Specifically, non-violent protest works by demonstrating your ability to organize large groups of people in defiance of obstacles put in your way, very much including the law. It carries with it the implied threat that some non-trivial subset of that group would take up arms if asked.
Legal, peaceful protests really only demonstrate that your opinion has some level of popularity. Which can be useful for winning over the merely apathetic, but it does nothing against the outright opposed.
Legal, peaceful protests really only demonstrate that your opinion has some level of popularity. Which can be useful for winning over the merely apathetic, but it does nothing against the outright opposed.