Don’t let anyone silence you

I’ve been reading the comments, and gauging people’s reactions to the families of the hostages protesting, making noise, and advocating for the hostages to be found and released. I’m from outside of Israel, so reading a local Israeli perspective is of interest to me. What struck me are some strange people accusing these families of being foreign agents aka the 5th column, and so on. Some even used the argument of vanity and pride. It got me thinking.

What kind of a person do you need to be to write such nonsense? The whole 5th column argument/accusation is something I know well; Poland is basically divided into two camps, generally speaking, and ”foreign agent” accusations fly all around. Crazy, but that’s what it is.

So, who writes such nonsense? Bots, trolls, agent provocateurs who want to socially experiment? Not necessarily. Someone who is envious, for example. Yes, that’s right. Green with envy. Why, you ask? It makes no sense, it’s absurd. Well, it makes perfect sense, actually.

You see, someone else has the courage to let the world know about their cause, to stand up for their rights and convictions, while these strange people are sitting in their rooms, or who knows where, and they’d love to share something meaningful with the world, sure, but they either don’t know how, or are too scared to do it. Or both. So they resort to envy and hate, often hidden, masked, apparently anonymous. They hate you, cause they ain’t you. Indeed.

So, when these strange people see the families of hostages, read about them, or anyone else speaking out on important issues for that matter, whatever these issues may be, they are furious because they see how insignificant and cowardly they are. They don’t understand how anyone can have the audacity, the hutzpah, to speak out like that. That’s when you’re going to get accused of being vain, of being proud, and so on. Ignore it. Just a cheap manipulation to make you small and apologetic. A gaslighting guilt-trip of sorts. Be proud, why not? I’m not saying to walk around like there’s always a stick up your arse, or as if you’re on your high horse prancing around in a tiara and looking down at the pleb, but a little pride, a little vanity, sure. Treat yourself.

Women, in particular, are faced with a barrage of social norms and restrictions here, but anyone can be targeted by these twisted people. Faking concern, that’s another one, ”Oh, don’t do this, what’s going to happen, they’re going to target you,” and so on. They don’t really care about that, they are just faking concern to make you stop doing what you’re doing, because then they can feel better about themselves. Or telling you, ”Who cares, you won’t change the world, anyway,” and other such pep talks. Sounds familiar, huh? Yep.

To hell with them, I say. Keep doing what you’re doing and let the manipulators find someone else to prey on and gaslight. Speaking out on vital issues, writing an article, or a book, and so on – you deserve a badge of honor, because you’re already more courageous and, fankly, smarter than so many of your detractors, both the silent ones and the loud ones.

You’ll find that people who get it are the ones who have gone through the above and emerged victorious on the other side. Be like them. Bask in glory. Why the hell not?