It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

ANTI-ANTI-AMERICAN DECLARATIONS IN SOUTH KOREA.

Leading South Korean activists yesterday tried to cool off intensifying anti-American protests, saying that demonstrators must not target the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the peninsula.

``The United States is South Korea's traditional ally,'' the activists said in a statement. ``The U.S. forces is absolutely needed for us to protect our interests and for the power balance in Northeast Asia.''

The statement by 48 activists was issued to coincide with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to Seoul to discuss the rising anti-American sentiment and other issues. The activists included Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice leader Soh Kyung-suk, and Korean Buddhist leader Songwolju.

This news account is remarkably vague about the number of constituents these "activists" claim to represent. Do they outnumber the "nearly 600 activists" who "held a rally in a park near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to protest the visit by Armitage"? Moreover, I am increasingly convinced that the term "activist" has lost all explanatory utility. What is an "activist?" What significant meaning would be lost by replacing "activist" with "person"?