I honestly don't think most people realize how many protests/marches there are. There are marchers going on all the time. When your state legislature is in session, swing by the Capitol building and you will most likely see some sort of protest. They may range from just a handful of people to hundreds or thousands and they don't usually make the news. If you want to protest in DC with a permit, you need to do it months in advance because most days fill up. As in, literally, on almost any given day in DC, someone is protesting something. Usually lots of someones protesting lots of different things.
Unfortunately, as with most things, only the bad stuff makes the news. The *very few* protests that have become violent are obviously horrible and no rational person wants that. But to equate protests with violence in general really isn't accurate.
Seconding this.
When I was a child, in Trenton, New Jersey in the 1970s, there was a period of time when every Sunday it seemed had a gay rights march down in front of City Hall. I remember looking forward to my mother taking me to go see, after Meeting was over. Of course, being a child, I thought they were protesting for the right to let boys wear dresses, and also so that everyone could grow their hair any length they liked.
I got very passionate about this cause, and refused to wear skirts for awhile, in solidarity.
If there'd ever been any violence, or any risk of violence, my mum wouldn't have taken me. This was Trenton, where I apparently did witness a kid get shot at my school bus stop! (I say "apparently", because I've forgotten whatever it was I saw. The police called my mum.) So, she was very conscious of my safety.
And later, I lived a couple blocks from Parliament Hill in Canada. Frequently, I'd hear parades of protesters going by. I used to bring the baby out on the balcony to watch and wave. And there's always someone camped on the Hill, it seems. Never had any violence, that I recall.
Even now, in the middle of winter, there's a store down the road from me that has anti-fur protesters peacefully camped out front in folding chairs. They've been there for over two years now.
I really admire their persistence!