Sugarcoated 007: Silent Killer

I don't understand why do people view someone silent to be a villain? Or is it just me? 

Flashback to the time I went on the camping trip with some of my work colleague. The night of the camping trip, we were playing a card game. If you ever heard of it, it's called Warewolves. 

If you haven't play this game, let me make a brief introduction on how it's played. So there are characters in the cards. The cards will be given by The Story Teller/Narrator. Only the Narrator will know who is playing who. The characters are Villagers, Seer, Bodyguard, Mason, Tanner and of course Warewolves. I want to get straight to the point and tell you that obviously the villain is Warewolves.

If there are five of us, each of us is a character and one or two might be warewolves. And if we failed to find and point out who the warewolves are, we'll be dead because the warewolves will kill us. How this works is depend on what we tell the Narrator. In order for us to do this, we have to guess as a team who the warewolves would be. If we failed, you know what happen next.

During this game, I get to be a warewolve twice and I was found out both times too. Apparently I'm a bad liar. My friends said I'll go quiet if I'm the warewolves. Haha. What a giveaway that was.

Then there was one time that struck me too. I wasn't the warewolve and still they thought I am the warewolve just because I became quiet. That got me thinking?

This whole time...

Do people really think I have bad intention when I'm quiet? When I didn't speak to you the whole time or at all, does that mean I'm rude or that I hate you? If I'm quiet just to keep my peace, does that make me rebellious? When I remain silent instead of responding to your arguments, does that make me a liar?

Then I realized this fact to be true. That people will meet you where they want you to be. It does not even covering the whole surface level of introduction. It's not even bare minimum.

People perceived silence as something evil because they fear the unknown. People are afraid of the things they don't recognize and consider it a threat. 

Here's an example. When the public was introduce to a new technology, lets say, an e-wallet. How many, do you think, people who prefer to use online transaction at the time it was first introduce? When they were encourage to pay for things online instead of physical hard cash, does everyone take it well at the time? Of course not all of them. What people do at the time? They complaint. They argue that online transaction, QR or e-wallet increase the number of scammers or fraud. They're not entirely wrong of course but still, you can see that these statement came from fear.

Another example, which I think we all can relate to. Let me take us to the time where we thought the world is going to end. Yes. The Pendamic.

Everyone can relate to the fear we had at the time. Remember the day where people had to go through a temperature check before entering a premis like a restaurant or a grocery store. There are people who refuse to have that thing (temperature scanner) scan their head because they believe it will damage your brain; and that actually stirs some kind of trouble for some time. I'm not even kidding, it's true. In conclusion, they are afraid. We cannot see or hear this thing that has potential to kill us.

You see what I mean?

Now the question is, how do they deal with it? They made up stories about you (Just like the e-wallet incident). They give wrong theories and reasons to avoid you (Just like the temperature scanner). They single you out (which is exactly like the game).

So you see the pattern here? They will not support or believe in something that they cannot see or in this case, hear. If you're silent means you are guilty. 

I'm disappointed because I know how much I can offer as a person but most of the time I don't see the effort from people around me to try to understand me better instead of assuming or accusing me of something or someone I'm not.

I'm not talking about the game actually. I'm talking about what I generally experience in my life nowadays. I have been misunderstood for being the quiet one. 

Now, for the sake of my peace of mind. I don't defend myself anymore nor that I try to fix their perception of me. People can think of us the way they want. There's nothing much you can do about it. Even if you try to convince them, they will only end up believing those who fit their norms. Me? I'm an outcast. I don't belong in the crowd.

So, yes. You are correct. I'm the warewolve. 

Come and get me.