“I WANT a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come,” said Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London.

The Wimbledon crowd booed her.

“I don’t want my grandchildren, nieces and nephews to suffer,” said William John Ward, 66, a retired civil engineer from Epsom.

“Right now, millions of people are being forced outside of the conditions necessary to support human life.”

The Wimbledon crowd booed him.

This isn’t the exact order in which these things happened, and the crowd didn’t boo these sentiments directly, but this is effectively what they were doing when booing Just Stop Oil protests which made the sports headlines again this week.

Maybe it was more pantomime than genuine hostility, but a good cause is still being jeered rather than cheered, for some reason.

This further back page coverage came after protesters inflicted some mild inconvenience on spectators of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in London.

The response to the protesters is increasingly negative, not just from the expected quarters of the Establishment, but from elsewhere too, even in standard, straight reporting.

There’s also an idea that these protests aren’t working because rather than anger being aimed at the government, and increased support for the aims of Just Stop Oil, there is just annoyance with the protesters who are seen as a nuisance, spoiling the enjoyment of a sporting event.

But away from the headlines made by Just Stop Oil, there doesn’t seem much public concern for this cause anyway.

In some reports, the Wimbledon protests were derided as underwhelming, with the impact on the day’s play being less than in previous incidents in other sports.

Even though one of the messages to the protesters was that there might be more sympathy for their cause if they toned things down a bit and minimised disruption, when they did that this week (intentionally or otherwise), they were still criticised.

Just Stop Oil is a non-violent civil resistance group demanding the British government stop licensing all new oil, gas and coal projects. This is how it describes itself on its website, and this is for all intents and purposes what it is.

No-one was harmed by the actions of protesters at Wimbledon, and previous interruptions at the second Ashes test match at Lords, the World Snooker Championships, football and other sporting events have been non-violent and peaceful.

But they have been somewhat disruptive. Which is the point.

When there are calls for peaceful, non-disruptive protests, this usually translates more truthfully as: “We want protests we can just ignore, thanks.”

Other forms of protest don’t seem to be working very well. Governments around the world occasionally mention climate change but rarely do anything about it, because one of the biggest obstacles to halting climate change is capitalism itself and the governments who execute its worst whims and maintain its status.

“I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences,” added Wilde.

“In normal circumstances, this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.”

Asking protesters to be quieter, cause less disruption, and generally stay out of people’s way is like asking teachers to strike during the summer holidays (which one Tory MP actually suggested last week).

The whole point of protest is that people notice and the issues are raised and placed in the public eye.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman condemned the Wimbledon protests, which is as good an indicator as any that the protesters are championing a good cause and should be supported.

Braverman, like many commentators, tries to twist the narrative around to the idea that Just Stop Oil protesters are only ruining the day for the paying public, but if anything, spectators are getting more value for money.

Most punters will remember the day they saw Jonny Bairstow ungainly carry a protester all the way to the boundary rope or the time a session of snooker was iconically interrupted by a cloud of orange smoke.

The incident at the snooker seemed especially jarring for fans of the sport. The near-continuous, almost comforting shot of the 12 by 6 table on TV, and the close-quarters action in the Crucible Theatre made the protest seem big and distressing, especially when one protester stood on the table.

In Elton John’s autobiography, he commented that even during wild parties he would implore guests to not spoil the baize of his snooker table, or words to that effect. The snooker table is sacrosanct.

From the hallowed baize to the immaculately prepared lawns of Wimbledon and Lords, Just Stop Oil is using England’s green and pleasant lands to make a point in an attempt to ensure they remain green and pleasant for everyone. Not just for elite private members’ clubs.

“If we continue down our current path it will destroy families and communities,” say Just Stop Oil.

“We will face the starvation and the slaughter of billions of the poor — and the utter betrayal of our children and their future.

“Climate collapse will mean the end of workers’ rights, women’s rights, all human rights. It is already the greatest injustice visited on the global South in human history.”

What would the Wimbledon crowd’s reaction to this be? Maybe Just Stop Oil protesters should be cheered and not booed.