Raging Grannies Snubbed By Tuscon Police, Recruiters (moved from ATSNN)

The Raging Grannies are a group of senior citizens who want to take the place of their children and grandchildren serving in Iraq. They have petitioned their representatives to no avail, and so sought to drive home their point by converging on the recruitment center to air their concerns. They were eventually arrested and charged with trespassing. The group is undeterred, they want to see combat, and now they want an apology from the Tuscon PD as well.



This is fantastic! What a good idea these folks had. I'm not surprised the genius was lost on our elected officials, who are a perfect representation of the lowest common denominator theory of governance.

What better way to deal with societal problems, than two at a time? If we can satisfy recruitment shortages and shore up the leaks in social security at the same time, why shouldn't we? The role of the elderly has all but disappeared in modern society, they've been marginalized and ignored, where once entire cultures depended on their advice and insight for guidance. Unlike primitive societies that placed great importance on the knowledge of earlier generations as reflected in stories and tales, modern society has little to no reverence for that sort of lifestyle. Families are increasingly detached, and there is no reverence for our elders. Just the other day I read a news story about a young girl who stabbed her grandfather to death in his own bed.

Eskimo culture is an interesting departure from the norm. In some places, when a person got to be too old to hunt or contribute meaningfully to society, their loved ones escorted them to the edge of the sea-ice and put them on an iceberg, which was summarily shoved off. This is essentially what America does, but we pay out the nose to nursing homes and assisted care facilities to fulfill the same purpose. I think there is a better way. If we're not going to tap the knowledge of our elders, we can at least let them fill some other role.

This is utterly disgraceful behavior. They should have been arrested. They should be heavily fined, or worse, and they owe everyone inconvenieced by their antics an apology.

Now, now Grady..

There's nothing wrong with a peaceful protest. It's not as though they hurt anyone.

They've been doing this for three years, one would think they would have been arrested a long time ago if their behavior was so criminal.

I also wonder what their sons and daughters think. Do you suppose they're embarassed or proud?

The Grannies Gone Batty!

Why not let them enlist if they want to. They have already raised the enlistment limit to 42. It won't be long till the "grannies" are eligible for the draft anyway.

Because they'd probably die during the basic training. These are senior citizens. They can't possibly provide any useful advantage in combat.


If they are so gun-ho, then they can certainly buy a plane ticket and go to iraq and form militias. They aren't gun-ho, this is a political move, not an actual effort to get into the military.

Enlist them and ship them off to Iraq I say...could help solve the Social Security financial crisis!

From what I got from this story and have seen, it looks like half of them remember the good ol' days and know how to use a gun.

Strap them up and ship them off. They'll be happy enough.

Sheesh, guys... I think you need to first realize that grandparents are often in their 50's -- certainly young enough to do a lot of military duty. And frankly, if it came to a choice between sending me or sending my kids, I would be out up front yelling for them to send me and to leave my kids alone!

It's been proven time and again that people in their 50's can support war efforts by being drivers (even in hazardous situations) and in other capacities.

Most of us would rather die than see our babies harmed.

...and just wait till YOU turn 50! See if YOU want to be turned out to pasture like an old horse that's only fit for sending to the knackers.

[edit on 25-7-2005 by Byrd]

Nygdan
So don't put them through basic training. Use them as perimeter guards at fire bases or put them on mine detail, or freakin' kitchen help! Is it too much to ask to have our military recruiters display a tiny bit of creativity in the midst of this recruiting crisis?

Surely there's nothing preventing a senior citizen from pulling the trigger or serving up the sloppy joes.

If they want to fight, let them fight. There's plenty of people who are aching to come home to their families, and would love a 'tag-out' in any case.