“Constructive” protests are generally nonviolent and informative to the other side, with the hope that people who previously disagreed with you will come to see your cause and make concessions. If a protest doesn’t meet these goals and expectations, however, it is often written off altogether, deemed instead “unconstructive,” “unhelpful to the cause,” or in the extremes even labeled as “riots.”
By Lou Jacquin December 6, 2022