Decentralized.
Anyone is allowed to run their own node, with no permissions. The network works peer-to-peerly and thus, there's no border to "stop" it. There's nothing to be "stopped", only nodes communicating with each other through the TCP/IP protocol.
This brings in a new point. Can ISPs block or delay a node or miner traffic? Isn't the bitcoin related internet traffic hanging on the stratum protocol?
perhaps one can be tempted to say that if it does happen then we fork into using a new protocol. Then it will be a cat and mouse game.
Routing it over TOR would make the whole ecosystem quite slow, but is it still fast enough to keep the 10min block going?
Do I have it all wrong and the Bitcoin traffic is indistinguishable / piggybacking on the normal internet traffic?
Censorship-resistant.
Since it's decentralized, there is no authority to freeze a transaction, which makes bitcoin censorship resistant to anyone who could govern the way money circulates. This frees people.
Yes but government banning on/off ramps and illegalising the trade can and will affect the ecosystem. Pushing the whole system underground is the answer but at what cost? can it survive forever underground? will users still want to take a risk of using it? will the community still believe in Bitcoin at this point?
a lot of ifs... I know..