Which peaceful protest are you referring to?
Tiananmen square protests (what the "Tanks" were implying) were not peaceful. They started that way, but they were not that way, when the military stepped in. There have been numerous reports that the 'trigger' moment, was a group of soldiers being isolated and threatened or attacked.
I love you are saying The US is a very free country in response to the L.A riots... the irony is not missed :D