How to Remain Silent

Question

I see many people who are calling being silent or having no opinion as being a racist or violence against certain groups.It seems youA. Can't be silentB. Have to choose an extreme polarized side - cops bad or protests (or riots) bad. Anyone against protest inhumane vs anyone calling for cop violence good.C. Can't be a centralist.How do you avoid confrontation when the person is putting a gun at your throat to make you say something extremely polarizing political stuff?I am more than happy to discuss ways to resolve racism issues but I won't generalize or join the mob moralising of people having different opinions than them and witch hunting.

AnimalMuppet · Accepted Answer

It is useless to have a conversation with those who will not listen. Doubly so if they want to use you to prove that their view is the only reasonable one, held by all right-thinking people.
When someone is putting you on the spot, you have two options: Say very little, or shut them down. If you try to say very little, they may keep pushing, and force you to either (pretend to) agree, or to oppose them.
If it's not someone who has power over you (like a boss, say), I'd be inclined to tell them to take their limited, black-and-white, extremist view and get lost.

gnusty_gnurc · Answer

It'd be nice if people started thinking of how the dynamics can be used if they're hijacked.Being silent is violence and so is any other opinion other than complete agreement. What a nice norm to establish for someone like Trump to hijack.