Have You Ever Protested Something?

I suppose the most I've ever done with regard to protests is to take my sleeping bag and refuse to share a room with my sister anymore.
I was 11 yrs old.
I slept in the play room in my sleeping bag for a week and then my Mom got a bed for me and the play room became my bedroom.
It was tiny - but it was MINE!

Protested putting a Wal Mart in my neighborhood rather than the park that the land was intended for - lost
Protested Prop 8- didn't work
that is about it

I went to a counter protest. Those stupid Westboro Church people showed up in Joplin, to protest the tornado. (Idiots) I think like five thousand people showed up to counter protest. There were only four of five of them. They only lasted about five minutes and they had to leave for their own safety. Good riddance.

I grew up protesting abortion by going to the annual January rally to mark the passing of Roe v. Wade, as well as praying across from Planned Parenthood. I am still protesting/boycotting Amazon because of their solicitation of that despicable pedophilia manual. I would go to a Tea Party rally if I didn't have my kids with me (I don't want them being exposed to the hecklers who yell awful things at those who are attending Tea Party events.) No, I wouldn't hold up a stupid sign like, "NO Taxes" or "Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Actually, no sign would do justice to the complexity of my feelings on the issues, as I see both sides but lean more conservative and don't have any faith in Big Gov to solve problems.

I will NEVER go to a Hooters or a Tilted Kilt--I don't care how many people in my group think it is just fine, I refuse to support an establishment whose entire existance is premised on the exploitation of a woman's body.

ETA: I am currently protesting my hubby's idea that my in-laws move back in with us again. Sorry, I love his mother, but we simply cannot live under the same roof (and especially not share the same kitchen) again...unless she is sick and needs our help.

Went to a tea-party event a couple years ago. I wouldn't consider myself a protestor. More of a warm body there in support of our constitution and my freedoms. Doesn't seem to have made any difference. The economy sucks. Jobs suck. On the bright side, Obama's ratings seem to keep falling and falling lately, or so I hear.

ADDED: After reading Diana's post, oh yes I guess I do protest more than I thought - WITH my wallet and time. I won't buy certain items b/c of where they're made. I won't support certain banks and will use a different ATM. Certain fast foods I just don't like what they stand for or the way they advertise, so I don't go there. Certain tv networks I refuse to watch the shows on that network b/c I think their news is biased and they recieve funding from groups I don't agree with. Certain stores donate their profits to organizations I don't agree with, therefore I stop shopping at their stores.

DENISE - What about you? You gotta tell us YOUR answers to these questions too!

Yes. I'm a protestant and I doth protest all the time. I have protested with signs at puppy stores that sell puppies from mills. I attend "fur-free friday protests" because I am against the fur industry. I had a couple furs and donated them to use in protests.

I protest with my wallet. I protest with letters and phone calls. I protest with leafletting. I protested the Canadian Seal Hunt at Red Lobster because they buy their seafood from Canada. They still do but Whole Foods doesn't.

More often than not, the outcome 'eventually' had the desired effect.

More examples: I won't go to Sea World because of their policy on keeping these Orca Whales (Highly intelligent dolphins) in captivity. I believe that someday they will change that policy because of public pressure. I also will never go to the circus that uses animals because I believe they are abused and I don't support animal cruelty. Someday I think they will stop.

I am protesting the fees the banks are charging and I have closed my accounts at BofA and Wells Fargo. I took my business elsewhere.

I protest all the time with my body, wallet, written word and spoken word.

It's the only way.

I have protested abortion as a teenager and young 20 something. I was also at the WTO protests here in Seattle. About 4 years ago I marched in the first organized immigration rally in Seattle.
The outcome was not what I expected AT ALL. I got screamed at by pro-choice people as I walked, I watched hooligans jump in the middle of the WTO protests and start fires, and our immigration system is STILL messed up.
L.

I have publicly protested as well as privately protested.

