Category Archives: Uncategorized

Who’ll Occupy education?

Posted on March 8, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Protests against tuition hikes and program in public education and service cuts have become more frequent and more intense as state budgets have tightened.  It’s awful everywhere–and worse in California (e.g. ), where an old tradition of the state supporting … Continue reading →

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Occupy education: uniting university student protest

Posted on March 2, 2012 by David S. Meyer

University and college student protest returned yesterday (here and here).  Across California, at UC, Cal State, and even some high school campuses, students protested tuition hikes and program cuts, even as schools are raising tuition and cutting programs everywhere.  Now, … Continue reading →

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When the Snowe flies: Tea Party overreach?

Posted on March 1, 2012 by David S. Meyer

When Senator Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican, announced that she would not run for reelection, she demonstrated another of the difficult challenges that movement activists face when they engage electoral politics.  Senator Snowe would cut deals with the Democratic majority, … Continue reading →

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Leaving the Tea Party (Patriots)?

Posted on February 29, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Mark Meckler has just resigned from the leadership of the Tea Party Patriots, an organization he and Jenny Beth Martin, started in 2009.  Because Meckler was the most visible exponent of a fundamentalist grassroots orientation to political activism within the … Continue reading →

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Do movements own their crazies?

Posted on February 22, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Meredith Lowell, a self-styled animal rights activist, was arrested Tuesday in Cleveland for contracting the murder of someone (almost anyone!) wearing fur. Ms. Lowell made the initial solicitation on Facebook, offering somewhat less than $1,000 for a murder that would … Continue reading →

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Movement influence: it’s not forever

Posted on February 10, 2012 by David S. Meyer

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted to license two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first new licenses in more than 30 years.  Activists can’t count on social movement victories to be permanent, and activists that leave the field cede political … Continue reading →

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What courts can/ will do

Posted on February 7, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Today’s news provides more data on the extent and limits of the judiciary as a venue for social movements: A federal appellate panel (9th district) has upheld District Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s decision to strike down California’s ban on same … Continue reading →

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A protest is a threat (the Komen debacle)

Posted on February 5, 2012 by David S. Meyer

It’s never just the demonstration that brings about change.  Rather, it’s the larger actions that demonstrators promise (and authorities fear) that lead to concessions.  Demonstrators threaten to storm the barricades, stop paying taxes, or vote, or contribute money.  Their targets … Continue reading →

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Korematsu Day (2nd)

Posted on January 30, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Today is the second Korematsu Day.  Reposted below is last year’s entry.  It’s also a time to recognize the passing of Gordon Hirabayashi (this past January), another critically important resister of Japanese internment.  After the war, Hirabayashi invested in his … Continue reading →

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Occupy Oakland and the militant wing of a movement

Posted on January 29, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Occupy, like all large and successful social movements, includes people with a broad range of political viewpoints and a very diverse range of action strategies.  While some activists are working to move inside the political system by lobbying or contesting … Continue reading →

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