An article in the NYTimes titled, “Grannies Charged in Peace Protest Are Acquitted” which appeared on April 27 aroused a number of feelings in me from admiration to anger. The article described the trial of a number of elderly women in New York City who, last October, entered a military recruiting station and said they wanted to enlist; some of them had canes or used walkers. This was a protest against the Iraq War and they were arrested and charged with blocking access to the station. In the trial last week, all were acquitted because they were willing to step aside and let anyone else in who wanted to enlist. The writer of the article made many parallels of the trial of these women to the classic Hollywood movie Miracle on 34th Street and suggested that grannyhood was on trial, similar to putting Kris Kringle in the docket. Definitely a no-win situation and surprise, surprise, the grandmothers were all acquitted.

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