Rage On, Granny

RAGING GRANNIES PROTEST THEIR WAY — EFFECTIVELY

There was a time, not so long ago, when memories of Granny brought to mind snapping peas, fresh baked bread, homemade aprons and low-heeled shoes. The voice of reason when your world fell apart. A comfortable presence who broached no nonsense when she had had enough. An apple cheeked wonder who somehow always won the day.

We have somehow moved on to Grannies with full-time occupations and condominium lifestyles, who are more likely to start a small baking business in their neighborhood and turn it into an internet sensation than to be content churning out a set of perfect loaves per day for their nuclear family. Those peas will more likely come from the community garden that they have purchased via crowdfunding and organized so that her neighbors have something to do and a way to grow their own fresh produce.

One thing remains the same. Granny cares. With all her heart and with all her might, and in some cases with a dash of non-violent civil disobedience thrown in for good measure.

Enter those ever so charming and delightful Canadians; an anthropologist, some teachers, a businesswoman, a counselor, a handful of artists, those blessed homemakers, and a librarian for good measure. White, middle class ladies between the ages of 52 and 67. The year was 1987 and these residents of Victoria, B.C. were fed up. In a sensible and well-educated fashion of course.

Protest was no longer as effective as it had been in the 1960’s. Government and debt had grown. Social activism was already institutionalized in hundreds of federal programs. Divorce rates had soared. The nuclear family had waned. Immigration, both documented and undocumented, had skyrocketed. We were far less resilient, and far more divided, indebted and vulnerable targets than ever before. People were becoming more and more scared as the years went by. How to make a difference? You do it with a sense of determination, a lot of good humor, and a wonderful sense of propriety and fun.

And so, it began. And spread. The Raging Grannies became an international organization of smart and sassy women who can both part the seas and still the waters while leaving officials scratching their heads and wondering how they missed seeing the tsunami that washed over them as it roared…