Read Manuel Criollo's response: Are we still trying to change the world part 2

So, how did your protest work out Wednesday?

You say you weren't in a protest Wednesday?

Seems like you're the only one.

There was a rally by parents, teachers and students to protest a staff overhaul at Fremont High School. And a "march for justice" by Superior Court employees to protest layoffs. And a demonstration by the Bus Riders Union against what it calls "racist" fare hikes. And brief rallies by health care legislation proponents, scheduled concurrently at more than a dozen medical clinics.

All of these rallies, protests and demonstrations were slated for the Los Angeles area on Wednesday afternoon.

They're not to be confused with the march two weeks ago by California State University, Northridge, students and faculty protesting public-education funding cuts ... or the downtown-L.A. demonstration earlier this month by union members protesting cuts in state services ... or the recent rally by activists calling for an investigation of alleged racial profiling by Torrance police ... or the rally outside Universal Studios in January by Conan O'Brien fans protesting Jay Leno's return to "The Tonight Show."

What's happening here?

Maybe all this marching around means Los Angeles is experiencing an epidemic of restless-leg syndrome.

But CSUN communication studies professor Don Brownlee, who treats topics like this with appropriate seriousness, said we might be going through an "El Ni o season of protests."

Looking back on decades of political protests in the United States, Brownlee said a rising cycle of public demonstration tends to reflect real dissatisfaction in society, usually over economic strife or controversial wars.

"You don't see these quite as much in times of prosperity and peace," he said.

Most Americans alive today associate political demonstration with civil-rights and anti-Vietnam War protesters.

After Tea Party rallies dominated the political
Members of the Bus Riders Union protest in front of the MTA headquarters today on fare increases in Los Angeles CA. March 17,2010. Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
news last summer, some intellectuals said the right-wing movement was the tactical heir to the left-wing movements of the 1960s and '70s. (Right- and left-wingers took offense at that suggestion.)

If, indeed, conservatives have mimicked liberals by taking to the streets, it could be because demonstrations are proven attention-getters. Here we are writing about them, after all.

"Many times it's the only way you'll get decision-makers to listen," said Esperanza Martinez, organizer of the Bus Riders Union. "Politicians care about staying in office. They need to secure votes.

"If you reach the hearts and minds of their constituents, you can prove a threat to them."

Martinez, 31, a Cypress Park native, is a veteran of these things, having worked for a health care career training program and a "welfare rights" organization before joining the transit advocacy group.

Martinez said she thinks many would-be demonstrators were discouraged from staging public protests after the violence between pro-immigrant activists and police at Los Angeles' MacArthur Park in May 2007.

Now, she said, "I really do think you're seeing a more active movement on the street. I think it's because conditions are that bad."

In part, all of this activism might be a spinoff from the 2008 presidential campaign, Martinez said.

She thinks "folks who were hitting the streets and knocking on doors and picking up phones to tell people about hope and change" have been disappointed by the results of President Barack Obama's first year, and they have channeled their energy into "organizations that are fighting for real transformation in our communities."

It's unclear why so many activists chose to do their demonstrating on Wednesday, and whether St. Patrick's Day affected their focus.

And whether so many protests at once - by interest groups pleading for slices of a shrunken pie - might have produced a citywide yawn.

"I hope (politicians) are listening, with all the mobilization we're having across Los Angeles," said philosophy professor Zack Knorr, who helped organize a 250-student protest of fee hikes and class cuts at Valley College in Valley Glen on
Members of the Bus Riders Union protest in front of the MTA headquarters today on fare increases in Los Angeles CA. March 17,2010. Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News
Wednesday.

The Bus Riders Union hoped to draw 30 to 40 demonstrators to its rally against proposed Metropolitan Transportation Authority fare increases that would hurt poor and minority riders, Martinez said Wednesday morning.

That could be enough to make a difference if it attracts media coverage and helps to get activists' blood pumping, said CSUN's Brownlee.

Of course, you have to attract the right media coverage, Brownlee said.

He said he was watching from a block away when a March 4 rally by 2,800 CSUN students and faculty degenerated as protesters blocked the intersection of Reseda Boulevard and Prairie Avenue, leading to arrests and one injury.

"It was going to be a wonderful day, drawing attention to an issue that has been underdeveloped - and all the media attention ended up focused on the last 10 minutes," Brownlee said.

No violence was reported at any of Wednesday's protests.

Just to make sure, the Los Angeles Police Department was expected to be on hand for most of them.

"Life is cyclical," said Officer Cleon Joseph of the LAPD media relations office. "Every decade or so, you see more or less (protests). ... As long as this is America, you can rest assured there will be protests."

Some days more than others.