I'm in favor of direct action, but protests and unrest have to be *really massive* to make any impact. Moreover, in other countries (e.g., France, South Korea, Indonesia, et.) the scale of mass unrest has been so *incomparably larger & more disruptive* than well-mannered protests that happen in America (e.g., Seattle, A16, etc.), but the working-class in such nations have not been any more successful than Americans in fighting the ruling class. That said, *if* Americans became capable of the kind of general strikes that have happened in France, South Korea, etc. in recent years, they might succeed in slowing down the pace of ruling class attacks on social programs somewhat.
Yoshie