ABSTRACT
Currie and Skolnick's statement is a good example of a very ancient sport in sociology, which might be termed "bias-hunting". This sport seems to have become more popular than ever in the past few years. Also in keeping with a modern trend, Currie and Skolnick find my work to smack of establishmentarianism, even counter-insurgency, and to treat protesters and underdogs as generally peculiar, irrational people to be contained or managed. Skolnick's methodological position seems to be that the analysis of protest "cannot focus solely on the character or culture of those who protest the current state of the American political and social order". Rather, he suggests, "mass protest is an outgrowth of social, economic, and political conditions". In reading The Politics OF Protest, one gains the impression that Skolnick wears bifocals. Currie and Skolnick's formulation has some limitations as a general strategy for social research on collective action.
