Incompetent (non)reactions

I've just started reading a science fiction novel, and set it aside out of frustration. Then I started on the autobiography of a woman in our diplomatic service, and similarly set it aside out of frustration. 

My frustration with the former is the passive non-action when a science vessel and its crew are threatened by armed thugs when it reaches Pluto. Communication between Earth and Pluto is difficult, but it can and does happen - in fact, we have satellites further away from the Earth who are in communication. 

If you suddenly find unexpected vessels at a place you're supposed to be at, you're going to relay that message, along with the threats. You won't get a reply to guide you in your decision making, but you will make sure everyone else knows what happens to you. And when the trigger-happy thugs start threatening and asserting you "must" do something, you do NOT simply accede straight away - you relay the orders/threats, protest/negotiate (e.g., refuse to let any armed soldiers on board). 

Although the book has been set up to explore some philosophical issues - and does so brilliantly, based on the reviews, the opening incident shows a reaction that I can only describe as incompetent, incredibly unlikely, and a non-reaction. 

That's a problem I have come across in other situations - predominantly when people are being discriminated against. I've even made the error myself - bigots (and that IS what they are) will persist in attacking, annoying and aggravating you until your reserves are gone, and then pounce and use your lack of response as a justification to continue being bigots. 

It is something I experienced throughout engineering, and the autobiography describes one such incident in the 70s (before the Equal Opportunity Act) where a male - another military figure - should have been charged with sexual harassment . . . but she ignored it so she could do her job. 

This sort of situation abounds - for instance, when TGD people do not object to every instance of misgendering, or allow themselves to rationalise over someone misgendering ("that's just a figure of speech he always uses" [it's more than 90% of the time a male] ). Again, that is an incompetent (non)reaction. 

It is easy to get overwhelmed and worn down in this too hate-filled world, but recognise that, do what you need to recover, acknowledge that you made a mistake, calmly and objectively assess whether you can recover from it or not and do so/desist, and work towards doing better next time. 

The accumulation of such incompetent (non)reactions leads to a society where bigotry, prejudice, and hate are the norm, and for an example of what that leads to, read this.

I will probably go back to those books, but not for a few days.