silence seems to be a better tool of criticism

Disagree, Musick.

Silence is not "a tool of criticism", especially in a forum or assembly of people. It is a tool of assent, as in "silence gives consent".

Silence only becomes "a tool of criticism" if it is practised by a group upon an individual. In that case, it is not "criticism" but ostracism.

As the passage below indicates, ostracism is employed not so much to censure opinion as to remove a threat to the established power structure.

A reconstruction of Themistocles' Ostracism, from The Greeks documentary:

The institution of ostracism, believed to have been created by Cleisthenes, was not actually used until 487 BC; some 20 years after his reforms.

Designed as a safeguard for protecting democracy, it was a harsh and unforgiving punishment, often meted out to individuals who were becoming too personally powerful, or who threatened the positions of those who already had great influence.