Tag Archives: nonviolence

Cesar Chavez Day, 2020

Posted on March 31, 2020 by David S. Meyer

In the virtual lockdown we’re living through in California, where one day bleeds into another, I’d almost forgotten about Cesar Chavez Day.  Here’s a piece I wrote about the holiday in 2018, recycled, augmented, and reedited, with a few distressing … Continue reading →

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How activists should respond to the racist right: 2. shut them down (antifa) (?)

Posted on August 31, 2017 by David S. Meyer

Standing up to a racist fascist movement when it is still small enough to start seems to make sense. Antifa is an umbrella term uniting people who commit to doing so aggressively, as (at right) in Berkeley in April. Of … Continue reading →

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

Posted on August 30, 2017 by David S. Meyer

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 →

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Protest in the Trump era, part 1 of….

Posted on January 20, 2017 by David S. Meyer

Donald Trump’s opponents didn’t wait for his election, much less his inauguration, to take to the streets.  As candidate and president-elect, Trump has been consistent in provoking organized protest. Over the past few days, activists have staged creative, disruptive, and … Continue reading →

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God and democracy

Posted on January 19, 2016 by David S. Meyer

The Occupation at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge continues at this writing, and whatever local authorities and the FBI are doing to end the moment isn’t obvious or clear to those of us watching from afar. If there’s a plan, I … Continue reading →

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King Day (2015)

Posted on January 19, 2015 by David S. Meyer

(This is a repost for Martin Luther King Day.  Update to follow.) Martin Luther King died young enough and dramatically enough to be turned into an American hero, but it was neither his youth nor his death that made him … Continue reading →

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Just another Moral Monday

Posted on June 17, 2013 by David S. Meyer

Democrats and liberals have been losing in North Carolina.  Democrats lost control of both houses of the legislature in 2010, but Republican legislative efforts were slowed by Democratic Governor Bev Perdue.  In 2012, Republican Pat McCrory soundly defeated Perdue’s lieutenant … Continue reading →

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Perils on the journey from activist to elected official (Akin edition)

Posted on September 28, 2012 by David S. Meyer

Rightwing Watch is promoting a video of Representative Todd Akin, Republican candidate for Missouri’s US Senate seat, acknowledging an arrest long ago for his ongoing efforts against abortion.  Here’s the video that’s everywhere at the moment: I doubt that many … 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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Occupation is a tactic; violence demands innovation

Posted on October 26, 2011 by David S. Meyer

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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