Protest - Counter Military Recruitment
02/15/2008 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
New Military Recruiting Center, El Camino Real & Grant Rd., Mountain View, CA US
Sponsored by American Muslim Voice, Council of Churches of Santa Clara County, Declaration of Peace - San Mateo County, Global Peace Partners, Gold Star Families Speak Out, Green Party - Santa Clara County, Jewish Voice for Peace - South Bay, Los Altos Voices for Peace, Mountain View Voices for Peace, MoveOn District 14 Council, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, Pacifica Peace People, Peace Action of San Mateo County, Peace Umbrella - Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, Raging Grannies Action League, The Rebuilding Alliance, San José Peace Center, San Mateo County Democracy for America, South Bay Mobilization, Veterans for Peace Locals, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom - Peninsula Branch
Picket and Protest
Bring signs and banners (some provided) ~ Street theater by Raging Grannies Action League in keeping with our theme:
KILLING/DYING IS NOT A CAREER.
Grannies will bring signs and props and some sign making material. Bring signs if you can. Demo/street theater from noon to 12:30pm then Grannies will pay a little visit to the new recruiters and others can continue to demonstrate on the corner or join us to deliver cookies and tea to "welcome" the recruiters to the neighborhood, i.e., put them on notice that they are in Raging Granny territory.
PermaLink: http://iraqmoratorium.org/events/listings/6/656.html
Reports, Updates, Comments
Fifty people, spearheaded by a contingent of Raging Grannies, showed up on the Third Friday of February at the newly opened "Armed Forces Career Center" at the mall in Mountain View.
Unlike some places, the recruiting center here was kept open. At least it was technically kept open. The recruiters were inside but the doors were locked! No one was able to try to talk young men and women into signing away their lives for a pack of bogus promises for the duration of the protest.
A handful of counter-demonstrators were there, proclaiming their support for the troops. The protesters simply pointed out that real support for the troops means getting them out of the catastrophic occupation of Iraq--now! We made our argument earnestly but with humor--and with tuba accompaniment.
The Palo Alto paper in covering the story quoted one counter-demonstrator, the mother of one of the recruiters, as saying ""Hate Bush, hate the war, but don't hate my son. I don't like Bush and I don't like the war in Iraq. I want him out of office," and pointing out that the recruiters are assigned to that job. She was actually saying the same thing the demonstrators were!
We'll be back! Maybe one day she'll join us.