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

What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook

Posted on October 25, 2010 by David S. Meyer

I wish that line was mine, but it’s not.  Caroline Lee, skeptical about the potential impact of of social media on democracy in general and social movements specifically, offered the summary evaluation–along with some observations. The question is whether all … Continue reading →

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Strikes in France

Posted on October 21, 2010 by David S. Meyer

French citizens are taking to the streets in response to large cuts in social spending, most notably, an increase in the retirement age from 60 to 62.  Nicolas Sarkozy, like leaders in most of Europe, has pressed for these cuts … Continue reading →

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A March is not a Movement

Posted on October 19, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Fifteen years after the Million Man March, it’s hard to find any kind of substantial effect.  At The Root, Jon Jeter writes that Black community is more divided than it was in 1995, and that, as a group, Black men … Continue reading →

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Democratizing Inequalities

Posted on October 18, 2010 by David S. Meyer

At some point, the call for “power to the people” transmographied into calls for “empowerment.”  Demands for influence were answered by offers of inclusion or dialogue or deliberation. So, what does all this talking lead to? The question is whether … Continue reading →

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How are GLBT activists getting along? Don’t Ask.

Posted on October 12, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Federal Judge Virginia Phillips today issued an injunction banning the military’s enforcement of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell globally.   The decision is all over the news, of course.  Judge Phillips was responding to a suit filed by the Log Cabin Republicans … Continue reading →

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More on Westboro

Posted on October 7, 2010 by David S. Meyer

If you can find a remotely credible source that credits Westboro Baptist Church with even a hundred members, you’re a more energetic or skilled researcher than I am.  When Pastor Phelps describes his congregation as family, he’s not really stretching … Continue reading →

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Intolerance of Intolerance

Posted on October 6, 2010 by David S. Meyer

What if your cause doesn’t have many supporters?  Smaller numbers have to take on more extreme tactics or make more outlandish claims in order to win the kind of attention that those large demonstrations on the Washington mall get.    A … Continue reading →

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The Numbers Trap

Posted on October 4, 2010 by David S. Meyer

Well, yes, size matters, but it’s not the only thing. Large labor unions, the NAACP, and hundreds of other groups from the center to the left of American politics, staged their demonstration, a March for One Nation Working Together, Saturday.  … Continue reading →

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The Lunch Counter

Posted on October 2, 2010 by David S. Meyer

A piece of the actual Woolworth’s lunch counter from Greensboro has a place at the National Museum of American History, in Washington, DC. When I visited this past August, the Smithsonian was running a simulation of the nonviolence training sessions … Continue reading →

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What social media can do:

Posted on October 2, 2010 by David S. Meyer

I taught an undergraduate social movements course in the Fall of 2008.  The vast majority of the students reported that they had never done anything political at the beginning of the course.  This changed as the fall went on.  A … Continue reading →

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