Not responding is a response - we are equally responsible for what we don't do.

The line argues that silence and inaction are not neutral. Choosing not to answer, intervene, or take a stand still shapes outcomes, and therefore carries moral weight. It echoes ethical ideas about “sins of omission”: responsibility attaches not only to what we actively do, but also to what we allow to happen through passivity. The phrasing “not responding is a response” highlights how others will read silence as consent, indifference, or avoidance, while “equally responsible” presses a demanding standard of accountability—one that challenges the common impulse to separate intention from consequence when we fail to act.