I've been watching some First Amendment Auditing videos, and it is amazing the degree of ignorance there is not only among the public, but also public servants,

I've been watching some First Amendment Auditing videos, and it is amazing the degree of ignorance there is not only among the public, but also public servants, including police officers, who should absolutely know that constitutionally protected activity can't be turned into a crime just because someone finds it unpalatable. In fact, that's precisely the reason why First Amendment protections exist. We wouldn't need them if there weren't speech, religions, journalists, or protests that some people didn't want. I understand your point about "just because you can doesn't mean you should," but on the other hand, we will never know whether constitutional protections have real force unless we see that they work for rights that other people would rather we not exercise.