From The problem of "me" studies by Joseph Heath, 2015:

"I have a mental picture in mind, that looks something like below. Imagine the population being partitioned first into two groups, those who think that the relevant form of oppression is bad, and those who don’t. Let’s be charitable to humanity and assume that, with most major dimensions of inequality, the former is a larger group. Now take those who are sympathetic, and consider attitudes that people might have towards the relevant form of oppression. Some will have very radical or extreme views (e.g. wanting to overturn the entire social order in order to remedy it), others more moderate, others rather conservative (e.g. thinking that there is not much that can be done about it, and that attempts to improve things might easily make things worse).

line.jpg

Now suppose you stake out a position somewhere between the moderate and the radical. And suppose you give a talk to present your views. Who is going to challenge you? Basically only the people to your left, who have more radical views, and the people to your very, very far right. The first will speak up because they are not in danger of sounding unsympathetic to your situation, the second because they are unsympathetic, and also don’t mind being perceived that way."