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.
