@seachanger I think many overestimate the role of public demonstrations in getting out the viewpoints of the demonstraters.

Heck, often enough the demonstrations are used by opponents to push back against their causes. They're often counterproductive.

So since I don't think demonstrations do much good in amplifying voices in the first place, I don't think these examples really represent powers silencing voices. They're mainly responding to actions, separate from voices, in ways that are often viewpoint agnostic.

If anything, the real acts of silencing seem to be pushing back against false propaganda, which isn't the most unreasonable thing depending on the nature of the particular case.

More about accountability than punishment, as they say.