Spiral of Silence

In the reading "Spiral of Science" Neumann mentions the definition of Spiral of Science as "The increasing pressure people feel to conceal their views when they think they are in the minority".

Being a minority myself, I can relate to the definition above in various ways. The world today is feeling immense political pressure to undermine the Muslim community due to mistakes made by a few people claiming their religion to be Islam. I, being a Muslim myself feel the need to keep silent when political views regarding the recent elections or the topic of 9/11 come up because I feel like I will not be heard no matter what I do or say and even if I do say something it will not be taken seriously. If we think about it, it's human nature to stereotype an entire community by a mistake a member of the community made but, what fuels the minds of the majority and silences the minorities? It's the views being passed around by various individuals on mass media.

If our Halloween costumes can be inspired by characters from a Television show, who says our views can't be fueled or inspired through public speakers using Television to influence opinions? This just proves how dangerous the power of majority can be for minorities and for people who support or understand the issues the minorities face. On a personal level,  due to this issue, I have found myself feeling guilty or ashamed when certain topics come up regarding Muslim representation on the media through powerful figures because somehow I feel people have their eyes on me because, I am a person of color let alone, a Muslim. Later on in the chapter, Neumann mentioned about the "Time to speak and a time to keep silent" which made me think of my own personal experiences.  Being in the minority sometimes in regards to certain topics makes it easier for me to keep silent about passing opinions that can hurt emotions and cause some sort of a reaction because maybe if I speak louder and show opinion I may be attacked with counter arguments and opinions that might hurt my emotions or hurt the emotions of others. However, I do believe there is a time to speak and that is when your opinion seems politically correct and is influential rather than hurtful and degrading.