Britain Is Becoming a Land of Perma-Protests
The UK is reviving a past of ever-present demonstrations. This is to be regretted.
Police officers arrest an 89-year-old protester at a "Lift The Ban" demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action.
Photographer: CHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFPThe poets have suggested very different approaches to old age. Virgil urged the elderly to enjoy calm contemplation once the unruly passions of youth had died down. By contrast, Dylan Thomas encouraged them to “rage against the dying of the light.” But none, to the best of my knowledge, has urged them to go on demonstrations and shout noisy slogans about social and political issues.
One of the most striking sights of this British summer has been that of OAPs waving banners and being dragged off by the police. Half of the 545 people arrested during a recent demonstration in Parliament Square in favor of Palestine Action were over sixty years old. Many were in their seventies and eighties (“she’s got a stick!” protestors shouted as a frail 81-year-old was escorted away by three policewomen). One of the people arrested, the 75-year-old Jonathon Porritt, is not only a knight of the realm but also an intimate of King Charles, also 75.