> Protests are not democracy. Voting, freedom of speech, and peaceful assembly, sure, in the US at least. If not "peaceful assembly", how are you defining "pro

> Protests are not democracy. Voting, freedom of speech, and peaceful assembly, sure, in the US at least. If not "peaceful assembly", how are you defining "protests"? Stopping a lawful vehicle with a traffic cone isn't protest. Harassment is not protest. Vandalism is not protest. Halting traffic for 60 seconds might be protest; halting traffic for 60 minutes definitely isn't. Even civil disobedience, where someone deliberately violates the law, is predicated on being _peaceful_. (And IMO also on the willingness, if not the desire, to accept the legal consequences.) IMO, media outlets have pushed this idea that violence is protest, but that's pretty new (and of course limited to issues where they agree).