Are protests always the answer?

BARELY TWO WEEKS after the May 1 melee at MacArthur Park, immigrant rights activists are already planning another demonstration, this one in Hollywood in late June. They should quit while they're ahead. Mass street demonstrations are a high-risk political strategy that quickly reaches the point of diminishing returns. Organizers should ask themselves whether they're really trying to appeal to the goodwill of the general public — and Congress, as it debates immigration reform — or simply grandstanding.

Gregory Rodriguez

May 14, 2007