No one needs permission to organize a protest. If you think it's a good idea to have a rally in your community or neighborhood, then you should. If you wanted to picket your MHA's office, then you should. If you want to write an editorial for the news or call into open line, you should. Make a sign or a banner, write the script for a protest play. There are many ways to take action, and a culture of protest emerges when people take it on themselves to just go ahead and act, feeling compelled to do so right now.
This is not to say protest actions should be impulsive -- on the contrary they need to be thought out -- but just to say that it's really up to you to take the lead and get the ball rolling if you want to effect change. Even seemingly small actions can have a big impact (putting up posters around your town, for example). There have been many protests in the last couple years we have written about on this page. If you browse through our content and the link list, you'll see lots of other ideas for protests as well. These range from occupation of public space, marches and rallies, to grassroots food-sharing kitchens, to culture jamming, and beyond. Protesting is about getting creative and thinking about what sort of action works to best convey your message.