Protesting one's own government has a long and noble history, especially in this country, leading back to our very inception. It isn't that hard to do. You just need some posterboard, a magic marker, and enough gumption to stand on a street corner. Protesting effectively, however, takes a little thought and creativity. You have to decide what is the end goal of your protest and how to achieve that via your actions. Some basic points:

1. Be clear about what is wrong and how to make it right
2. Direct your protest so that those who need to see it do
3. Don't piss off potential allies

This past weekend we had a couple clear examples from the right-wing about how NOT to protest. The first one started on Friday, and continued through on Saturday. I am of course talking about the DC Beltway Trucker Protest:

This brainless ill-conceived protest violated all 3 of those rules. It was never really clear what they wanted. There was some vague complaint about government intrusion, although how that related to truck drivers was not at all clear. I had read somewhere that they wanted more pay. Forming a union would likely give them the leverage to make that more attainable, but we all know what Republicans think of unions. They also seemed unaware that the beltway is miles from the Capitol Building and White House, and none of the occupants would likely be anywhere near it on a typical day. They would have been better off doing laps around the Capitol Building.

They were also likely irritating normal people who were just trying to get to work and already have enough of a headache every day on the crowded beltway. Even those who may totally agree with whatever it is your trying to accomplish are going to be lost to you if you make them even later to work. Car drivers are already wary of over-worked and under-rested drivers in huge 18-wheelers speeding along at 60MPH just a couple feet away. This is bad publicity for truckers in general.

The other bad protest this weekend was a bit of performance art by hypocritical camera slut Sarah Palin. She and Ted Cruz used WWII vets as props for their protest of the effects of the government shutdown that they've supported (and in Cruz's case instigated). Again - more stupidity:

• They shut down the government, then protest that the government is shut down
• They demand respect for the vets, AND claim to be "the party of Lincoln" while carrying the flag of traitors to the country (the confederate flag)
• They demand President Obama be impeached (even though that requires that he actually commit a crime) while committing the crime of trespassing barriers and even stealing them
• They claim to respect the democratic process, yet are unhappy that the majority of Americans voted against their politics
• They demand law and order, yet assault the police:

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FYI - those police are currently not collecting a paycheck because of the shutdown, that these people created. It's mind-boggling,

This "protest" is not going to effect the change they want. This is not going to persuade anyone to be sympathetic to their cause. MLK Jr. understood that non-violence was the only way to gain sympathy. By making the other side look brutal and inhumane, it made them look all the more human. The people that were inconvenienced by their sit-ins were the ones propagating the policies they wanted changed.

Instead, these idiots end up looking like sore losers, irritating everyone regardless of political position, and making lots of angry noise without clearly articulating anything that sounds positive. It all comes off as unfocused hate, and when it's a group of people it looks like an angry mob.

Nobody likes an angry mob. People avoid them. Thus - it's a poor way to protest. That's just Protesting 101.