I’m Choosing Not to Have an Opinion — And That’s Allowed

This is probably going to be a controversial thing to say, especially right now. Especially given something that happened mere days ago.

I’m not going to name names. I’m not going to give details. If you’re reading this around the time it’s being published and you follow Western news at all, you already know what I’m referring to. A woman was murdered. That’s all I’m going to say.

What I will say is that this moment feels eerily familiar.

It reminds me of six years ago—of the George Floyd case, and of how the entire world seemed to explode overnight. Everyone had an opinion. Everyone was expected to react. Everyone was expected to say the right thing, post the right thing, care in the right way.

Back then, I did have an opinion. I was angry—but not in the way people assumed. I was angry because it felt like the world was demanding a performance from me. As if silence was a crime. As if not engaging meant something sinister.

And the truth is: I don’t want to perform anymore.

I’m not an actress. I’m not here to prove my morality on command. I don’t exist to be activated every time the internet decides what the collective conscience should focus on.

So today—right now—I’m choosing not to focus on this case.

Not because it isn’t tragic. Not because it “shouldn’t matter.” Not because I lack empathy. But because I’m allowed to decide where my energy goes.

Last year, during the LA fires, I told myself I’d try to focus on other things. I didn’t fully succeed. I absorbed more than I should have. It stressed me out more than I admitted at the time.

This year, I’m doing something different.

I’m not going to force myself to engage with things I don’t want to engage with. I’m not going to consume tragedy out of obligation. I’m not going to manufacture opinions to avoid being judged.

And before anyone rushes to call this “privileged,” here’s the truth:
I no longer care what you think of me.

I am exhausted by the constant policing of how people should feel, should react, should behave. The endless “you must care like this,” “you must speak now,” “you must focus here.”

Enough.

You are not required to center every global tragedy in your personal inner world. You are not required to traumatize yourself to prove you’re a good person. You are not required to shift your emotional energy somewhere just because other people demand it.

Six years ago, anyone who dared to say “I don’t want to focus on this” was torn apart. That was disgusting then—and it would be disgusting now.

Society does not need more forced outrage. What it needs is honesty.

Ask yourself why you’re engaging with something:

• Is it because you genuinely care?
• Or because you’re being told you should?

Those are not the same thing.

And if you are interested—if you do want to understand—then question it deeply. Question the systems. Question the patterns. Question why things happen the way they do.

But if you’re not?
You’re allowed to step back.

Protecting your inner world is not selfish. It’s necessary.

You don’t owe anyone your attention.
You don’t owe anyone your energy.
And you certainly don’t owe anyone a performance.