ABSTRACT The Politics of Small Things tells the story of a damaged public sphere and shows how expressive means may allow for repairing the damage done to the possibility of free expression. The paper first of all contrasts Goldfarb's argument with Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann's theory of ‘the spiral of silence’, which looks like its inverted image by stressing the banality of acquiescence. Secondly, it discusses the question of oppression. As one of the last resorts available to the powerless, the politics of small things responds to situations of coercion and tragedy. Yet I ask whether Goldfarb's politics of small things risks misapplication when addressing situations where oppression is uncertain.