There are times, places, and situations where speaking up is fine. And safe.
Then there are times, places, and situations where your gut is going to tell you this isn't the time, place, or situation to do so. That was the case when I was at the gun counter the other day.
I think you should listen to your gut (unless your head overrules it).
Your gut might be wrong. Maybe you should have spoken up but you missed the chance, or maybe you shouldn't have when you did.
I would rather live in a society where people feel free to say what they think, even if others don't like it. Including "hate speech" [sic]. I've never encountered a good argument for restricting speech of any kind.
But there is a cost. Both for staying silent and for speaking out. I've paid (and still pay) the price for both at various times. I'm not going to heap criticism on someone for taking either path when I would have made the opposite choice. My criticism is on anyone advocating (or committing) archation.
Most of the time, in most situations, I don't hesitate to speak up when my comment is relevant. But, there are times I choose not to for whatever reason. Sometimes the reason is simply that I don't feel like getting into a debate right now. Even in that case, I still might speak up in support of someone being criticized for a reasonable opinion.
How do you handle such situations?