Conversation with an activist

By SARAH WHEATON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 18, 2001

Below is a transcript of an AOL Instant Message conversation between X-Team member Sarah Wheaton (Sarahnyc83) and Sarah Skowronski (Shakantala), a Palm Harbor teenager who is politically active.

Sarahnyc83: ok, i need to "interview' u for my article. ... do u have time?

Shakantala: yeah, it's no problem

Sarahnyc83: y were u protesting?

Shakantala: I was protesting Bush for a number of reasons, environmental, social and humanitarian. ... but ultimately, it really comes down to the fact that Bush is out to protect corporate interests and not the interests of the average American people, and I think that influences every aspect of his policies

Sarahnyc83: what do u think u accomplished?

Shakantala: I think we were able to effectively voice our opposition to his policies and to raise awareness about some of his ideas, like his tax plan, his offshore drilling plan, and his refusal to fund research for clean power. Since we had to stay in the designated protest zone, of course, I think we weren't able to accomplish quite as much as we could have, but that wasn't our fault.

Sarahnyc83: for how long have u been following politics?

Shakantala: I've been following politics for a long time -- since middle school -- but it wasn't until recently that I actually became involved in political activism

Sarahnyc83: y did u become involved?

Shakantala: When I saw Ralph Nader speak in St. Petersburg, he spoke about civic participation and public involvement in politics in a way which inspired me to become active, rather than just expecting someone else to fix political and social problems for me

Sarahnyc83: how have u been active aside from the protest on monday?

Shakantala: I've been involved with the local Green Party and other progressive organizations

Sarahnyc83: why is it important for youth to become active?

Shakantala: Even though the mistakes that politicians make are not caused by our generation, they directly impact our futures. For instance, Bush's shortsighted emphasis on drilling rather than on developing clean power will affect the environment for years to come in the future -- that's going to impact us, the future generation, not Bush. So we need to be active in order to preserve our futures and our children's futures. And even if we can't vote, we can make our views known in other ways, like protests.

Sarahnyc83: how would u assess our generation's level of involvement? i mean, do u think that we are generally well-informed and adequately active, or do u feel that not enough of us care and that we are basically ignorant of what's going on in gov't today?

Shakantala: I think a lot of youth are well-informed and most of them have pretty good instincts about political issues. But I think a lot of us are reluctant and maybe a bit afraid to get involved in activism -- afraid that our parents might get angry, afraid that we just aren't mature enough to know anything about politics, afraid that we won't really make a difference in the world. But we need to stop listening to the cynics and the apathetic bystanders, and start acting on our political instincts.

Sarahnyc83: how did u feel about the arrest of those three protesters?

Shakantala: I thought that was outrageous. I mean, this was a public event that involved governmental figures, so people should have been allowed to exercise their free speech rights. But apparently the First Amendment was only meant to apply in special zones, not throughout America -- or anyway, that's what the police seemed to think that day.

Sarahnyc83: do u think stuff like that discourages kids from getting involved? does it promote cynicism?

Shakantala: Yes, I think when peaceful protesters at Bush rallies are ... arrested ..., kids are definitely scared away from political activism and become cynical about the possibility of speaking truth to power. And their parents also aren't exactly encouraged to let their kids get involved.

Sarahnyc83: speaking of which, r u you gonna to get in trouble when i quote u and ur parents find out u did actually demonstrate?

Shakantala: Well, my mom knows I protested, but my dad doesn't, so I hope none of his coworkers show him the article.

Sarahnyc83: coolness ... thanx, sarah :)

Shakantala: okay, thanks

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