I had shown them to Danny, who needed them, and to Linda, who had repeated what she should not have, and to Mark, who had asked.

I did not owe the performance of my own defense to a group chat of people who had already chosen which story was more comfortable to believe.

So I did not fight in the group.

I want to be clear that this was not weakness, and it was not taking the high road either, which is a phrase I have come to distrust, because it usually means swallowing something that should be said.

It was strategy, and it was dignity, and the two turned out to be the same thing here.