exercising their 1st Amendment rights...
That's the one thing I can't argue with. The right to protest is granted by law, and I'll support their right to do so.
But just because you have the right to do something doesn't always mean it's the best thing for you...or the group you're representing. There becomes a point when the course become self-dectructive and destructive to the very cause that you support.
That's not to say all protests are counter-productive. Some can be, some are. But, again, there comes a point when protesting could become a sole reason to exist.
And we're talking about protesting a religion (cult though it may be). They also have Constitutional rights. The organization itself and it's members. While I may engage an individual JW into trying to open their mind about their beliefs, I personally give the JW religion the same respect I give all other relgions. They have the right to worship as they see fit. To me, they're all wrong, they're all a waste of time but I'm not going to waste my time standing on a street corner trying to convince others of it. They have freedom of religion, I'll let them exercise that as they see fit.
And there's the argument that protestors and publicity seekers hurt the efforts of others who are using more tried and true methods to help their families think for themselves. If the majority of outsiders see protestors as fringe nutcases and the majority of JWs see protestors as evil apostates, who really is benefiting? The protester feels better about him/herself? Okay, there's that benefit. But if it's their way of feeling better about themselves and JWs use their presentations as a way to feel better about being in God's blessing, then again the question has to be asked:
Is there any real difference between the two?
It's a philosphical point worth thinking about. I appreciate everyone's comments so far.