Tag Archives: Boston

How activists should respond to the racist right: 1. nonviolent counterdemonstrations

Of course it’s heartening to see 40,000 explicitly anti-racist demonstrators turn out in Boston (August 20), dwarfing the assembly they were protesting against. Was it the best approach to countering white nationalist mobilization advancing in response to Trump adminstration policies … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Democracy’s rapid response: defending immigrant rights in the Trump era

We live in extraordinary times, made so by the threat of tyranny, not of terrorism. When the Trump administration forced implementation of a new set of entry restrictions clearly targeted more at Muslims than terror, the responses were massive and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More flags

Participants in the flag debate around my campus note that the American flag has been deployed in the service of heroic causes and of less heroic and admirable efforts.  The truth is that if you can’t find the flag used … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Thirty-five feet

I used to go to a wonderful dentist whose office, on Beacon Street in Brookline, was next door to the Planned Parenthood clinic at the center of today’s Supreme Court decision.  Once, accompanied by my wife (I’m very squeamish about … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Claiming Nelson Mandela

The flags are at half-staff here in Irvine, mourning the death, and commemorating the life of Nelson Mandela.  President Mandela outlived and outperformed most of his critics, leaving us with an unduly warm and fuzzy picture of a genial elder … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Markets, movements, and municipalities: Who’s chicken? Whose chicken?

There are all kinds of good reasons for restricting the expansion of fast food restaurants, but are the political views of a chain’s founder enough?  Boston’s Mayor Tom Menino, appalled by the “traditional marriage” stance of Dan Cathy,* founder and … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment