Are you implying that putting some filter over my facebook picture isn't an effective method of protest?

You raised awareness. (Slightly sarcasm)

Not only that, but you are also signalling to your environment that thy are not alone. That's also a key factor in many demonstrations.

Perhaps you forgot to put /s.

Wasnt the last time this actually happened "occupy" and didn't that get dismantled and side-tracked pretty quickly?

IMHO not even a US specific issue, people in a whole lot of "western countries" seem to have forgotten how to meaningfully protest.

Sure, there is the occasional "against climate change" or "for this societal issue" marches, but they all have the problem of being incredibly obscure in their goals and demands.

Long gone are the days of large scale peace protests against very specific "interventions", like the invasion of Iraq triggered.

Facebook. That’s why. People protest online instead of offline.

That'll teach them!

If you think people haven't protested needless military action, you're paying as much attention to the American people as the politicians we've elected.

Strikes are far more effective than waving a sign on the street corner.

Strikes are really difficult when you've developed a culture of consumerism and permanent debt trapping big chunks of the population into wage slavery.

It's even harder when, at the same time, you put your thumb firmly on one side of the business/labor relations scale by pushing at-will employment and right to work efforts.

I don't disagree with any of that. Will you argue any of that is going to change if we continue to prefer the safety of strong words over decisive action and sacrifice?

Not while people keep electing "outsiders" to "clean up" the government. Turns out that process tends to further entrench corporate interests.