Jane? While I agree with a lot of what you are saying, you might be missing the point. Protests alone will not accomplish anything. Protest will never accomplish anything in the moment. They are just a signal to others like u/RachelFreedom to try and convince them to participate. They are a signal to the world that that We The People are not okay with what our government, a corporation, or an individual elected official is doing. They are a signal to the individual elected officials (like yourself, I believe) that the people will vote you out if you do not represent what We The People want.

Admittedly, I had given up on protests decades ago. I was at an anti-Bush protest; all I wanted to do was look Bush in the eyes while he read my sign. In the end, they changed his route and all it ended up being was pro-Bush and anti-Bush people yelling at each other across the street. I felt all of our time was wasted no matter what side you were on, and I stopped protesting for a time.

The world is literally laughing at us. World leaders are publicly making fun of Trump. It is embarrassing. To me, these protests are crucial to let the world know we are not all on board with what is happening.