anti-war anti-nuke activists

Here’s an example of why Ruff n Raff will appeal to anti-war and anti-nuke activists.

Book 1 – STOP THE WAR

Chapter 3 – THE BATTLE OF EVERMORE

There was a horrible war brewing in the world. All the kids were more than a little anxious about it. Many of them had older brothers and sisters who would have to go and fight the war. Riff n Raff’s socials teacher, Mr. Mumu, thought a class trip to the zoo would take their minds off the looming war, but it was not to be.

As the class was watching the penguins plunge into pools of icy water, Raff asked Mr. Mumu, “Do animals ever have wars?” Raff, of course, knew the answer to the question. The only reason to ask it was to set up Riff. It was game on.

Mr. Mumu looked at the pair knowingly. He had a deep affection for Riff n Raff and admired their keen and cunning minds. “Animals? No. Not really.”

Riff pounced, “So, we’re the only species on the planet that has wars? I thought we were supposed to be the smart ones.”

There was no need for Riff n Raff to even look at each other for signals. They knew how to play the game, they played to win, and they usually did. They never argued about things they didn’t know much about. If there was a discussion, or argument, on a subject they were ignorant about, they either shut their mouths and listened, or asked questions. They did their homework. Their understanding of each other allowed them to communicate almost telepathically. “Why is there going to be a war, anyway?” asked Raff. “What did they do to us? What did we do to them?”

“War is a lie,” Riff said. “Politicians always have to lie to start wars. They lie, lie, and lie, and innocent people die, die, and die. War is a lie, a dirty, stinking lie.”

Mr. Mumu smiled. He loved to watch the pair work together. Usually. Sometimes things got ugly. Sometimes the kids who dared to take the bait offered by Riff n Raff got hurt. But he wanted to see where this was going, so he said, “It’s complicated.”

Riff pounced again, “And we’re shtoopid, or something?” Mr. Mumu smiled again, and started to say something, but not before Riff followed up. “I’ll tell you why there’s going to be a war. It’s because people are greedy. They want our stuff, and we want their stuff. Whether it’s gold, oil, land, water or anything else that’s valuable, greedy people want more of it, and they are willing to start wars to get it.”

No one noticed, but the penguins had stopped their gambolling and were listening to Riff intently. Their eyes got as big as frisbees. Their beaks dropped open. When Riff stopped speaking, the penguins winked at each other and high-fived.

“So, war is all about money?” asked Raff.

Mimi, who had once been good friends with Riff n Raff, took the bait. “War is good for the economy. It creates jobs.” she said. Mimi liked to play, too. She could thrust and parry with Riff, but Riff still felt some affection for her. Riff may have even had a ‘kind-of-crush’ on her, so he never turned it all the way to ten when they would argue.

Raff, on the other hand, had no trouble bringing her A game against Mimi. Raff and Mimi hated on each other in that special way that only girls are capable of. “Yeah, it creates jobs and makes people like your dad even richer,” Raff sniped at Mimi. “Some rich people,” Raff said, addressing the rest of the class, “like Mimi’s dad, can never get enough money.” Mimi’s dad was the President of the Wicked Weapons of War company, commonly called WWoW!

Mimi was reluctant to engage in word battle with Raff. She instinctively sensed that she was exposed, vulnerable on this subject, at this time, especially with her merciless enemy, Raff. So Mimi turned on Riff. “Riff, you’re just jealous because your dad’s a clown and you’re poor,” said Mimi, barely able to contain her anger. Unable to resist, Mimi took aim at Raff and fired a secondary shot, “And you and your father are no better, Raff.”

Riff was not completely disinclined to mess with Mimi, especially if Mimi started it, and if Raff was staring daggers at him, as she was at that moment. “Yeah, Mimi, we are poor and my dad is a clown, but he makes people laugh. Your dad builds weapons that all us poor people use to kill each other in wars. Wars that are waged so people like him can get richer.”

“The only reason people laugh at your dad is because he’s a drunk,” Mimi fired back. “They’re laughing at him, not with him.”