There's a world of difference between "citizen spotted using SSH" and "citizen spotted using Tor".
In the first case you are just one in a huge number of people using SSH to avoid sniffers. With Tor the authorities know you're doing something you'd rather not be seen doing. It's a much, much bigger red flag.
I'd rather "the authorities" would stop spying on me whatever I'm doing, and I believe everyone should actively send up as many red flags as possible to confuse the bastards.
I don't accept the authority of any random gang of thugs over me, from whatever part of the world, period.
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - John Rogers
In the first case you are just one in a huge number of people using SSH to avoid sniffers. With Tor the authorities know you're doing something you'd rather not be seen doing. It's a much, much bigger red flag.