Courage isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s quietly leaving the chat that’s making fun of someone.

A group chat gets its momentum from the number of people in it, and every silent member still counts as a number. Leaving is not a speech and not a confrontation, which is why it is available to almost anybody. It registers anyway, because people notice who is no longer there. Nerve that gets no applause is still nerve.

If a thread turns mean this week, you can mute it, leave it, or send the person being talked about something ordinary and friendly. Any of the three beats scrolling and feeling bad.