3 ms·
> I suppose there is as third group who just don't say anything at all, and we should just go ahead and nail them for thoughtcrime. “Silence is violence”
by dqpb 6y ago
> I suppose there is as third group who just don't say anything at all, and we should just go ahead and nail them for thoughtcrime.
“Silence is violence”
- i_haz_rabies 6y agoNo, it isn't. Scenario 1) someone who has bullied you in the past calls classmate a racist term. you stay silent for reasonable fear of reprisals. Scenario 2) your boss says something overtly sexist. you know he is fairly temperamental, so stay silent because you want to keep your job so as to continue paying your bills. Scenario 3) the government is jailing a certain ideological group you happen to somewhat agree with. you stay silent for fear of being included in that group and leaving your children parentless. Do any of those sound like violence? Or do they sound like a reasonable course of action for an individual lacking power over the perpetrators? I understand the instinct to condemn silence in the face of injustice. But the real world places real demands on people, some of which are more important than abstract notions of justice.
- dqpb 6y agoI wasn't declaring that silence is violence. I was providing it as an example for the OP's enumeration. Hence the quotes.
- i_haz_rabies 6y agonoted, thanks for clarifying.