I think a significant problem is that there doesn't seem to be a purpose to these disruptions.

I'm emphatically not talking about protesters' general end goals when I say that; every protester has a vision of the brighter future they're fighting for. I'm talking low-level, concrete, tangible terms: what, very specifically, will this accomplish? How and why is this protest (or series of protests) going to advance the cause I've chosen to champion?

Raising awareness is of limited utility. People are aware of the "sentinel events" that set off the BLM movement, even entrenched in their views on those events. Something like this policy slate from BLM carries a much stronger and more specific message - but how is this disruption, aimed at commuters with little direct connection to this cause, working to accomplish the points outlined therein? Was it even part of the demonstration?

I very much liked this suite of criticisms and recommendations (from commentator Oliver Willis) about how popular movements can maximize their effectiveness. I'm seeing more of this from BLM, when I look. But that's not the face the public is seeing, and it's not what comes across from just blocking a highway and chanting slogans.

(As a sidenote, by the way - I'd need to see numbers to really gauge it, but the prospect of EMS being blocked seems like a valid concern. It kinda disturbs me seeing it so frequently written off as impossible; I usually see an ambulance with sirens blaring at least once per day on my commute.)