A Question to any participants in the March For Our Lives marches...

[BigOleDummy]

I was answering/replying to another thread when something "clicked" in my head. I recall seeing something along these lines in a news article but while writing my comment the question really gelled. I went to Louisville's MFOL rally and was struck by how many older people , like me, were there. Had a few nice conversations but that's beside the point. At Louisville at least we had many many young people, high school and younger and many of us gray heads but not many in between those two "extremes". Very few and I mean VERY FEW 20/30 somethings were in attendance. My main question is : was it same at other events? We had terrible weather here for ours, cold and rain for the whole day but that didn't stop the kids and the grandparents from showing up. Where were the 20/30's?

I guess a secondary question would be, how can we motivate these people to come out?

[bettyellen]

1. Very few men in their twenties to thirties show up for anything.

That’s what I have noticed again and again.

[hlthe2b]

2. I think Denver was about 60% Boomers with about near equal gender representation,

as well as for those in their 30s and 40s. There may have been a few more females for the group in their mid 20s, but among teens and early 20s I'd say it was fairly even.

Quite a few little kids for those in their 20-30s Lots of dogs which had me terrified they'd be stepped on.

[rasberry]

3. Same here

I attended the March in Columbus, Ohio, and our march included a lot of social activists in their 60's & 70's. There were plenty of kids with their parents, but i was amazed at the number of people in my age group (70). It seems that some of us have been protesting forever.

[BigOleDummy]

5. Agreed...

I thought I'd be one of a few older people there and actually kind of worried about that. Didn't want to look like a perv you know but was only one of many.

[crazycatlady]

4. As someone who manages campaign volunteers

They're either college students (sometimes high school) or retirees-- usually nothing in between. Most of the staff retire from politics (campaign side) by their 30th birthday due to burnout.

When it comes to volunteering, the people who have 'settled down' and are raising families have volunteer activities that focus on their families (I hate that I just used that phrase). Think things like coaching the basketball team, Scout leaders, volunteering at the school, PTA, etc. They're not usually focused on activities that do not pertain to their kids. It is also the time when people are typically paying a mortgage and figuring out how to send their kids to college, so work comes first.

[Freedomofspeech]

6. Same in Pittsburgh.

[Arkansas Granny]

7. We had a bigger turnout than I expected and it seemed that all age groups

we're represented from septuagenarians like myself down to the little girl holding a sign that said "Voter in 2035". Looking back, the 20-30 age group might not have had the numbers of others groups, but they were there.

[TomSlick]

9. Granny, were you at the Little Rock march?

From what I saw, the 60-70 group seemed over represented but otherwise there seemed a good diversity of ages. I was disappointed that there seemed to be few people of color - other than among the young speakers.

[Arkansas Granny]

10. No, I was in Fort Smith.

ETA: The only news coverage of the Fort Smith March that I've seen mentioned that "dozens" of people turned out. I would estimate 200 - 300. It was certainly more than I expected.

[TomSlick]

11. The Little Rock march was amazing.

The Little Rock PD estimated the crowd at 3,500 to 4,000. I was simply blown away by the young speakers.

There was an NRA heckler but the crowd shouted him down with chants of "Peace, not violence" until he skulked away. It was my best Saturday since the Woman's march.

The GOP/NRA types outnumber us, but we are not alone.

[Leighbythesea]

8. Lots of kids, parents and grand parents

I saw some very small children which would mean parents were 30s. But big time and energy commitment with such little ones. Thats what i thought when i noticed them--good for them! I was kinda tired and my step-sons are 12 and 16!