Photo by melanie.phung.

Protesting appears to be all the rage these days. That said, we can’t say we’re surprised that a demonstration has been planned this afternoon aimed at protecting the public’s inalienable right to an unchanged Google Reader.

Beginning at 12:30 p.m. this afternoon, a group of people led by one Tim Freedom Incarnate Andrews will engage in a peaceful protest outside the doors of Google’s Washington headquarters at 1101 New York Avenue NW. The protesters’ beef:

Google has decided – without any user consultation – to effectively kill our beloved Google Reader, and force us all to use G+ in its stead. Without any of the functionality that made Reader so useful transferring over to make G+ work for us. While the Google Reader name may stay, none of the social functions that make Google Reader so great will survive its incorporation into G+, thereby destroying a thriving community of dedicated and loyal followers.

There’s a bit of a a human rights connnection to the protest too — but give us easy access to There, I Fixed It or give us death, right?

You know, it’s fitting in a way — in order to actually read everything sitting in this editor’s Google Reader, you’d probably have to shun employment and camp out for several days, just like the folks down in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza.