Silence

The Silence Before the Music

There is a moment in every performance that most audiences do not notice, and that every performer knows is the most important moment of the entire event.

It is the silence before the first note.

The conductor raises the baton. The pianist places their hands above the keys. The singer inhales. And in that fraction of a second – before the baton falls, before the fingers descend, before the breath becomes sound – the entire room holds still, and something happens that is neither music nor its absence but the threshold between the two.

Silence Is a Position

I am often told that I should be more careful. That I should consider the political implications of what I say. That naming names and identifying perpetrators is dangerous, divisive, and counterproductive.

I have considered it. I reject it.

Silence, in the face of visible injustice, is not caution. It is complicity. And I refuse to be complicit.

The Myth of Neutrality

There is a persistent belief – especially among institutions, media organizations, and professionals – that it is possible to remain neutral in the face of injustice. That by not taking a side, you avoid becoming part of the problem.