Can you assume that people believe you merely because they stop debating you? Rob Henderson explains:

Clever activists know how exploit the weakness of professors. Most of the people who become professors just love their field—they don’t want to wade into activism or political disputes. A lot of them are introverts, or at the very least, they just want to be left alone to do their work. So if activists flood a professor’s inbox with emails, call their department nonstop, pressure the department, and demand to know why they haven’t signed a petition or denounced a colleague, eventually, a lot of them will just give in.

At some point, the professor just wants the noise to stop. They’ll sign whatever, release whatever statement, do whatever it takes to be left alone. It’s not that they believe in the cause—it’s just easier to give in. They don’t want to get dragged into a political or cultural fight; they just want to keep their head down and focus on their work. A lot of it, frankly, comes down to cowardice—figuring out the fastest way to make the problem go away.