The protests changed me in a lot of ways. One way was, I was by no means a class reductionist before. But the protests really woke me up to the real struggles of oppressed communities in the US and importantly, the revolutionary potential in those communities. I remember listening to Rev Left in my car and had to pull over for a minute to absorb it when Breht said something to the effect of "what did white socialists in America ever give us?! Bernie Sanders!? Fuck that! The real revolutionary potential is with oppressed communities."
I'm a lot more wary of wreckers and infiltrators now. If I had said that to myself a year ago I would've thought myself paranoid, but it's wild to see first hand in real time. In particular I remember an "unaffiliated" chapter of BLM in my area that was constantly taking megaphones at protests to shout pro cop slogans, and whose members met with the Proud Boys on live TV.