[steve_gh]

> but silence is a form of opinion, of vote, of approval.

I disagree. We don't have to have an opinion on everything. And what worries me is those (both on the left and on the right) who think that silence is a form of opinion or approval. It's getting very close to "those who are not with us are against us". And that's a worldview I have very little time for.

[pil0u]

Yes, I agree with you. Silence, when you do not have an opinion, is totally fine. And yes, not having an opinion on everything is absolutely fine, probably sane even.

I was answering a comment about a vote that would put you in a torture camp, so a vote on which you are certainly opinionated about.

In other words, don't self-censor when you think something is not right.

[jaredcwhite]

> that's a worldview I have very little time for

Only people who already live in a position of privilege get to have "little time" and settle for worldviews which advocate for a sort of bland tolerance of extremism. I can assure you, for people who are being actively harmed by hateful rhetoric and political policies, "those who are not with us are against us" is absolutely a reality.

[baggy_trough]

Extremism is in the eye of the beholder. Trying to kick a founder out of a hugely successful project because he thinks there has been too much immigration to London is also an extremist view.

[giraffe_lady]

> And what worries me is those (both on the left and on the right) who think that silence is a form of opinion or approval.

Definitely definitely. When a racist paramilitary is disappearing my neighbors my primary concern is whether people will consider me complicit for publicly stating that I have no duty to interfere.

You don't have to have an opinion on everything but you do have to have an opinion on some things. Or I mean, obviously you don't, but then you have to accept the social consequences of cowardice.

[typpilol]

Are you neighbors illegal aliens?

If you believe we shouldn't have borders than just say so.

[CaptArmchair]

I'll put it like this.

Close by where I live is a monument for civilians who were taken from their houses and shot by the German occupiers during the last months of WWII. Simply because they were suspected of having distributed pamphlets. There wasn't even evidence to that claim, and retribution was a thing.

I passed that monument countless of times during my youth, giving me pause to contemplate.

It's a tangible reminder of what ultimately happens when people stay silent about something as final and poignant as one group denying the existence of another group for whatever reasons.

I have no problem with expressing differences over world views. I take issue when that world view entails denying the other side's existence because of differences, and a fervent intent to act on that notion.

It's a matter of boundaries, and speaking up.