I had a big long rant all set in response to these comments, but in the end I think two other people I know say it best.

I continue to protest even though the Bush administration's troops are already in Iraq because, as my acquaintance Lucy says, "I want the political cost of this war to be high enough to bring an end to this entire strategy. I want no more of this. I want my country to function as a peer in the world, and not a ravening predator."

My friend Alan adds, "I don't feel comfortable with a boot with my name on it on the throat of the rest of the world. (That doesn't mean I want to move elsewhere in the world and be on the receiving end of the boot.)"

Another reason to continue visibly protesting: simply to make your opinions heard at all. A yoga-in is different enough that it just might get a few seconds on the evening news.

Which may or may not make a difference. For instance, the local NBC affiliate TV station coverage reported the story almost entirely as an estimate of what the protest would cost city government, and pointed out that the money could have been used for homeless people. Curiously, they never mention the bread that St. Patrick's Day or LGBT Pride Day parades snatch from the mouth of the poor.