Environmental Activism or the Release of Inner Rage

Environmental Activism or the Release of Inner Rage

The concept of activism is rarely understood by any “normal” citizen. The donation of one’s time towards a certain cause or belief has always been envied by the working class citizen who feels it is important to give back, but is pushed away when those good intentions go bad such as when “non-violent” protests or speeches turn reckless. With an intuition of activists having to be heard through harsh acts, for example the demolition of bridges, billboards or aqueducts, their cause is usually overlooked; their actions are looked down upon as people with internal rage. We must ask ourselves if they are using activism as an excuse to vent out their personal anger. Rather than activists causes being the center of the attention they receive, the ill-mannered way they go about trying to solve problems have become the subjects focus.

Environmental justice is considered a sensitive issue to some citizens, and not even thought of by most. The rise of destruction of our mother earth by tree cutters, home builders and the use of factories in forests have set off a spark of rage in liberal citizens. They feel it is their duty to save the earth not only for themselves, but for future generations. Though the extent to which they feel they need to express their feelings or hard work is an arguable issue. The characters in Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang, feel the destruction of potential land marks is a step towards what is thought of as “environmental justice”. Though their unstable personal lives are thought to lead them to their rage against popular culture, they have formed their “gang” to go beyond the traditional paths of “groups with a cause”. During the demolition of a C...

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...ting petitions for valuable causes, or even start a recycling system in your community. Our presence in this world automatically assigns us the responsibility to preserve what we have.

Everyone’s interpretation of environmental justice varies from their degree of belief and understanding of this serious subject. Though politics play a large role in the globalization of the world, it is those politics that have the power to accept or reject people’s notion. Though the characters in Edward Abbey’s book go about making their statement in an unacceptable way, to them, it is thought to make a difference in the amount of expansion they hope will not be made in the western states. As starhawk states, “we must have respect within to gain it” (30). With the respect of our selves, neighbors and our natural settings, there leaves no room for anything other than improvement.