There is no right to protest

in a violent or abusive manner. There is no right to do harm to others if you disagree with them. 

I have never been one to "protest". The idea of heading off to join a crowd of other people and chant slogans has never appealed to me. I am a timid sort of cat. Crowds, even friendly crowds, do not appeal to me. The thought of a potentially disruptive crowd alarms me and the thought of a crowd that could end in violence terrifies me. 

My preferred form of protest is a letter. I will spend time over a letter, perhaps as much time as someone who has gone to protest. My letter writing has produced results too. I have been invited to meet and talk with people I might otherwise never have met. I have seen action taken when there is a problem.

I was in my early teens when I complained to my local MP about something. (He happened to be visiting the Senior Cat at the time. I did not go out of my way to do this.) He looked at me and asked, "Do you really think that? Would you write me a letter so I can show other people?" 

I wrote the letter. I remember the Senior Cat reading my first attempt and making some suggestions but I wrote the letter myself. It wasn't the best of letters. I didn't get what I thought we should get for the school but plans were changed because, in my letter, there was evidence a problem needed to be addressed. The MP knew that the problem existed but he was smart enough to involve one of his young constituents. No doubt it just meant he could say, "Look, even the young people are aware of the problem." 

What he didn't know then (and I didn't know either) was that it set me on the letter writing path. I had a lot to learn about letter writing but learn I did. 

Over the years I managed to learn that protesting by letter writing is far more effective than going off to "protest" outside parliament or elsewhere. I am never going to glue myself to the road or hurl paint at buildings. I don't need to do that. I can write letters.

Other people know I write letters. I will help them write letters. I have helped people write letters even when I strongly disagree with what they are saying. It's their letter, not mine. I tell them, "Keep it short, no more than a page." I tell them "State the problem. Suggest a reasonable solution." 

There is much more to it than that of course but it is a start. It is why there is a letter on my desk right now asking me if I can call someone's secretary today and arrange a time for a meeting. I am confident that meeting will produce a result.

In writing a letter I am committing my thoughts to paper. It requires me to be careful and considerate and courteous. I cannot abuse someone or threaten someone. I may not get the same "adrenalin kick" that those going to a protest get but I can still be heard. It might even be that I am more likely to be heard.