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I'm not sure it is helping that much frankly. Increasingly it looks like a dating venue for hipsters and a pressure cooker to expel dissent harmlessly.
You aren't hurting the Republicans in the wallet. That's where protest activities should be focused.
Then what do you propose?
What people really mean when they say "protests don't help" is that they have absurdly unrealistic expectations. Like they want their one-time participation to be the ultimate game changing moment that sparks a revolution, our plucky band of dissidents stand shoulder to shoulder on a hill with pride as a brand new dawn rises over the newly freed landscape below. Roll credits.
That's not how the real world works. It takes an enormous amount of sustained effort over a long period of time to affect change. It isn't some wild coincidence that so much of the enacted policy in this country directly reflects the wishes of those most active in politics - namely old white people. The biggest secret that the Washington insiders and corporate lobbyists don't want you to know is that democracy actually works when people can be bothered to participate. Disaffected non-participants are their best ally.
There isn't One Weird Trick to taking down the Trump administration. He doesn't have a missing scale on his belly like Smaug. There's a chance he won't be taken down at all, and even if he is we'll be left with Pence or maybe Ryan. There won't be a final boss to defeat, there will just be further battles. If there is any hope to make headway in those battles it is going to require the active participation of the chronically absent left and the criminally apathetic middle.
Going to a protest is an opportunity to get involved and do something. There will be people there representing the few groups who do fight back, looking for allies, handing out literature. They need your help, and you need them, because they are the people who have been pushing for the right causes for decades.
Vote, in every election. Contact your elected officials, frequently. Pay attention to local politics. And Saturday the 15th, spend an hour or two of your precious time to show up at this event in person and get involved.
Or you can continue to watch from the sidelines and be outraged on the internet that your team keeps losing.