I'm a noob having 3 questions about student activism.

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I stumbled upon some articles that aroused my interest in student activism although I'm not very sure what it involves. (I think that in my country, student activism doesn't really have a nice, squeaky-clean reputation.) I asked a student activist some questions, but she ignored me. I suspect that I had offended her some way or another, so forget about her, let me ask you these questions.

1. Have people been exploiting student activism as a stepping stone to politics?

2. As far as you know, do the number of people exploiting student activism as a stepping stone to politics outnumber people who genuinely seek to reform society through student activism?

3. If I participate in student activism, does that mean that I'm either an aspiring politician or a pawn of aspiring politicians?

(I suspect that the real-life example I gave might have offended the student activist. In my country's history, some students probably saw themselves as student activists when they sang and dance in support of bus drivers on strike. Little did these students know that some politicians from one party had allegedly instigated the strike in an attempt to speed up the downfall of another politician in a rival party, so these students were merely the politicians' pawns.)

Absolutely, in Australia quite a few politicians started their careers with student politics. It has commonly been that, or the union movement.



I don't believe so, if fact thinking about it I am sure it is not true. They have ended up in a large variety of occupations, especially ones where they deal with or help people.



That really depends on your morals and what you are prepared to go along with. I don't think an aspie would make a good politician (too much lying and corruption involved), and would not make good pawns of politicians as we like thinking for ourselves too much.

I should explain I was involved in Student Politics (on the left), so my knowledge of right wing politicians is not that great.
It was good fun, and you meet some interesting people.

1. Yes
2. No
3. No

There is an old cliché that has been around for at least two and a half centuries in one form or another: "The man who is not a socialist by 20 has no heart; the man who is still a socialist at 30 has no head." Young people have always been politically radicalized. Students are, generally, for the first time free from parental control. They are bright, intelligent and curious people. Many of them are engaged in the study of their society and its institutions, and are provided with ample opportunity to see the potential and desirability of reform. They are not yet possessed of significant responsibilities related to careers, to spouses and to children.

This is a recipe for political activism. Young people wanting to change the world is a story as old as storytelling itself.

Now there are some who will turn this youthful idealism into a desire to pursue politics as a way of life (not always in elected politics, there is a great deal of politics that happens outside the legislature). But these people are, I suggest, vastly outnumber by those who will dabble in politics when their studies and their way of life gives them the freedom to do so, but who will abandon it when work, marriage and parenting all present themselves as more important.

There is another old cliché that has been around for almost twenty years: "There is a time and a place for everything, and it's called college." If young people are being exploited by other political figures, so be it. It's part of the game, and it has been for centuries.

Yes to all three.

Hi, thank you for your replies. I have been wondering whether I should give student activism a try because of the following reasons...

1. I have extremely few commitments, hence I'm willing and able to invest time and effort.
2. I have been increasingly disgusted with my "eat and sleep, sleep and eat" routine... I'm eager to chalk up some good karma points for myself. I highly doubt that I will be able to make any difference to society, but hey, any attempt to reform this messed up society is better than no attempt.
3. I have been too obsessed with my current special interest for my own good. I usually stick to one or two special interests at any point in time. Maybe I can make student activism my new special interest.

I asked the student activist these questions because I was interested in student activism but not 100% ready to participate in its activities yet. I thought that as long as she gave me well-thought answers, I would gladly lend my support to her activities. (Hey, if her answers show that she is charismatic and persuasive, who knows? I might even volunteer to be her pawn.

The first time I asked her those questions that I asked you all here, she ignored me. She then published more articles asking people (especially students) to support her cause. I thought, "Since you are looking for more supporters and I'm looking for a cause to support, let me give you another chance." So I rephrased these questions before asking her again. She gave me an extremely curt reply that had nothing to do with my questions.

I frequently make mistakes when interacting with people so I desperately need to know where I have gone wrong. What went wrong?

Option 1: She was rude because she didn't know how to answer my questions.
Option 2: She was rude because she didn't want to answer my questions, but why? She kept inviting people to ask her questions or to comment on her articles!
Option 3: She was rude because student activism would be her stepping stone to politics. Somehow, my questions reminded her of her true intentions so she was angry with me for seeing through her "mask of sincerity".
Option 4: She was rude because my questions are offensive, but how are these questions offensive?

I'm so puzzled... Some people remark that I lack self-confidence, but they probably don't know that one reason why I lack self-confidence is that I frequently offend people and/or make people angry with me both online and offline. Thanks for reading.

The questions are offensive because they can call into question the sincerity of beliefs of student activists.

She could internalize question 1 into, "Are you just exploiting this cause to advance your own interests?
Question 2 potentially becomes, "Does anybody actually support your cause? Or are you all just doing this to pad your resumés`?"
And 3 might become, "Am I actually going to do anything worthwhile if I support you? Or are you just going to count me as another statistic in your number of supporters?"

You have to remember that our literalism is not shared by NTs. When she reads your question, she not only reads the words on the page, but she also reads what she understands to be the sentiments behind them.

Thank you. Let me digress...

Ideal scenario: Student activists are genuinely interested in reforming society. They will persevere until society has indeed changed for the better. Right now, some student activists in my country are campaigning for freedom of the press. I sincerely believe that society will be better off once freedom of the press is achieved.

So-so scenario: These student activists are campaigning for freedom of the press merely because the best way for new politicians to win votes is to support causes that most people support. As far as I know, many people in my country desire freedom of the press. Once these student activists become politicians, they will eventually forget the causes that they have campaigned so hard for. They will eventually forsake fellow students who have worked equally hard to support them in their activities as student activists. If such student activists confess to me that they are interested in joining politics one day, at least I'm aware that they will forsake their causes on the day they give their maiden speeches as politicians of the ruling party. (Most people in my country join the ruling party. Some people even say that politicians who join non-ruling parties are the ruling party's rejects.)

Worst scenario: These student activists lie that they genuinely want to reform society when in reality, they just want to exploit student activism as a stepping stone to politics. Hello, if they lie, where has their integrity gone?!

Let me digress some more... Let me tell you a true story about student activism from my country's history...

Once upon a time, many teens in my country participated actively in student activism. Many of them were genuinely idealistic, but the leaders (the most charismatic ones) harbored hopes of becoming politicians one day. There was a young lawyer who officially served as the leaders' legal counsel and unofficially taught the leaders how to gain more publicity for their causes. In those days, student activists campaigned vigorously for freedom of expression. The leaders collaborated with the young lawyer to form a political party. This newly minted political party relied heavily on student activists from various schools to win the people's hearts. The young lawyer gradually fell out with his right-hand man (one former student activist) because they both had been jockeying for the position of Prime Minister. The young lawyer won. He expelled all former student activists from the party. (Long story...) The young lawyer, who once campaigned so hard for freedom of expression, curbed freedom of expression upon gaining the upper hand in politics. (That's why I don't fully trust activists.)

Why are you worried what their motives are? What are your motives?

If you believe in the cause, then get involved.