They silenced thinkers with isolation, social distancing, plexiglass, face masks, remote working, censorship, bans, cancelling, etc. If you did resist their fear mongering, then you were called a science denying conspiracy theorist. The victims are not all equal. Some wanted to be first in line because they were true believers. Some just wanted to go along. Some just wanted the perks. The real tragedy is those who didn't want it but were threatened and didn't think they had a choice.