I don't care if I see immediate results to what I am protesting, at least I am standing for what I believe in and DOING something rather than flapping my lips about how *I* think things ought to be.

edit* April C, I have got to say that I have a HUGE amount of respect for anyone who counter protests the Westboro church! A bouquet of flowers for you!

Does not doing housework because no O. else is helping count? Haha - as far as politically, no. I have supported and protesetd things from the comfort and safety of my home, just too many crazy people out there on all sides for me to feel safe. And I don't feel safe in large crowds in big cities for things like that. Living so close to DC, it's easy to support or protest what I believe is right or wrong, but I'd rather just do it at home :).

well sort of..........i gave up meat when i was 12 because i no longer wanted to support the industry. I speak out against it all the time, but ive never carried a picket sign or anything.

ETA...thanks for giving up veal (whatever your name is above me)..but you are wrong, it did work. It worked for you. Its supply and demand, the less people eat veal the less baby cows are tortured.....it did work. Remain strong in that conviction.

I have protested for choice a number of times. I believe it is really important for people to see that the majority supports Roe v Wade even though the other side tends to be more vocal. I don't know if it helps - still legal but way more restrictions than there should be.

I also donate money to support this cause. I boycott organizations that oppose choice and gay marriage. And I waste as much time as possible of those crazy people who call me on the phone to tell me how the country is going to hell and please give money to whatever their organization is. I figure if I talk to them, they will have less time to talk to someone who might give them money.

Nothing with a group except petitions.
I took issue with Target for putting racy magazines right at eye level of children at the checkout stands. The manager was great and made sure they were moved.
The same thing was happening at the local bookstore. They couldn't have cared less. I told my husband that I was going to grab them and put them in the trash can the next time I went. He said the store would probably have me arrested--good, that would call more attention to the problem. But the store closed before I got my nerve up.

Sure I have. Why? Because I felt I had to do something and sometimes that something is standing in solidarity with other like-minded people. I sign petitions frequently. I write my representatives. I purchase items that support certain causes and don't purchase items that support others. My husband and I are thinking of attending a protest this weekend. Yes, the outcome was what I expected. Nothing changed (well I did sign petitions supporting gay marriage in Iowa and that changed) much but you have to start somewhere, right?

I protested abortion with people from my hs when i was 15, we went to DC and walked and held signs, it was a great experience...mostly i was agnst late term...I'm not agnst it now as much but think there should be extreme rules with it
Ex. a girl told her baby will be born in extreme pain and will not be able to live b/c it has an extreme disability should be able to choose, BUT a crazy person that decides at 7 months theyre done and don't want it, shouldn't get to choose

Went to an anti-war demonstration a few years ago. It didn't work.

And per the answer below: I gave up veal about 30 years ago, and I love veal. It hasn't worked either.

I have privately. Signed online petitions and called our representatives office and sent letters and emails to various businesses...CEO's etc....Onemillionmoms.com is awesome!

Yes.
Both.
Because of my beliefs.
Not all the time.

(Edited to correct spelling, blast!)

I protested the Iraqi War on my college campus

I have signed petitions, both publicly and online.... and have refused to sign some petitions that were brought to me while out in public. (Like for a huge store to be able to carry alcohol, even though it was a dry area less than a mile from both an elementary and high school.) That petition won, and now the area is full of smoke shops/tattoo parlors... right in a nice neighborhood full of schools.

I went to a Tea Party Rally (surprised?) as well as a protest calling our local congressman out on the carpet - he ended up listening to his constituents FINALLY when he realized we were paying attention to what he was doing. Great thing about living in Washington, D.C. - you can get in their face and they realize you aren't kidding...

Yes. There was a HUGE Tea Party here in San Diego. I went because it allowed me to voice my anger about the state of our country.

When I was younger, I think I was 17, I went to a POW rally - I STILL have my POW bracelet...considering my dad was a Vietnam Vet - I thank God every day that he came home safely.