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 Wall Street needs an exit strategy

Starting a large enterprise without having a clear idea of how it could end is risky and dangerous.  (Ask George W. Bush about the wisdom of plotting an exit strategy.)  Now that Occupy Wall Street has succeeded in getting public … Continue reading

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Managing the fringe

When an estimated 100-200 antiwar activists marched on the National Air and Space museum this weekend, they took the Occupy DC name.  Occupy DC, in turn, was a name claimed by already organized groups of activists who wanted to demonstrate … Continue reading

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Occupy Wall Street versus the Tea Party (I)

Perhaps predictably, the comments section of the Washington Post in response to my op-ed has provided a space for typists to rail against me in making their own political points.  The notion that I would dare to compare the Occupiers … Continue reading

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What Occupy Wall Street Learned from the Tea Party

This appears in the Washington Post’s Sunday Outlook Section. [I’m fascinated by the range of responses in the comment section.] The Occupy Wall Street movement, three weeks strong and gaining momentum, reminds us that tea partyers aren’t the only people … Continue reading

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An Agenda for the Occupiers?

One of the gripes, cautions, criticisms of the emergence of a movement of Occupiers is the lack of a coherent agenda.  (I’ve also made these points.) But take a look at We are the 99 percent http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/ and see if … Continue reading

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Report from Occupy LA

Erin Evans, a graduate student here at UCI, attended Occupy LA, and offers this report: Like most activists who attended the Occupy LA protest on Saturday, October 1st, I was posting about the experience there on facebook throughout the day. … Continue reading

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Wall Street, mass arrests, and media

Mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge are a good way for a protest campaign to break into mainstream media nationally.  Although Occupy Wall Street got some coverage in national outlets over the past two weeks, international news provided more extensive … Continue reading

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Off Wall Street and onto the police

A demonstration’s organizers win when media cover their issues as well as their events.  As the events in New York reach a broader audience, they also focus increasingly on policing.  Is this a victory? Occupy Wall Street has inspired support … Continue reading

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Occupied Wall Street

Some of the demonstrators who promised to stay at the protest on Wall Street until their one demand was answered nearly two weeks ago are still there.  Several dozen are camping out in Zuccotti Park, a private park nearby, and … Continue reading

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Irvine 11 verdict vindicates poor protest strategy

An Orange County jury found 10 students guilty of two misdemeanor offenses for disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador, Michael Oren, at the University of California, Irvine (my school), more than a year ago.  Superior Court Judge Peter A. … Continue reading

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