Setting aside that there are different types of protests, protesting is a tool. Whether an effective protest is or bad depends upon how it is situated.

'There’s not a lot of political extremists, but they are the ones we hear from the most. EXCEPT in a protest environment."

You think the average person is more likely to encounter a position significantly to their left outside of a protest than at a protest? We have very different views of typical discourse. I live in the American North East, so maybe geography is at play.