Why is 'Activist' a Dirty Word?

This tweet showed up in my feed tonight:

Hear the real SeaWorld story from trainers past and present. Don't be misled by activist hype. Visit: http://t.co/Lxwv728nOu
— SeaWorld (@SeaWorld) January 20, 2014

I don't follow SeaWorld on Twitter. This was a promoted tweet. I won't get into the animal rights issues or the ethics of PR at work here, though. I won't get into my opinions on SeaWorld or the Blackfish documentary.

What concerns me most about this tweet, though, has very little to do with the whale controversy.

"Don't be misled by activist hype," it says.

I'll admit, when I first read this tweet, I thought it said, "Don't be misled by the activist type." My bad. But let's all admit that the reality isn't much better. Both what I mistakenly read and what SeaWorld actually wrote attach a negative connotation of untruth to the concept of activism.

Since when when did activist become a dirty word?

I experience this bias against activism in my personal life too. When people asked me what I wanted to be "when I grow up," I used to tell them I wanted to become a lawyer so I could work as a legal activist for freedom of expression.

People's eyes would get wide.

"You want to be an activist?!"

I would sheepishly nod and explain that activism isn't all about picketing and boycotting (although those can be useful tools).

Now, I tell people I want to become a lawyer so I can work as a legal advocate for freedom of expression.

To me, activist and advocate mean nearly the same thing. But -- for some reason -- I rarely have to explain myself when I use the latter verbiage.

Why is this? Don't people know that Martin Luther King, Jr. was an activist? Don't people know that Mary Beth Tinker is an activist? Don't people know that Susan B. Anthony was an activist? Don't people know that Gandhi was an activist? Don't people know that Nelson Mandela was an activist?

Activism is one force that keeps us moving forward as a society. Why do people seem to think that's a bad thing?