Actually, it is not necessary to have a lot of orchestration, though modern social media make it a lot easier.
Liberal protests draw protestors. They need not be in agreement with one another, they have solidarity in their common hatred of “the Man” which keeps them going.
I have been to many human rights festivals or other such events, and noticed the general hodgepodge of complaints merely looking for a place to let it out.
An exception to this would be the protests I observed over the first gulf war, though I could not help noticing, and asking about, the fact that the general appearance of the protestors in question was one of hatred, not peacefulness.
I observed a rally to commemorate the holocaust that exemplified this. Every Tom, Dick, and Suzy with a chip on the shoulder got up to complain about his or her particular grievance - they were legion - with no particular thing holding them together other than the chance to vent their anger.
The actual holocaust survivor who spoke had actually been there and done that when it came to being a victim, but he exuded peace and acceptance and determination that the wannabees who rode on his coat-tails could not begin to fathom, much less emulate, as they did not have it in themselves in the first place.
I have wandered a bit - my point was that the majority of protestors I have known are angry people looking for any excuse to get together and make a fuss; they may be easily manipulated because of this, but it doesn’t require a lot of coordination and support, or even a common cause to bring them together - they just need a reason to go there, see and be seen. There are orchestrators, no doubt, you can easily identify them, but most of the time j random protestor is a pretty unaware kid being led about and not even realizing it.
What disturbs me more than the “hippies” getting involved are the unions.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-labor-unions
This is almost a perfect cause for the Unions. Almost everything the protesters are against the Unions are against. I have to wonder if they have been involved all along, particularly the SEIU.