It's an inflammatory comment but it's one worth repeating: a protest with a permission slip is a parade.

There is one obvious permission structure and one non obvious permission structure at play here. The first and most obvious permission structure at play here is the state, and what the state is willing to accept in the form of protest. The other, less obvious permission structure, is what we as a collective society are willing to accept and consider valid as a form of protest.

We often focus on the first without acknowledging the latter. There are some absolutely legitimate criticisms to be made of protests which seek permission from the state.

What we don't often talk about is that protest, for it to be effective, also needs to make the other members of society around you uncomfortable. the discomfort is the point, and modern protests in the US are done in a way to reduce discomfort and inconvenience for all, both the government and the protesters, but also society. And if the discomfort created isn't so bad, protest can and will be readily ignored.

The elephant in the room is that while peaceful protest worked, it was effective in a time where it was fairly novel and society didn't have great ways of compartmentalizing it. The state and society adapted tools to be able to manage the inconveniences created from protest in such a way that protest is basically 100% ineffective in the US.

If a protest is safe, it can be safely ignored. If a protest doesn't inconvenience people in a manner that causes them to change behavior, it has no teeth.