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human
CMV: The right to protest against the government in the US is a facade that makes citizens think they have way more power than they actually do, and most modern-day protests are a waste of time and resources

First, I think history has shown what great achievements and civil liberties can be obtained through peaceful protests and demonstrations. The right to peacefully assemble was written into the first amendment and is always regarded as one of our most sacred freedoms and one of the most powerful tools for democracy. However, while I definitely appreciate having the right to protest, nowadays the US is a \~*relatively*\~ equal and fair society in terms of the law and protests have become less and less effective and/or meaningful. Maybe it's just from personal experience, but I believe that a majority of protests today are ultimately a poor use of time and largely inefficient, and that time spent protesting could be used in much more beneficial ways to advance a view.

To this, I see two main types of protests in my life; local protests that are typically focused on more specific issues smaller in size; and national protests that typically occur from a certain mass publicized event or national issue.

**Examples of** **Local Protests:**

I Lived in DC for 3 years and worked right by the white house, so I have had a lot of personal experience with local protests. Every day that I walked to work there would be a new group on the street corner protesting some weirdly specific cause. After a while it honestly just becomes commonplace and you don't even notice them. I saw hundreds of them over the years and honestly can't remember the specific cause for any of them. DC is seemingly the best place you want to go to protest if you want to be seen/feel heard, but honestly, protests are so oversaturated no one is listening to you.

Now in my new city, the issues I have with local protests are a bit different. Currently, I live in a much smaller blue city (really town) in a blue state. A few weeks after SCOTUS revealed their ruling on Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a protest marched down my street demanding women's rights be restored. Look I am all for a women's right to choose, but what exactly do they expect to accomplish from having a protest over a right they still have. As I said, I live in a pretty-blue town in a very-blue state. Our state has built-in abortion protections and an amendment in the state constitution granting women the right to choose. These types of protests are just a waste of time for the participants.

**Examples of** **National Protests:**

According to organizers, the goal of the women's march the day after Trump's election was to "send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights". What is this really supposed to accomplish though? Trump wasn't going to be removed from office for being sexist, and I doubt he saw the protests and suddenly realized he should treat women with respect.

Same with the BLM protests in 2020 following George Floyd, I support the movement and also wish to see change, however marching on the street ain't going to do all that much. Think about how many people joined in protesting, and how many total manhours were used when protesting. If you want to better racial equality in America it would be way more effective for people to instead spend time doing things like mentoring underprivileged youth, raising money for local community centers, working in homeless shelters or soup kitchens, etc.

**Final Point:**

I can go on and on about all the dumb protests I have seen or areas where they are ineffective, but ultimately the only "useful" or "successful" protests I have seen against the government are those that are just online. If you want to use a protest to spread awareness then a hashtag is just as effective and less burdensome. Ironically I used to hate political activists on social media, now I see them personally as dumb still, however a much better use of time and efficient at spreading a message. Internet campaigns that include the phone numbers of local congressmen make it much easier for people to voice their displeasure, etc.

In-person protests though are only good at harming other citizens, and practically never bring about government change. I guess really just "Cancel Culture." Companies will pander to protesters, and universities have canceled speaker's events due to outcry. These are all areas where protests work, whether you agree with what they are protesting or not.

TL;DR: My CMV is that protesting against the government is rather inefficient today and any protest against government action or laws are almost always a less effective means at achieving a group's goal.

EDIT: After reading through some opposing viewpoints, I now believe local protests centered around local laws can be useful. However I don't think physical, national protests are that important anymore and don't bring about any real change that other efforts might.
gpt
Do you think there would have been justice for George Floyd without the protests?

Would no knock warrants still be allowed if it weren't for protests?

What about Ahmaud Arbery? Would the cover up have succeeded without demonstrations?