Over the last few years, out of journalistic curiosity, I have attended several big political protests in the UK. These include The People’s March of March 2019, an Extinction Rebellion and anti-Trump rally, as well as a lockdown protest.

Each of these were enlightening in their own right, often showing a huge dissonance between reality and the mainstream media’s presentation of it. Many will remember presenter Jon Snow’s infamous words in 2019, after he watched a pro-Brexit rally and told Channel 4 viewers: “I’ve never seen so many white people in one place”. You could say exactly the same thing about the protests I’ve mentioned above, though — bar the anti-lockdown one, which attracted a diverse crowd (not that Snow types would ever acknowledge this).

One suspects there’s a psychological pull to activism

In the wake of Just Stop Oil (JSO) protests, I’ve found myself coming back to those somewhat masochistic days of following militant Remainers and eco warriors around central London, particularly on the topic of demography. In May, on the way to work, I came across around 20–30 JSO activists obstructing a main road. On the pavement next to them was a furious cockney man, shouting that they were “c**ts” who’d never worked a day in their life. I sympathised with his frustration, however viscerally expressed.

Looking at footage of Just Stop Oil protests and listening to their televised interviews, it’s hard not to notice that the activists aren’t particularly “diverse”, in the modern sense, most of them being white and (from the accents I’ve heard) speaking in received pronunciation. A decent chunk seem to be university-student age — take, for instance, Phoebe Plummer, a pink-haired 21-year-old from London, who is one of the group’s most high profile members. Some are middle-aged, and there are also a fair few grey or white-haired fellows amongst their ranks.

Although Jon Snow was most interested in the skin colour of protestors in 2019, I find age a more salient factor when examining a political cause. Age does not, of course, determine how legitimate or illegitimate someone’s views are, the same for any immutable characteristic. It does has a big impact on someone’s ability to “make their point”, via disruption or any other form of protest. Some are essentially “more equal than others”, when it comes to having the means to cause a stir. Many people from older generations are retired, giving them time to sit in roads and Wimbledon courts. They are from the wealthier part of the population, making protest an entirely different proposition to young people with precarious finances and jobs.

With hindsight, it makes more sense to me why, at former protests, I saw so many boomers. It was the beginning of a new era — the age of the “Retiree Rebel”, if you will. Not only does this demographic find it easier to venture into activism than others, due to having the economic means, but one suspects there’s a psychological pull to activism. If you suddenly find yourself out of professional action, protesting is a great way to fill the void. You now have a hobby as well as a new network, by way of activist pals.

Furthermore, I can’t help suspecting that many of these oil-hating souls never had a youthful rebellion, hence why they relish the opportunity to misbehave now. Perhaps they were well-behaved whippersnappers, who shunned the punk movement or regretted not joining an anti-war movement in the 60s and 70s. Maybe they never bunked off school with their mates, experiencing the thrill of disobedience. Unlike other generations, such as mine, they didn’t have gap years to sow their wild oats. Is it unreasonable to think they are now letting off decades-long steam?

The more land a person has, the more protectionist they become

The obvious retaliation to my singling out of boomers is to say, “what about the Phoebe Plummers of this world?” Whilst young protestors are not exactly the same kettle of fish as their older equivalents, there are significant commonalities. Plumber, according to The Scottish Mail, went to the £45,000-a-year St Mary’s School in Ascot, before attending the £30,000-a-year Mander Portman Woodward College in Kensington. In other words, she seems to have a financial cushion to fall back on. It’s not hard to imagine some of her baby-faced comrades may too be from comfortable homes. One also wonders, as with retirees, if JSO’s younger members have too much time on their hands, due to difficulties getting a job after university and additional economic challenges.

JSO and other disruptive groups are emblematic of “protest privilege”, whereby their issues are perceived as more urgent only because activists have money and time to make them so. The nation ends up having to accept what they consider the national emergency as the “national emergency”, that currently being stopping oil.

It’s interesting that environmentalism always seems to be at the top of the boomers’ agenda. Although they say it’s about saving the planet for their grandkids, perhaps there can be a more selfish element. In recent years, MPs have started to justify NIMBYism by saying they’re protecting “green spaces” and “the environment”. I can’t help thinking that the more land and assets a person has, the more protectionist they become. Environmentalism is the perfect guise if you want to eschew industrialisation and development near you. You don’t need it, after all, when you are sitting pretty with your wealth.

Retiree rebels cause economic harm on two counts. First, they obstruct other members of the population — say, people driving to work. Second, and just as harmful, they help to downgrade the importance of other issues in this country. The housing crisis is one of the biggest, yet it lacks activism, mainly because Generation Rent has no means to obstruct London for weeks on end. Retiree Rebels sometimes like to tell us they’re worried about young people’s futures. If so, they’ve got a funny way of showing it.