Silence does not = complicity

Okay I want to get this off my chest.
There's this mentality going around (mostly online admittedly but still) where people say that "if you're not with us, you're against us." or "silence means complicity, if you don't speak up it means you're a white supremacist" or something like that. (And yes this is applying to certain current events happening in the U.S.).
Personally I feel this is a very dangerous and irrational mindset to have, and I think most of the people reading this will already understand why that is. But, I want to say it anyway.

Telling someone that if they aren't taking action then they are the bad guy is an attempt to guilt someone into following what you want. It also implies that it is okay to harass people with this guilt because "They aren't helping us. They must be a bad guy. So this is okay." This mindset takes no consideration for why someone might not be speaking up, and that there is no other "right" action than the one the accuser is taking.

This is not true. First of all who says there is only one right action to take? You? Well what makes your opinion any more right than the person you're accusing?
Second there really isn't any law that someone has to be joining a movement. No one should have to be forced to stand up for something just because there is a large group of people who do. Isn't that a part of what freedom is? The right to choose what you dedicate your time towards?
Third it's incredibly hypocritical. Most of these people saying silence = complicity probably were being silent themselves less than two years ago. I guess by their logic they were complicit with white supremacy too because they were staying silent right? So if it was okay to be silent then why is it suddenly a problem now? And no the argument that circumstances have changed doesn't work, because "silence = complicity" implies a no excuses attitude, so it would not have been okay to have been silent two years ago. (It's almost like these people aren't thinking things through and are just trying to guilt people into joining the movement or using this as an excuse to attack someone they don't like.)
Fourth People are different, not everyone is comfortable with going outside (DURING A PANDEMIC I MIGHT ADD) and joining a protest group. Lots of people (myself included) are incredibly shy, or have anxiety issues, telling them that they have to join you or else can do serious harm to them. What about people who just don't understand what's going on and don't want to take a side? What about people who are mute and literally can't speak up? What about people who just don't care enough? What about people who think you're wrong? What about people who think that the way you're going about this is wrong?
See why this kind of falls apart yet? I could go on but I think I've made my point.

I would like to point out that I used the term "you" to refer to the accusers several times throughout this blog and I want to clarify that I'm not addressing anyone reading this in particular. I also don't want to come off as if I'm attacking any movement of any kind, I just want to address this issue I feel strongly about. And yes I do realize this isn't really going to make an impact on the world. That's not the reason I'm doing this. Talking things through is a way that helps us feel better about things. That's my ultimate goal with this.

So why did I decide to write this? Well I think it was after I encountered this myself. I was logging in to my checking account website and on the homepage in huge white letters I see "Silence = complicity". Thanks bank, that's what I want to see when I go to check on the money I've saved up. I want you to try and make me feel guilty for not doing enough, that's a smart thing to bring up to someone who just wants to check on their account and money. It totally won't make someone feel bad for having saved up so much, like now that they've seen the message they suddenly realize they should donate some of their money or something.
Honestly I almost wanted to migrate to another service, but it's not worth all the trouble. And admittingly this is a very minor incident, but it rubbed me the wrong way.
I've just been seeing this happen, this message being said by people who don't care, who don't understand, and people who care a bit too much.

Anyway that's pretty much all I wanted to say. I hope people understand where I'm coming from with this. Still even with everything going on let's try to stay hopeful and keep moving onward to a better tomorrow.

Comments

[Lofty Withers]

I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."

--Martin Luther King Jr, Letter from a Birmingham Jail

[Megaskullmon]

Like I tell other folks when it comes to my state. People support it and it's so calm here and the news is like protesters protest in the street. Then next thing I see is. Rodieos have returned. I am just like my state cares and then goes to not care mode it's so weird.