Hansen: I do not advise young people to get arrested, even though I have been arrested in protests against activities such as mountaintop removal and tar sands development. My aim, as an older person willing to accept the consequences, is to draw attention to an unjust situation or policy. Our government has shown that it is ready to heavily punish illegal acts, even if those acts are justified on moral grounds, as shown by the Tim DeChristopher case. It seems that this situation will not change much as long as the number of young people standing up remains small.
