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And as the regime keeps pushing it grows closer to critical mass. It has had success in the past in quelling these protests with brutality and the folks would back down. It appears that the people aren't letting off the gas this time.
When those being held by the "authorities" greatly outnumber their captors, and the punishments tend more towards death (and possibly torture) then it increasingly disincentivizes submitting peacefully to detention and/or arrest