Google's dispute | Is there a place for employee protest at work?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The first amendment rights outlined above are the most sacrosanct part of the Constitution. But in a world where people still feel the need to protest to affect meaningful change or undo unjust laws “the right of the people peaceably to assemble” is both more important than ever and under threat like never before.

Protest has never been popular with those in power. Not in any form. Not even the “good trouble” civil rights activist John Lewis referred to. The non-violent type. That non-violent struggle was no more welcome back in the day than that of agitators that chose to use “any means necessary” to achieve their aims, no matter how often that history is rewritten. Martin Luther King might be lauded now and have his birthday celebrated nationally, but it’s worth remembering that he didn’t die peacefully in his sleep.

The point of protest is to disrupt enough to create change. If it isn’t making those in power nervous then it isn’t effective protest. And of course, it is bound to cause inconvenience to others along the way. How far you should go with that is a much bigger discussion.