That's why I do get upset at tenured professors who have more scope to express their views than do most other people but often appear not to want the responsibility. . Incidentally, if John D's interpretation of Neil is right, Neil and I aren't all that far apart. My core argument is given peoples' propensity not to be involved, a very few, but publicized, cases of coercion can go a long way in assuring social control. In my protest class, we talk about the few assassinations that have occurred among activists and whether they did make sense because of the fear they spread among the many who then were afraid to be involved. I'm sure many activists of my age can remember their parent's fears when we became active, simply because of our parents explicit awareness of HUAC and all those horrors.
Intimidation is used because it works.
Oh, I forgot to mention a case in which I was involved in which my voicing opinions lead to sanctions. I was explicitly told that my salary had been held back.