To wonder why so many pensioners are supporting Palestine Action, even willing to risk prison for it ?

[PrincessSophieFrederike]

Palestine Action showed their true colours a long time ago. I strongly oppose a lot of Netanyahu's actions- I don't object to a protest for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. That wasn't Palestine Action's agenda, though.

I would've thought people 60+ would have, on average, accumulated more wisdom. Young people have often been swept up into radical movements with dangerous agendas (look at 60s protestors who thought Castro & co.were nice etc). It's no excuse..but is a BIT easier to see why young people (student age) might fall for this kind of stuff. Also people now seem to have less media literacy, esp SM.

But why are 60+ year olds getting caught up in it?? Willing to go to prison? What is going on? This hasn't happened before with stuff like BLM or Extinction Rebellion, so what us going on now?

The stats on protestors' ages :

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/10/police-arrest-hundreds-london-protest-over-palestine-action-ban&ved=2ahUKEwjpoNCzwpiQAxUAW0EAHcx5GiAQFnoECGAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1MtKSwaYaTrh6pYXI3gOfb

My 80 yo old mum says it’s because they are happy to fight for the right to protest, assemble and speak freely to spare the young ‘uns the criminal record and possible jail terms.

good luck prison officers, you’ll need it.

Images of innocent toddlers dying needlessly of malnutrition is enough to make a lot of people support Palestine Action.

Pensioners won’t be affected by not being able to get a job if PA loses the case and remains a terrorist organisation

Pensioners want to keep their free speech

Some pensioners of today were around during greenpeace activism

Pensioners don’t have to take a day off work and are doing it for the younger generation

Pensioners can see where this Big Brother State is leading to. They have spent a lifetime fighting for their rights and they don’t want to lose them

Plus what @Meadowfinch just said of course !

i might think of some more after a sleep

I should also just say I applaud them all. I think they are amazing

I doubt if anyone will get a prison sentence. But if the courts hand out enough £1,000 fines some of Rachel Reeves' budget problems will be solved. We can think of it as a kind of reverse winter fuel payment - pensioners pay the government, instead of the other way around - for liberal left wing old people who volunteer.

A question to those who support these people: are you prepared to contribute to crowd funders to pay the fines for them? Or are you going to watch from the sidelines? 1,500 people at £1,000 a shot is a total of £15 million. Better dig deep.

I assume they were trying to stop children starving and being bombed.
Hopefully this ceasefire continues and there should be no more protesting for Palestine.
Personally I would like to see a continuous fight for those in the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, and other countries facing destruction..
The protesting highlighted the need for a ceasefire.

I would not trust an element on the marches not to be violent and/or anti-semitic. To me the marches are stoking division and hatred not promoting peace. Plus I don't support terrorist organisations.

Me too

A lot of the people in those marches are Jews

And you know that because...?

And what's "a lot" ?

Then the beef is with the UN who for some reason won't distribute the Aid. Protesting in UK won't help.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ngos-ready-distribute-aid-gaza-questions-remain-around-access

https://news.sky.com/story/aid-is-sitting-idle-in-gaza-where-there-is-now-widespread-malnutrition-13401481

They don't believe Palestine Action should be a proscribed organization, as the government declared it to be a few months ago, so the protest is really about freedom of speech

Exactly! So why are so many people, who are definitely old enough to know better, supporting them?

This didn't happen with BLM, Extinction Rebellion, etc

So why are pensioners turning out in droves to risk arrest for a pro-Hamas group??

Are you Elon Musk? What???

Younger people can’t afford to risk a criminal record. It’s not such an issue for retired people who aren’t planning to go job hunting any time soon. I wrote to my MP about the proscribing of Palestine action as I strongly disagree with it, but I can’t afford to risk losing my job by joining a public protest. If I were retired, I’d be joining them.

£1.5 million

Your post is dripping in condescension OP, maybe they're not 'falling for anything' maybe they see a cause they believe is worth fighting for.

Absolutely this. Anyone willing to protest a genocide, an occupied country getting annihilated daily, regardless of age - won't get any criticism from me.

The question should be, why have they been labelled a terrorist organisation? Why are our government so quick to quieten them. It's peaceful protesting, freedom of speech.

I would've thought people 60+ would have, on average, accumulated more wisdom.

That's definitely not true!

You don’t condemn Hamas or October 7th? Wow.

one does not blame a dog for biting the person who has kicked it for years. one blames the instigator of violence.

Do you blame the British government for all the attacks here then?

I think you know exactly why they are supporting the right to protest. Clearly PA is not a terrorist organisation and if the government gets away with convincing people otherwise we are all screwed.

@Yriovd 💯 and I didn’t condemn the Irish resistance or the anc fight against apartheid either. I despise the necessity for violent conflict but sadly peaceful protest goes nowhere. Even the suffragettes had to resort to action.
all life lost is wholly desperate and awful but the blame is firmly on the side of the aggressors.