by the Army, and the public pays taxes which support the Army, why should this office be deemed "private property"?
Amendment 1
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
"Anyone who is serious about enlisting in the Army can go to Army.com to fill out the paperwork and can schedule an appointment..."
If a healthy 18 year old walked in the recruiting office with his/her buddy and they said "I want to enlist", would the recruiter tell them to make an appointment?
The grannies brought tears to my eyes. Where were the grandpas?
re: Where are all the Grandpas?
probably killed or died from some injury they got fighting Bush 1's war
The Grandpas where killed in the last war.
I'm wondering the same thing as the person above. Exactly how is a U.S recruitment station a private establishment. Unless you're saying it's privately owned by ALL US citizens since we bought it, we do the upkeep, and we pay the workers. Hmmm
Grandmothers have known to be very effective at stopping wars.
It was the Abuelas y Madres de la Plaza in Argentina who were instrumental in stopping the Dirty War in Argentina (curiously enough, created and supported by early day US neo-cons).
Why not a similar sort of protest by grandmothers in the US against our repressive government led by neo cons conducting an illegal war in Iraq.
Nice work ladies. Thank you for your effort.
Why aren't they at home baking cakes?
The recruiter was being polite. I would have thrown them out on their fat old asses. Stop wasting the recruiters time.
42 is the age limit for joining. Exceptions are sometimes given for those with previous military experience.
"This is not as absurd as it sounds. A 58 year old from California in the National Guard was deployed to Iraq."
What's your point? 58 is to old to be called into active duty?
Dwight Eisenhower was 54 when he was the leader of all allied forces in Europe. Was he to old? Idiot.
My nephew just joined the Marines so he can go kill poor brown people and keep the oil flowing so you faggots can live the good life.
"'They were turned away because they were disrupting business,' said Tim Humphreys, public relations for the Atlanta Recruiting Battalion."
Oh no, can't have people disrupting business—especially not the business of recruiting young men and women to kill and die so the rich can get richer.
Enough.
Tomorrow is the 5th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. I pray that it will not pass without at least several military recruitment centers being shut down across the nation.
Thank you, Grandmothers for Peace. You show us the way.
"My nephew just joined the Marines so he can go kill poor brown people and keep the oil flowing so you faggots can live the good life"
Well I hope that they kill HIM, you miserable sonova bitch. Then your shitty old ass should be ground up into oil so that some "faggots" can use you as lube.
Filthy jingoist trash!
The grandmothers are the best, looking out for their grandchildren.
Incidentally, what kind of a country sends women to fight in wars? I believe the Israelis allow women in the military, but I sure don't see any of them in Iraq, the war the Israelis were so gung-ho about.
The shopping center has little old ladies arrested for disrupting business?
I wonder if I can have the old lady that always seems to be in front of me in line, paying in pennies, arrested?
DON'T TAZ ME BRO!!!
America sure has fallen far from "freedom and liberty"...I think Nazi Germany was more free
I pray that all Americans find the courage to express thier first amendment right with the same ferocity.
We are the biggest bully in the world.
So now those Grandmothers names are on lists that will forever have them persecuted by our Government.OUR GOVERNMENT, they are out of control,because they want to control us.
This is the greatest country in the world , and if you don't agree we will kick your but with the greatest military the world has ever known.
Fact is, we have become a nation of spys and cowards doing the bidding of the corporate elite.Don't take my word for it,just watch ABC NBC CNNN and FOX , they will tell you what we are and how to think.
Yesterday I was listning to the broadcast testimony from vets of the Winter Soldiers, why was that not broadcast on the major networks? If all Americans could here these stories the ocupation would end in a hurry,thats why.
The truth is , the elite in this country think Americans are stupid, Hello internet.
The rest of the world is well informed and Americans are fast becoming informed.
Soon we wont have to watch the major networks, they will fade away into the wolrd of omissions.
Apparently the only thing that matters is what Reagan Republicans,Democrats,or independents think.
Thats what the major networks keep asking.
Who gives a crap about what Reaganites think.
Trickle down economics is now showing its full effect, all the corporations grabed all the money, leaving Americans broke, now we are all going to go broke.
How do you get rid of paper money?
Make it worthless.
Welcome to the new world of pay by credits.NO MONEY.
We must find a way to save our constitution, stop spyng on each other without warrents, NO IMMUNITY, end this ocupation and take back our country.
Awesome and sad. Sad because it's 80 year olds who are committed the acts of civil disobedience while the youth gets high and watches American Idol
http://www.ryanhartman.wordpress.com
Go Grannie! Go! Women of heart, soul and conscience! American heroes! Go Grannies!
"Well I hope that they kill HIM, you miserable sonova bitch. "
So you want America soldiers to die? Or just my nephew because you're angry with me?
Watch it Luke, you're leaning towards the darkside. Letting your anger get the best of you. Go ahead, release it. Feels good doesn't it? You'd probably like to punch right me about now wouldn't you? Funny how all you peace preaching pussies get violent when someone says something you don't like.
"America sure has fallen far from "freedom and liberty"…I think Nazi Germany was more free"
Did it take you a while to think of that, or did it just pop out of the empty space?
"Incidentally, what kind of a country sends women to fight in wars?"
Apparently the two best military establishments in the world. You against equal rights for women?
Maybe you think more like me then you would like to admit.
Women belong in the kitchen or bedroom, right?
The military is so stupid. They should hand them an application and put it in process. Tell the grannies that they are being considered then mail it to them marked rejected for age, 3 months from now and invite them back when the cause of the rejection has been resolved, but they are on a list of potential recruits in a national emergency.
They can't because deep down even the war supporters know that the whole war is illegal and more importantly immoral.
cw1966, it's one thing to have the best military establishment in the world; it's another thing to use it immorally in wars of aggression...This is real life...not a sports contest...tens of thousands(perhaps hundreds of thousands) of people are dead...for what?? To rid the world of one man???..a puppet created by the very men who now spend trillions of dollars (on mercenaries and corporate military support (not caring for this super military you seem so proud of, by the way)) to accomplish...what??? Were you really that afraid of Saddam?? Do you really continue to believe the crap coming from our fearless leader and his "vice"...after all that has transpired?? Lift the veil from thine eyes....
cw1966 -
You'll see how much of a faggot little nephew is when he gets his ass blown off in Eye-Rack, that is, IF he survives. Then see how much of a faggot he's been turned into after he comes back an utterly psychotic mess, not to mention the help he WON'T be getting from the VA. Good luck widdat.
Something you may not have thought of, genius: you, I, and every other Merkin are going to pay way bucks for ANY oil we get, whether it's controlled by the US military/US oil corps or nationalized by Iraq, or whatever. Did you imagine that somehow, because Bu$hCo has taken over the oil fields, that we're going to get free or low-cost oil?? 5 years in Eye-Rack, and what prices do you see at the local pump, or in your grocery store?
DUH.
The US would have gotten her oil needs met no matter what - WITHOUT invading an oil-producing country - at least until it is all used up. The ONLY difference is who gets the PROFITS from the oil - either the Iraqi people, or the US oil corps & their politicians. THAT is the reason your stupid nephew has gone to fuck up his life forever - to profit the already-rich warmongers. And how stupid must his uncle be not to have known better?
Not counting the extra $$ you & nephew will be paying for years through taxes (and in many other ways) for the cost of the Iraq occupation. So for the average Merkin, it would have been a LOT cheaper in the long run to have left Iraq alone and buy the oil in the usual way.
BTW, in case you're wondering: I was honorably discharged in 1981 from the US Army/1st Cavalry Division.
The only question left is: why don't YOU go down to a recruiter's office and join the fray, O Brave One? I hear they'll take enlistees up to 42 years old now. With any luck, that would help to cleanse the gene pool.
seditious
What's a "Merkin" ? So my nephews stupid for joining the military & fucking up his life? You know this from personal experience? Are you dmitting you're a fuckup for life now?
"BTW, in case you're wondering: I was honorably discharged in 1981 from the US Army/1st Cavalry Division."
No I wasn't wondering. I could care less. You could have learned to peel a potato anywhere. No need to join the Army for that. But,like you insinuated, only stupid people join the military. Hence, I don't join.
This was a brilliant statement.
"The US would have gotten her oil needs met no matter what - - at least until it is all used up."
Thank you Captain Obvious. So we would have oil,until it's gone. Was smoke coming out of your ears as that brainstorm was brewing?
BTW, great name. You must be a real rebel. Getting out there on the internet( from your office cube) stirring things up.
thinkingmom
What's immoral about taking from the weak? You seem to be living a good life from the fruits of that policy. You think this is the first time in history our country has done this? How do you think it's possible for you to cruise around in your minivan to malls, soccer practice for junior, hair dressers, etc, so cheaply?
Lots of poor folks in shitty countries are suffering so you can live fat on the hog. Think about that as you stuff your fat face with bonbons watching Opera today.
BTW, shouldn't you be doing laundry and getting dinner ready?
"We have to make sure people are physically pre-screened," said a recruiter named Kevin Wells. I wonder how they'd know if your "fit" by applying on line.
sllawrence -
Why condolences for my nephew? He's been looking forward to joining the Marines since he was 16.
Btw Sparky, I think the word you wanted was troll.
Although I'm not one. I honestly feel this way. I don't give a shit about poor people in other countries that have control of natural resources we need. Neither do any of you. You can pretend to care all you want (as you waste fuel daily, eat food imported or produced by slave laborers, wear clothes made in asian sweatshops, and watch your TV's from the same countries). That's right. Take an inventory of everything in your life that is produced by the sweat of the 3rd world poor and manufacured using petroleum. Now get rid of it all. Then come back and preach about war and how bad it is.
