The dos and don'ts of protesting Trump

Millions of Americans are protesting Trump. Many of them are doing it wrong.

Be strategic in your protest.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Kate Munsch)

There's a right way and a wrong way to protest. And in America's new age of protest — not only fueled by a new kind of presidency but by fresh technological and ideological extremes — we all ought to agree that there's a right and a wrong way to protest President Trump.

Take boycotting. Doubtless, some boycotts can make an effective splash. A fashion world rebellion against dressing the first family, for instance, manages the rare feat of sending a loud symbolic message without hampering productive activities in the everyday world. On the other hand, sometimes boycott movements can wind up chasing after opportunities for publicity that never fully materialize. The Grab Your Wallet campaign tried to make hay out of Nordstrom's decision to axe Ivanka Trump's brand, but the department store went out of its way to avow the choice was all business.

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James Poulos

James Poulos is a contributing editor at National Affairs and the author of The Art of Being Free, out January 17 from St. Martin's Press. He has written on freedom and the politics of the future for publications ranging from The Federalist to Foreign Policy and from Good to Vice. He fronts the band Night Years in Los Angeles, where he lives with his son.