The Occupy Wall Street Movement

Social activism is a common method of action for those who want to evoke societal change. Often, however, activism is aimed at deconstructing an oppressive authority and is diminished by their overbearing competition. Small, underfunded and politically insignificant activist groups often gain little following and fail to make a forceful impact. These groups, while they seem weak on a larger scale, do succeed in influencing a more everyday audience. By simply fighting for a cause, social activism is able to spark ideas in whomever they reach and keep their cause fresh and pertinent in their minds. In other words, all agency within a social justice movement helps advocate for the cause through thoughtful conversation and maintaining relevance.

Occupy was a protests against economic inequality. It began on September 17, 2011, when mass amount of people occupied Zuccotti Park in New York’s financial district. The goal was to bring attention to the unequal dispersion of money and to do so in an unignorable way. While the movement did not gain any legal traction, it did begin an important conversation among citizens. The issue was brought to the attention of millions of people due largely to the media coverage. Occupy was a peaceful, friendly protest and was closely followed by the news, spreading their message worldwide. Occupy coined terms like “the 1%” (referring to percent of wealthy American citizens) that are frequently used and widely understood. “the movement spread to 600 communities across the United States and beyond to 95 cities in 82 countries”. Although the event did not make any significant legal impact and the movement anticlimactically faded away, the message was spread and many were

Pellow discusses the environmental detriment the “global North” has forced on the rest of the world and how with modernity, comes exponential levels of toxicity. “Since the end of World War II, industrialized nations have generated increasing volumes of hazardous chemical wastes, a result of technological developments across all industry sectors and a culture or increasing acceptance of risk in late modernity”. Those who read this book are educated to the unseen issues in the world they live in. Environmental justice is a difficult battle to fight because so much of society is reliant on environmentally unjust systems. But, this book helps spread the message and start a constructive conversation. This is why many activists write books, they will not necessarily make a legal difference, but will certainly educate their audience. Pellow does discuss methods for change throughout the book, hoping that his readers will follow in his