You're just stammering "but but but that's not how it works" while still clinging to this "we can stand up to the bullies" narrative. I've sketched out my logi

You're just stammering "but but but that's not how it works" while still clinging to this "we can stand up to the bullies" narrative. I've sketched out my logic and reasoning, please do the same. Also, the false binary you presented is indeed false--because that's not what I wrote. My thesis is exactly that "standing up to the bullies" will lead to escalation of force in the short term which leads to violence and loss, and that failure to "stand up to the bullies" is achieved by doing anything other than continuing what you were doing when they told you to stop. Please stop the bluster and explain this magical thinking that somehow lets us both "stand up to the bullies" without consequences of escalation.