Never Retire: Why Do So Many 'Old People' Protest in Spain?

Spain's seniors don’t take democracy for granted—maybe because they lived without it

Life in Europe has exceeded our expectations. But not only on quality of life.

I expected to see more protests—with more people—than in the United States. But I didn’t expect to see so many, so consistently, and attended by so many different types of people, particularly “old people.” I’m talking people in their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

I didn’t take a picture of the pro-Palestine protest we walked through on Saturday. Or the massive one we saw prior to going on vacation a couple of weeks ago. That one was part of a series of ongoing demonstrations calling for the leader of the local government in Valencia to step down after his administration’s gross and negligent mismanagement of the floods that ravaged neighborhoods south of the city and killed more than 200 people in October.

I did take a picture of a manifestation I bumped into a few weeks ago while riding my bike through the Old City—

You can see a few old faces in the crowd, but nothing like the last two. In fact, I would say a majority of the protesters you see in large demonstrations here are in the second act of life, with more than a few well into it.

Why is this?

I am asking because I want to know. My educated guess is that these people haven’t forgotten what it’s like to have the equivalent of a “king.”

I turn 50 next month, which means I’m older than Spain’s democracy. The country began transitioning after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. The first free elections came in 1977, followed by the ratification of a new constitution in 1978. A lot of the people I see protesting here—especially the older ones—remember what it was like to live under a dictatorship. They haven't forgotten what’s at stake.

Like with so many things in Europe—in particular, Spain—the mindset here is different. And refreshing. Led by Fox News, it’s “old people”—and, sadly, a growing subset of young people and (astonishingly) Latinos—who put the current king in power. Now, they sit back and watch as democracy comes under attack in ways I never could imagine. Meanwhile, the news stations and late night shows applaud the poll numbers, showing that just over 50% of the American people disapprove of this piece of shit’s handling of immigration. They gloss over the terrifying reality that around 40% approve of it.

There’s a cluelessness in the United States that has existed for some time. Finally, it has become objectively and visibly dangerous. Whereas “old people” in Spain remember the dictatorship they lived under, “old people” in the United States seem to forget their roots. They sit on their asses watching hacks like Sean Hannity and believe outrageous lies and characterizations of people they have very little, if any direct experience with.

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While I feel conflicted about watching America fall apart from a country moving in the opposite direction, I’ll live with the unease.

Because the truth is, the United States is getting what a majority of its people have either actively chosen—or allowed. This didn’t start with the current regime. It’s the result of decades of neglect, delusion, and denial.

Here in Spain, even with its own issues, you regularly see people in the streets pushing back. Protesting with purpose. Especially older people who remember what it’s like to live under oppression.

Here’s hoping Pedro Sánchez weathers his latest political storm. Because if Spain slides too far to the right, it’ll run against the spirit you see in its streets—a clear rejection of authoritarianism, expressed not by some narrow caricature of “protesters,” but by the very people the right in America pretends to represent. Older people. Working people. Everyday citizens.

Another false narrative—crumbling, just like the version of America that pushes it.

And—for something lighter—my latest Friki de Bici YouTube video.

Expect me to pick things back up over there this week, as I complete the vacation reset!

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And—oh—Happy Father’s Day.