'Silence is Complicity'

I got myself into bit of a spat with a mate of mine by putting that phrase on a FB post.  He felt it unfairly pressurised  or implied criticism of people who choose not to take up the option of speaking out about it when they encounter an example of someone, or a group, perpetratinginjustice upon another, or upon a group of people.  I felt obliged to explain myself.

I can understand how/why people feel in some way pressurised when they choose not to speak out and call it out when they have come across an injustice of some sort, especially when someone else suggests they are in some way complicit inthe injustice by remaining silent.  And yet I find myself compelled to agree with this view.  Those who are familiar with the bible story of the good Samaritan will perhaps have some understanding of the principle.  To be aware of and then not, in some way react when an obvious injustice has happened is, in some senses to "ignore" it - almost, to pretend you did not know it took place. 

 The phrase "silence is complicity" implies that-  not to call it out when someone is abused, harassed, discriminated against, persecuted or, in some way, treated unjustly is to allow the injustice to be unchallenged in any way - the perpetrator, for want of a better description, gets away with, the "offence", which may possibly mean it may be continued or repeated.  On the other hand, if the observer of an injustice speaks out about it, tells others about it, 'spreads the word', so to speak, then that person has helped to create an awareness of what has happened.  If the perpetrator knows that his/her 'offence' has been publicised and that others now know about it , it puts pressure on him her to amend his/her offending behaviour, possibly to try and make up for it and not to repeat it.  For the injustice to have happened unchallenged, risks its continuance and may even allow the perpetrator to feel emboldened.

I hope I've not made too much of a meal of  this - it's only because I feel that if we want a better world and for things to change for the better, we should not stay silent - or, even sit on the fence about -injustice, inequality, oppression, etc.  It's a non-violent way of helping our fellow humans - just by telling others about what is happening.  Words have a sort of 'ripple effect' - people tell each other and talk about what's happening and hopefully, the awareness results in change for the better.  So, the moral is, don't be afraid to speak out - the more people know what's going on, the better!  Good luck!