I doubt being silence makes bullies shut up.
Generally, they show up in favorable environments, where the voice of reason is absent, and no adult is caring about what's going on in the room.
But being just silence? Just makes them worse.
I'm not talking about the people who you think are "adults" (I assume you mean people whose opinions mostly matches yours), I mean everyone. They wouldn't talk about this if nobody was listening.
And people wouldn't listen to them if they talked about things that are not problems.
No, I don't really think so, people with power are listened to because they have power.
Not because they say anything good or meaningful. Sometimes they speak hate.
And even if you just don't listen, others may be listening, and will take you over.
So, you really have to be aware of what people say.
Pushing your hands against your ears won't save you.
One kind of pushing your hands against your ears is ignoring problems that other people are talking about when you're not comfortable with hearing about them.
Another form is being so insecure about your identity and politics that you can't talk about real-world problems anymore. DHH will never see the forest through the trees if he lives in fear of being called a Nazi by someone who can substantiate the claim.
Making immigration illegal, makes immigration a problem.
Making immigration legal and pursuing integration makes immigration not a problem.
That's why so many countries have problems with immigration: they don't integrate.
