Zombie wrote:

And yet, with all the flag burning and screaming and traffic-blocking and menacing chants, can you guess who was the only protester to be stopped by police and ordered to leave? That’s right — the single anti-Hamas protester. [….] Which sharply highlights a depressing truth: If you express an opinion, no matter how wrongheaded, you are safe from criticism if enough people share it with you; but if you express an opinion, no matter how insightful, you will be penalized if you stand all alone.

This reminds me of Sharansky’s Town square test:

If a person cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm, then that person is living in a fear society, not a free society.