Palo Alto ‘Grannies’ Rage For Social Justice, Science

PALO ALTO, CA — You can urge others to adhere to social distancing guidelines, implore them to wash their hands, or yell at the top of your lungs: “Stay home!”

Or you can band to together a group of female seniors in costumes dancing and singing songs carrying the same messages on the streets of Palo Alto every Tuesday night.

Which do you think is the better way to get your message out?

The Raging Grannies Action League is going with the latter approach, and it seems to be working.

The Peninsula chapter holds weekly events in Palo Alto where they entertain people of all ages with their message of social activism.

In their most recent gathering on Tuesday night the Raging Grannies expressed concerns about the state’s relaxing of social distancing rules coinciding with Memorial Day weekend.

The event drew hoards of media coverage including a piece in the The San Jose Mercury News and was featured in a local TV news segment on KTVU that was carried by sister networks in other parts of the country, including Phoenix.

Raging Grannies member Ruth Robertson told Patch the group uses its platform to draw attention to important causes. Among the group’s most pressing concerns is that people will ditch their masks and flout other social distancing guidelines over the upcoming holiday weekend.

“We’re particularly concerned because we are all over 65 - the oldest granny is 90 and she’s still active - so our age is a risk and many of us have co-morbidities,” Robertson said.

“Some of us have asthma or lung problems or other things that make us more susceptible to (COVID-19 complications), so even if you don’t care about us think about your own grandparents.”

The Raging Grannies Action League is part of a loosely affiliated group of around 600 spread across North America. The group formed in 1987 in British Columbia, Canada.

The Peninsula chapter consists of about 21 members, about 10 in San Mateo County, 10 in Palo Alto and one in San Francisco.

About seven or so are attending the Palo Alto events regularly during the coronavirus crisis. Some have health issues and are concerned about traveling from outside Palo Alto.

“You don’t have to be biological grandma and you don’t have to be a a certain age,” Robertson said.

“If you you’re too young to be a granny we can give you a status of ‘granny groupie.’ Some college students have joined our events.”

But the Raging Grannies is a feminist group, and isn’t open to men, Robertson said.

Although adhering to social distancing laws amid the coronavirus crisis is the group’s most important cause at the moment, the Raging Grannies support many social justice causes. They carry signs in support of undocumented farm workers and calling for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

They also rage in support of truckers and delivery drivers and against gun shops.

“A lot of people are thanking first responders and have paid a lot of attention to medical professionals, but people forget that the reason there’s food on our plate is because of farm workers,” Robertson said. “In our county and even further south, a lot of them are undocumented and they don’t have health care.”

Robertson said her group is especially concerned about misinformation propagated by the White House and amplified by right-wing media.

She noted President Trump’s acknowledgement earlier this week that he’s taking hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus prophylactic - the unproven COVID-19 medication he’s heavily promoted in recent months - along with his declining to wear a mask, is sending an entirely improper message as the world confronts this pandemic.

“We want to get out the message, listen to the science, and unfortunately not to the president,” Robertson said. “He’s misinterpreting, misreading or not paying attention to the science.”

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