Protests are stifled in many ways, such as, http://tinyurl.com/gul84hl, who was he hurting?

Democracy is stifled in many ways, such as, http://tinyurl.com/zvzjbso

So maybe the question is not about the manner of these protests at all,

maybe it's really about should people protest at all.

As an aside I personally think fracking should be banned across the UK, but money talks and morality walks.