Methinks he doth not protest too much

As a sometimes protester who thinks that it is important we do have the right to protest, I'm concerned at some of the things I've been hearing about the policing of peaceful protest and the collusion of big business with police authorities in what appears to be a political agenda favourable to corporate interests and against those of ordinary people. Too worried? Well, when they came for the Anarchists ... you know how that story goes. See Mark Thomas' opinion piece here: Doth I protest too much? | Mark Thomas | Comment is free | The Guardian Salient points: "Many of those targeted by the police have committed no crime and are guilty only of non-violent direct action. So it is worth reminding ourselves that protest is legal. The very phrase "domestic extremist" defines protesters in the eyes of the police as the problem, the enemy. Spying on entire groups and organisations, and targeting the innocent, undermines not only our rights but the law ... Protest is part of the democratic process. It wasn't the goodwill of politicians that led them to cancel developing countries' debt, but the protests and campaigning of millions of ordinary people around the world. The political leaders were merely the rubber stamp in the democratic process. ... No police, secret or otherwise, should operate without proper accountability. .."
I think that's all reasonable, but we should recall that the price of freedom is constant vigilance and that this vigilance needs to be exercised towards those who are holding power and exercising police powers on our behalf. At the moment, in a post Twin towers collapse world, we need to be more than averagely vigilant.