2 Ways NOT to protest about your rights

Whether you are gay or a minority (gender or racially or even culturally?), or protesting for animal rights, there are 2 things that really won't help your battle.

1. Violence. There was a reason MLK didn't want to advocate violence. Being violent would get you immediate attention, but for all the wrong reasons. It would actually reinforce the extreme hatred. When you are violent about your cause you are pushing people away and causing them to support the otherside even if they don't agree with the otherside simply on the principals of not wanting to support violence. The nonviolent approach means more pain and having to swallow one's pride, but eventually people will start to realize how tough you are just "taking it", and will hopefully show respect for you and support your cause. They may see you as less of a threat.

2. Insulting other fights all in the name of your own. Gays are extremely guilty of this one. They go around saying that blacks have their rights, women have their rights, and then ask when is it their turn. Well, when you sit there and trivialize the fact that many blacks and many women are STILL fighting their battles decades later, it makes us NOT want to support your cause. Other minority groups are also guilty of this. They sit there and make the case that they deal with the most racism and that blacks do not. When minorities do that, it makes me hope they get their just desserts. If you want support for your cause the last thing you should be doing is minimalizing and trivializing other peoples social dilemmas all for the sake of your own.

So what is the lesson?

Be nonviolent with your message, and stop assuming that other groups aren't still fighting their battles, and don't try to make it sound like yours is worse than theirs.