We’re all old, ya bastids!

One line of attack Republicans are trying is that the No Kings protestors were comprised almost entirely of ‘old’ people. At the same time, some on the left, construed broadly, also were concerned about the age distribution of protestors.

But these concerns really illustrate how some need to revise their understanding of what the U.S. actually looks like. In other words, we’re all old. Currently, people aged 20-29 (I’ll use this as the ‘young’ adult cohort) are 13 percent of the total population, and 17 percent of the adult (20 and older) population. Even in D.C., a relatively young colonial territory, people aged 20-29 are only 18 percent of the total population, and only 22 percent of the adult population.

I think we overestimate the number of young adults because the U.S. used to be a much younger country, especially during the ‘protest era.’ If we look the 1970 data–and there were a lot of protests in 1970!–we see that the population was much younger. In 1970, people aged 20-29 were 15 percent of the total population, and nearly 24 percent of the adult population. Keep in mind, this includes rural areas that were losing young people, and so urban and neighboring suburban areas would have been much younger. And if we were to throw 15-19 year olds into the mix, even more adults in 1970 would be considered young.

My goal here isn’t to refute GOP talking points–they’re not going to listen to anyone like me. But even before you get to things like work hours or childcare that will affect attendance, we should realize that most adults aren’t young adults, especially compared to the past–the Baby Boom was a real thing! Now everyone is just old (lmfao).

Have a nice Monday.