Author Archives: David S. Meyer

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About David S. Meyer

Author and professor of Sociology and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine

Roe v. Wade commemorations, 2012

Posted on January 23, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Last year, anti-abortion and abortion rights activists staged demonstrations commemorating (or protesting) the 1973 Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade.  Below is last year’s post, which ends with the prediction of large demonstrations next year.  That’s today.  And today: both … Continue reading →

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Occupy Congress

Posted on January 16, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Sooner or later activists in any American movement confront the possibility of trying to adjust the thermostat, and not just the climate. On Tuesday, January 17, when members of Congress return to Washington, DC, they’ll be met by Occupiers.  There … Continue reading →

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Martin Luther King and dead heroes (King Day again)

Posted on January 15, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Martin Luther King died young enough and dramatically enough to be turned into an American hero, but it was neither his youth nor his death that made him heroic. In his rather brief public life, beginning in Montgomery at 26, … Continue reading →

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Remembering the present: Guantanamo protests and a decade of detention

Posted on January 12, 2012 by David S. Meyer

President Obama didn’t keep his campaign promise to close the American prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.  Yesterday marked Gitmo’s 10th anniversary.  The camp on Cuba, conveniently perhaps outside the jurisdiction of normal legal procedures in the United States, … Continue reading →

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New Hampshire, the Tea Party, and movement capture

Posted on January 10, 2012 by David S. Meyer

As New Hampshire voters and others try to sift through the mess of small differences among the Republican hopefuls (and as everyone in the rest of the country overinterprets the results) it’s good to take a step back to think … Continue reading →

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The Tea Party’s Iowa

Posted on January 5, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Protest movements sometimes have perverse effects, hastening outcomes they don’t want.  Tuesday’s Republican Iowa caucus has to be scored as a disappointment for the Tea Party, perhaps a sign of its dissolution. The Tea Party, an alliance between populist and … Continue reading →

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Occupy the Constitution

Posted on January 2, 2012 by David S. Meyer

At least several hundred protesters marched after the Tournament of Roses Parade, drawing some cheers, some boos, and extensive media coverage.  (Occupy the Rose Parade and the Hollywood Alist estimated 5,000 Occupy marchers.) Parades are occasions for spectacle and theater, … Continue reading →

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Occupy at the Rose Bowl

Posted on December 31, 2011 by David S. Meyer

A march looks a lot like a parade with demands. Occupy the Rose Parade will present a presence–with floats–at the 123rd Tournament of Roses Parade on Monday morning in Pasadena. The parade, patriotic and explicitly non-political, allows cause groups to … Continue reading →

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Who pays for free speech?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by David S. Meyer

One night some years ago, while rushing out to the store to get milk for my kid (my excuse), I rolled slowly through a stop sign.  A police officer stopped and cited me, apologizing as he did so.  To prevent … Continue reading →

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Is protest contagious?

Posted on December 29, 2011 by David S. Meyer

As the year comes to an end, unexpected and potentially powerful protest movements are appearing in unexpected places, including China, Russia, and Syria, threatening to topple regimes and change the world. Protest movements seem to appear in a spate.  Arab … Continue reading →

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