From Cradle To Crusty

The Prime Minister recently referred to protestors from the Extinction Rebellion group as "unco-operative crusties" sheltering in "hemp smelling bivouacs". George Monbiot acknowledges that many of those supergluing themselves to the pavement are white, middle class, healthy pensioners who can afford to take the time to protest. But as GM says "the costs of arrest are lower for me - I have a moral duty to use my privilege"
But at the other end of the scale, we have seen a huge upsurge in the number of younger people protesting recently. And people have complained about that too - why aren't they  in school? what do they know about life? how dare they presume to teach us how to live? etc.
I believe passionately in the right to peaceful protest against perceived injustice, whatever your age. And even if these children sometimes are naive, and not fully aware of all the facts, I applaud those who seek to make the world a better place. And I admire those who struggled against adversity, seeking to help others. 
How many of these girls can you name? Each one has been an 'influencer' since her teenage years

Top row - Greta Thunberg [b.2003]. A bright Swedish teenager, coping with all the difficulties of being on the autistic spectrum- but not afraid to 'speak truth to power' and tell the older generations that they are killing our planet.
Malala Yousafzai,[b.1997] a Pakistani teenager who became an activist for women's education, survived an assassination attempt 7 years ago, and now is studying at Oxford, and working to improve women's education the world over.
Second row- Anne Frank,[b.1929] a German born Dutch Jew. Hidden from the Nazis for 2 years, she kept a secret diary. In 1944 she was discovered, and sent to a concentration camp where she died. Her diary continues to inspire and challenge.
Amy Carmichael, [b.1867] this Irish girl had a passion for speaking of Jesus, she went to Manchester in her teens, to help the mill-girls - but then travelled to India and spent the rest of her life there, working to free women forced into prostitution, and helping orphaned and destitute children.
Third Row - Marie Curie [b.1867] a Polish woman, brilliant at science, in a time when girls were not encouraged to pursue higher education. She made great personal sacrifices in her teens to enable her to get to university. We still benefit from the discoveries she made. She won Nobel Prizes in two different fields.
Mary Jones[b. 1800] - a Welsh girl who, aged ten, desperately wanted to read the bible in her own language, so she could learn to be more like Jesus. She saved for 6 years, then walked 26 miles, barefoot across the hills, to buy her own copy. The bookseller did not have one- but Mary's determination led to the foundation of the Bible Society - which now provides bibles all round the world in hundreds of languages.
Six girls from six different nations, who all started working to make a different before they became adults. None from very wealthy backgrounds, all committed to caring for others. 
Their stories challenge me and inspire me. I'm definitely an old, crusty, unco-operative activist now [tho I have never had a hemp smelling bivouac] but I pray I never lose my passion for speaking out against injustice, or doing what I can to help others.