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

Occupy is not an island (I)

How does sleeping out in an urban park do anything about income inequality?  I get this question at least a few times a week, often from one of my kids. One answer is that social movements work when dramatic action … Continue reading

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Elizabeth Warren: Occupy’s Michele Bachmann?

Take a minute before you get offended.   Of course, there are differences–more below. Elizabeth Warren, candidate for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate from Massachusetts, is the closest thing to an institutional face of a movement that has, … Continue reading

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Occupy, sexual assault, and internal control

An ABC News reporter called me yesterday to ask about the spate of sex crimes taking place in the Occupations (here’s Alyssa Newcomb’s story).  I didn’t know anything, but a moment of online searching generated plenty of stories. A lot … Continue reading

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The politics of deflection; Occupy and local politics

While most of the physical confrontation of the nearly two months of Occupy protests has been between demonstrators and local governments, particularly police, the conflicts aren’t very well connected to the substance of the grievances.  It’s not clear that mayors … Continue reading

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Violence, democracy, and a general strike

The efforts to clear out Occupiers in Atlanta, Oakland, and San Diego emphasize the difficult stalemate between local governments and the emergent Occupy movement. Although local officials may be mostly sympathetic to the concerns of the Occupiers, they’re also responsible … Continue reading

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Irvine City Council adopts Occupation

City governments have options in dealing with dissent, including the Occupy campaigns.  In Irvine, the heart of Orange County where I live, the City Council unanimously endorsed an agreement that will allow an Occupation in front of City Hall indefinitely. … Continue reading

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Occupation is a tactic; violence demands innovation

Police and Occupiers in Atlanta and Oakland have engaged in violent confrontations, with the protesters getting the worst of it.  What’s all this mean?  What happens next? Let’s start at the beginning.  Protesters are occupying Wall Street–and hundreds of other … Continue reading

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Pete Seeger’s on Wall Street

Ninety-two years old, Pete Seeger walked nearly forty blocks to join Occupy Wall Street and sing.    He needs canes to walk these days, but he played the banjo, sang, and brought along Arlo Guthrie, grandson Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and other … Continue reading

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Occupy and the politics of blame

In wanting to speak for the “99 percent,” Occupy Wall Street–and its allied campaigns around the country–has defined a constituency and a target.  The argument is that the economy and government work for only a small percentage of Americans, and … Continue reading

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How movements work: David Letterman

Social movements succeed by raising issues and giving other people the opportunity to address them.  We call this agenda setting, but it’s not just the agenda in Congress or a state legislature; it’s also what people talk about. Bill Clinton … Continue reading

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