A protester for the ages

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/09/13/northamptons_frances_crowe_at_91_still_waging_battle_for_peace/

Western Mass. activist, 91, holds tight to liberal causes

By David Abel
Globe Staff / September 13, 2010

NORTHAMPTON — Authorities dragged the short woman with white hair out of her congressman’s Springfield office while she protested the Iraq war. She spent a month in federal prison after painting “Thou shalt not kill’’ on missile tubes of nuclear submarines in Connecticut. She has been arrested nine times for trespassing at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

When asked how often she has been hauled away for acts of civil disobedience, Frances Crowe responds with a smile: “Not enough.’’

At age 91, and less than a month after her latest arrest, the veteran protester — who favors socks with sandals, thick glasses, and oversized pins with bold-lettered messages — has no plans to stop agitating.

[babylonsister]

1. Holy mackeral! 91 years old, and still 'disturbing'. I love it! Rec'd. nt

[Radical Activist]

2. What a great role model.

:toast:

[kas125]

3. Wow, she's amazing! And she's ten years older than my dad,

who is the old man among the peace activists in our area. I hope she has many more years of protesting left!

[ConsAreLiars]

4. A bit more from the link (read the whole thing!) -->

In addition to protesting war, Crowe and the others organize a weekly film series off Main Street, featuring titles such as “Harvest of Grief’’ and “Enemies of Happiness.’’ They insist on eating local foods, canning and drying their own fruits and vegetables, and taking public transportation when walking or biking doesn’t make sense.

The only time Crowe uses her bumper-sticker-covered car is to take her bottles to a recycling facility.

Among her acolytes is Phyllis Rodin, 95, who cruises around Northampton in a motorized wheelchair, usually wearing a large cap covered with antiwar pins. On a recent afternoon, she carried a weathered sign that read, “War is not the Answer.’’

“I was recruited years ago by Frances, and we do our best to raise awareness about the injustices in our society,’’ she said. “People ask me why I carry this sign, and I say, ‘I do what I can. I can carry a sign to protest the war,’ and so I do.’’
...
Crowe’s first arrest came in 1972 at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, where she and friends wore conical hats and read Vietnamese women’s poetry to protest the Vietnam War.

Her proudest moment? Installing a large antenna in her backyard to bring the radio program “Democracy Now!’’ to Northampton. She kept the antenna in use until pressuring a local public radio station to air the broadcast by launching a campaign to sap its money-raising efforts.