There are three broad types of activism: The kind that does nothing but give the participants the warm fuzzies, the kind that is dangerous to the activist but effective, and the kind that is counterproductive. The first and third are by far the most popular.
Must it be dangerous to be effective? What types of danger do you mean?
I think people underestimate the power of non-violent communication and the influence ideas have on real change.
But yeah, much of it does seem to be about "the feelz."
Effective activism is usually "illegal." The danger is that government agents will rob, kidnap, or murder you if you get careless.
Truth, see below