But let the oil stop flowing and see what happens. You hypocritical pricks would be pissing your pants the minute you couldn't get your pizza delivered on time. Then when the shit really hit the fan (civil unrest the likes of which you couldn't imagine) you'd all be crying for the government (the one you hate so much) to step in and save your sorry asses.
hey Sherlock...sounds like you'd be the one pissing in your pants..As for me...I'm sure I can do just fine...already was in the Peace Corps and lived a "third world" life....It's not as scary as you may think....(and I would much rather live that life than have hundreds of thousands killed to maintain this standard of living...which currently isn't for me as you imply anyway...)
thinkingmom - I'll be fine. I own guns and wouldn't have a problem using one.
Last post hit a sore spot? Are you a soccermom? Cruising the road every weekday burning up the gas?
Suburban or minivan? Be honest, nobody knows who you are.
I drive an Expedition. Plus have a boat. That sucker (pun intended) burns gas like a bitch. Hope GW keeps it coming. Fishing season starts in a month.
Oh, so the Peace Corps prepared you did it? Yeah, that works real nice when the delivery truck drops off the supplies.
What happens when the trucks stop coming?
I've been to 3rd world countries too. Medical mission.
thinkingmom
"to maintain this standard of living…which currently isn't for me as you imply anyway…"
Really?
Do you live in a tent in the woods? Grow your own food? Make your own clothes? Ride a bike everywhere you go?
And a light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not...
CW1966,
I am retired military and unlike most of the posters on this board feel that it is an honorable pursuit. Not glamorous but completely necessary since there are so many other people out there who don't believe in live and let live.
But I have serious problems with this war. No matter how you feel about Sadaam (I think the world is better off without him), we were lied into this war. Not a single one of the rationales used turned out to have any basis in reality. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed. four thousand of our own young men and women have died. It certainly hasn't improved the life of the Iraqis.
Some say it was for the oil. But oil is a fungible commodity - It is readily available on the world market and no one (even the Saudis) control enough of it to hurt our economy by shutting off the flow. This is not 1973 when the OPEC cartel did control enough oil to make it painful when they embargoed us for supporting Israel during the October War.
This war will cost us and huge. We need to stop it right now. I read somewhere that it could end up being 3 trillion dollars and that amount could fund Social Security for fifty years.
Bush is a disaster as President and has saddled everyone one of us with an incredible amount of debt. $30,000+ for every man, woman, and child in this nation. When you are in a hole, the first thing you have to do is stop digging. We can't afford Bush's imperial ambitions even if we agreed with them, which I vehemently do not.
Let's get out of Iraq. We can support the troops fighting the people who actually hurt us (the Taliban and Al-Quaeda) in Afghanistan and try and repair our relations with the rest of the world. We have to quit digging this hole.
By the way, a "merkin" is a female wig for the pubic region.
Oh I see, you got the big man on your side. Well good for you. Happy Kwanzaa!
You know that GW has a hotline to the clouds? Maybe he could put in word with Pete for ya. Never hurts to network.
Go Grannies Go!!!
I think of the way we treat the elderly in this country and I'm ashamed I don't have the courage they do when it comes to standing up for what they believe in.
In other countries, the citizens take to the streets to let their governments know what they think but in the USA, we have become a country of individuals obsessed with controlling everything but our govt.
As these Grannies did, we need to speak our minds and let them know we will no longer tolerate death and destruction as a norm.
We must put aside our fears of arrest and torture at the hands of our own govt and speak up.
SPEAK UP AMERICA!
kendpotter -Thank you for your service.
Something for you to read.
http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/hl1021.cfm
"Where are the reserves?
Proved oil reserves are those quantities of oil that geological information indicates can be with reasonable certainty recovered in the future from known reservoirs. Of the trillion barrels currently estimated,
66% of global oil reserves are in the hands of Middle Eastern regimes: Saudi Arabia (25%), Iraq (11%), Iran (8%), UAE (9%), Kuwait (9%), and Libya (2%).
Gotta run.
cw1966
"Where are the reserves?"
Two separate issues. The fact that the reserves are dwindling doesn't change the nature of a commodity, it simply means that the commodity will cost more.
I think we have already passed Hubbard's peak and with the increasing demand from China and India, and devaluation of the dollar, $5/gallon gas will quite likely be seen before Labor Day.
kendpotter
As of October 2007 the total for both fronts has been about $550 Billion.
WW2 cost the USA roughly 290 Billion by the end of 1945.
Using an inflation rate of 4%, that would equal 3.4 trillion today. Some estimates on the cost of WW2 are as high as 5 trillion in todays dollars.
How long have we had troops stationed in Europe and Asia? What has that costs us since? What have we gained by them being there?
Add another 64 Billion for Korea ( $759 Billion today)
Vietnam 111 billion ($549 Billion today)
Yet somehow we've still become the strongest economy.