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david s. meyer
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David S. Meyer
I'm a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine. I've been thinking, and writing about, protest politics for almost ever. This site offers comments on contemporary events, informed (I hope) by knowing something about history and about the academic study of social movements.
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Author Archives: David S. Meyer
Twin Cities Redux: What a Resistance win looks like
ICE is retreating from Minneapolis, but this time it’s not because of climate change. Instead, it’s a victory–albeit a very costly one–for the resistance to the Trump Administration and its migration policies. Like virtually all social movement victories, this one … Continue reading
More songs from Minneapolis
I last wrote about the Springsteen song about ICE in Minneapolis. My hunch is that such songs provide the first bit of political education that lots of people get. Certainly, the protest songs of earlier eras provided the first bit … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Bruce Springsteen, culture, ICE, Minneapolis, protest, songs
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Protest songs, poetry, and political influence
Long ago, I was seduced by Shelley’s Defense of Poetry, which concluded with a bold claim: “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” At some point, I became skeptical of that notion, and came to think that poets were … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Alex Pretti, art, Bruce Springsteen, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Defense of Poetry, Folk Song Army, ICE, Jesse Welles, Join ICE, Kent State, Minneapolis, music, National Guard, Neil Young, Ohio, Percy Bysshe Shelley, poetry, protest song, Renee Good, Streets of Minneapolis
2 Comments
Repression in Minneapolis backfires (2)
Repression is risky for everyone. It works for authorities when most opponents are deterred from taking visible action. But repression can also provoke greater resistance and undermine support for the repressive agents. Repression polarizes, and how well it works depends … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Alex Pretti, budget, cameras, Constitution, Darnella Frasier, Department of Justice, deterrence, DHS, Donald Trump, First Amendment, Gun Owners of America, gun rights, guns, Homeland Security, ICE, Ida B. Wells, immigration, jackbooted government thugs, Kristi Noem, martyr, National Rifle Association, NRA, Renee Good, repression, Second Amendment, video
1 Comment
Repression backfires in Minneapolis (1)
Federal agents seem determined to kill anti-deportation protesters, at least enough of them to kill the resistance. It’s not working–at least not yet. Minnesotans are fighting back. Who guessed that Minneapolis, Minnesota would become the front line of the civil … Continue reading
Martin Luther King Day 2026 (repost plus)
Commemoration is very much a salient issue at the moment. Donald Trump, president, is rewriting the history of the Capitol Hill invasion and American history more broadly. It’s no surprise that the most conspicuous efforts (e.g., the simultaneously Disneyfied and … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", arc of the moral universe, assasination, Bible, Black Power, civil rights, civil rights movement, commemoration, Constitution, Donald Trump, history, inauguration, King holiday, Martin Luther King Jr., Memphis, mlk, mlk-day, Montgomery, politics, posterity, prayer, religion, Ronald Reagan, statue, Vietnam.
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New nuclear tests are a political test
Donald Trump announced that the United States would start testing its nuclear arsenal again–after foregoing nuclear weapons testing since 1992, when the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fell apart. In doing so, he effectively announced a political challenge … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged A House of Dynamite, antinuclear movement, arms control, cold war, Donald Trump, Dr. Stangelove, Failsafe, Hiroshima, Israel, Linus Pauling, Nagasaki, nuclear testing, nuclear weapons, Oppenheimer, peace movement, Russia, Soviet Union, The Day After, treaties, trespass, Ukraine, White House
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The 3.5% fallacy
Every media outlet is going to post estimated numbers on the No Kings rallies, and they’re sure to be impressive. Larger than the extremely large June 14 demonstrations will be seen as a sign of the movement growing. Opponents will … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 3.5%, 3.5% rule, Caroline Gleich, David Robson, demonstration, Erica Chenoweth, events, fallacy, Maria Stephan, media, No Kings, nonviolence, numbers, TED, turnout, violence
4 Comments
Anchoring academic resistance
Last week the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) rejected the “Compact” offered by the Trump Administration, crossing a line into resistance and (implicitly) inviting other universities to follow. In a powerful letter, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, the cell biologist, explained … Continue reading
Solidarity and higher education
https://www.inquirer.com/education/upenn-union-rally-dei-funding-trump-administration-20250320.html Virtually everyone starts with a gripe about higher education: costs, grades, debt, jobs, parking, artificial intelligence, natural intelligence, and so and so on. The Trump administration has floated on all the grievances to launch a series of attacks that … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged admissions, Allan Garber, antisemitism, Brown University, Columbia University, Donald Trump, encampment, extortion, funding, Harvard University, higher education, hostage, interests, law, negotiations, Palestine, presidents, protests, race, ransom, research, science, solidarity, Title IX, universities, University of Pennsylvania
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Politics Outdoors 