In an act of supreme respect for others 27-year old Lyle Karson has taken an extreme vow of silence.

After seeing a litany of his favourite writers, actors, musicians, and race car drivers lose their careers and livelihoods with a single misthought phrase or word uttered aloud, the conscientious young man realized that we must show the greatest respect for those with thin skins, because people with thin skins are people too and must not be discriminated against.

Since it is all too easy to say the wrong thing, especially when you weren’t sure exactly what that might be, and further, don’t think anybody is taping you or listening in on your private conversations, the young man took the extreme measure of choosing to refrain from all speech.

It took friends a while to realize why he suddenly would not speak to them. As written communication can be misconstrued as easily as the spoken word, especially for those who never learned proper English grammar or punctuation, Mr. Karson would not write out the reasons for his silence either.

It was only by asking “yes” and “no” questions that the friends were able to figure out what Mr. Karson’s reasoning really was, and this exercise took weeks to accomplish as many questions were met with days of silent consideration before Lyle would commit to a “yes” or “no” with a decisive nod or shake of his head.

But each shake and nod provided his friends with such inspiration that several have decided they too would henceforth refrain from speech, seeking to further ensure that the dignity of all might best be respected.

Mr. Karson’s girlfriend has confided that while she respects his decision, she has been finding spending time with him difficult as his vow of complete silence precludes most conversation, and that this difficulty unfortunately extends to the bedroom, where many a situation has led to anger, confusion and tears all around.

Mr. Karson refused to comment for this story.