A few years ago, I donned an outrageous hat and added lots of jewelry and became one of the Raging Grannies of Seattle. I linked my voice with the voices of many more grannies to sing out against war mongering and the rape of the environment. We even sang a mammogram song urging women to put up with the squishing of their mammary glands to get a look at their "dark side." Then we sang parodies of the usual holiday carols with messages about buying no more war toys and replacing greed with the true spirit of the season.
Other times we sang about the obscene amounts of public money going to build sports palaces for mostly male sports teams. We picketed the marketer of athletic shoes made in countries with substandard wages and working conditions. We also sang about the need for jobs and adequate health care and adequate education for all --even preschool children.
Oh, yes, we always sing about the overwhelming need to achieve peace in the world.
I was drawn to this flamboyant group because it gave me the opportunity to rage once more about issues that I had already raged about in the '70s and '80s but without all the seriousness that I put into my earlier activism. After all, if one stands on a street corner and hands out pamphlets with a glum face, it doesn't have the same impact as singing songs with an ironic bite while dressed in costumes the viewer can hardly ignore. Our audience accepts our messages in good humor and an attitude of "Go get 'em, Grannies!"
If you were over at the Trident base in Kitsap County during any protests there or if you were downtown during any war protest marches, you would have heard the Raging Grannies singing:
"Oh, we're a gaggle of grannies
Urging you off of your fannies
We're raising our voice
We're sick of your toys.
No More War!"
But we aren't just protesters. We sing for schools and many groups that ask us to share our serious messages of peace and hope for the world. The glue that holds us together is the dedication to changing the world to make it more equitable for all the people who live on the planet. And you're right. We aren't terrorists, far from it.
We would all agree that humor and outrageousness do communicate. They connect. I love it.
You are free to "steal" any of our parodies to sing at your favorite group meetings.
Georgie Bright Kunkel of Seattle is a Raging Granny on sabbatical but assists in publicity for the Raging Grannies. Check out the group's Web site: www.Seattleraginggrannies.com.
©1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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