It has become a bit of a stereotype to think of war protesters as young college-bound kids with bleeding hearts on their sleeves and a never-ending list of sophomoric remarks on what was going on. You would think of the people most against this war to be almost a fad, unless you were in Central Park on Mother’s Day when the Granny Peace Brigade marched through Central Park chanting their desire to end the war in Iraq. One would have thought it was an exception to the rule, but then I stumbled upon this group....

These are the Chelsea Neighbors United to End the War. Every Tuesday evening, these everyday folks from the local walks of life gather at the NW corner of 8th Ave and 24th to protest the war for an hour and educate passersby of what they have learned via pamphlets before returning back to their livelihoods. They have been doing this for an incredible 157 weeks (“rain or shine” as their newsletter states) to make clear their stance on what is going on overseas.

If I could meet two such groups out of chance within three days’ span, then one can only imagine just how much dissent is out there right now in ye olde Gotham, let alone outside of it.

[The Granny Peace Brigade]