What a lot of people forget is that for the vast majority of people, this is a progression. The reason petitions work is because they get awareness out there, which leads to more people showing up to the protest. The reason protests work is because that’s where you sign people up to the orgs. And the reason all of these things work is because the people on the other end understand that if there are enough people petitioning or protesting, some percentage of those people will, if pushed hard enough, resort to more direct action. A petition isn’t a plea, it’s a threat. A protest isn’t a complaint, its a show of strength. If people show up, those people can then be called upon for the next step, and the next. And when things go right, the steps further down the chain aren’t needed, because the threat is enough.