Idealistic young people putting futures at risk for protest movement

I write as a retired English teacher regarding the sit-in protest in Central on the night of July 1. Where were those who call for "civil disobedience" and fervently back Occupy Central's stand on universal suffrage, while passionate young people were being arrested in Central on the morning of July 2 and putting their futures at risk?

I empathise with these ideal-driven youngsters. However, I despise those who yell for universal suffrage, but left the youngsters to get arrested.

It is relatively easy to get these youngsters feeling passionate about democracy. It is important that it is achieved in Hong Kong, but some of these pro-democracy supporters have selfish motives.

The students involved in the overnight sit-in on July 1 said they would ignore warnings from police that they were breaking the law. Their zeal for the consummation of a democratic system is admirable, but they need to be led by shrewder minds and not led astray.

These students need to realise that they are unlikely to achieve their aims regarding universal suffrage and win over the central government by battering the lame-duck government of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

Their civil disobedience tactics will not resolve the knotty problems we face, but could spoil their futures, especially if the economy goes into a downward spiral. The central government may become even more intransigent and irrational in its responses.