“Silence equals death, so let’s make some noise,” started a #tbt article that I wrote, a long time ago.

Silence equals Death

More recently, the Silence = Death poster, in all its variations, has become a familiar sight, spotted not only in gatherings related to AIDS activism, but activism, in a more general sense. And, yes, at times, some of those variations could be quite…eyebrow-raising.

Truth is that I have always been fascinated by the Silence = Death poster, and even more so by its story shared with me by one of its co-founders.

Silence does equal Death. Sometimes, it can also equal Survival. That’s because sometimes, keeping quiet can save lives–ours and and our loved ones.

And yet, let’s not. Let’s not end up in a place where Silence can equal Survival, because that’s a dark and eerie quiet place, an unsafe place. And silence would help us survive, but only for a while. The survival that it can offer is only temporary. Not only that but, in the the process, it might lead to us (those trying to survive) losing our individual and collective voice. With that, it might lead to us losing ourselves.

Who would want to live like that?

As always, thanks for stopping by,

Alina Oswald