I find your post poignant indeed.
I may be a bit different than most folks on Steemit, as I have actually been grateful for each time I have been flagged. In every case, the flags proved my point more effectively than my words could have. Since I am not here for rewards, such financial hit as came with the flags didn't affect me at all.
Words do not threaten me. Actual slings and arrows have, in many ways, already killed me.
When I think of 'shut down' I do not think of a conversation. I think of why I don't have a bank account, own valuable property, or earn enough to pay taxes. I shut down in these ways because of predatory violence I was unable to defeat, and this is the only way I am able to not contribute to feeding those predators.
That is what 'shut down' means to me, and what it took to shut me down.
Thanks!
I commend this form of shutting down. You are removing your support for this system. That’s how we win.