Arizona grannies use lyrical method to rage against war

[Guest guest]

" Magginkat " <magginkat

Fri, 5 May 2006 22:23:07 -0500

[GranniesAgainstGeorge] Fw: Arizona grannies use lyrical

method to rage against war

 

 

 

 

 

Arizona grannies use lyrical method to rage against war

 

By Rich Montini

 

ARIZONA REPUBLIC

 

May. 4, 2006 12:00 AM

 

 

 

Dios mio. Forget the Spanish version of the Star-Spangled Banner. Have

you heard what some Arizona grannies did to God Bless America?

 

For one thing, they took the blessing completely out of it. Honest to

You Know Who. And they made up whole new lyrics. And now their version

of the song is being sung by grannies all over America.

 

Last week in New York, for example, 18 mature women calling themselves

" grannies " were found not guilty of disorderly conduct after having

been arrested for entering a military recruitment center in Times

Square with the intent to enlist.

 

Once outside the courtroom, the women greeted the mob of reporters

waiting for them by singing their own special anthem called God Help

America.

 

It begins, " God help America/ We need you bad/ Cause our leaders/ are

cheaters/ And they're making the world really mad. "

 

News articles about the event noted that the new lyrics were composed

by Kay Sather of a group calling itself the Raging Grannies of Tucson.

What wasn't noted was that not only did the grannies in New York

borrow the song from the self-proclaimed " granny gaggle " in Tucson,

but they also borrowed the tactic.

 

Last July, five of the Raging Grannies were arrested at an Army

recruiting center in Tucson after trying to enlist. A month later, the

local prosecutor had the good sense to drop the charges, unlike her

colleague in New York.

 

" The originators of the idea were the grannies in Victoria, British

Columbia, " said Pat Birnie of the Tucson group, which is affiliated

with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.

 

" We've come to use many different songs during our demonstrations, "

Birnie said, " but we're not an entertainment group. Our purpose is to

motivate people to get off their fannies and make a difference. So

many of us yell at the television and have come to believe that one

person can't change anything. But we can. "

 

When the grannies were arrested last summer, their story made news all

over the United States and the world.

 

" We were in papers everywhere, even Pravda (in Russia), " Birnie said.

" We were interviewed by radio stations all over and eventually

interviewed on the Today Show. The segment wasn't frilly, either, but

discussed our convictions. "

 

They may dress up like Halloween grannies for public demonstrations

and sing songs like Halliburton (to Hava Nagila) and Oh, My, That's

Our Georgie (to Yes Sir, That's My Baby), but underneath it all, the

women are concerned about the world that they'll leave to their

grandchildren. And they can go on at length about their intent to

promote global peace and to argue against arms proliferation and

aggression.

 

They're hoping to stage an event that will draw media attention this

Mother's Day, when they may get some of the aggression that they're

against aimed right at them. Already at their regular protests near

the recruiting station in Tucson, the grannies draw counterprotestors.

 

" Once we arrive, they will come over and drape their flags over our

signs and give us a hard time, " Birnie said. " They want us to go away,

and of course, that only makes us want to stay there all the more. "

 

They were surprised by the arrests last summer at the Tucson Army

recruiting station. Birnie said they were more concerned that they

would simply be locked out of the office. If that were to happen, they

had a backup plan. An exit strategy.

 

" We figured we would go down the street and try to join the Marines, "

she said.