My silence...

If i am a person who doesn't argue unnecessarily and chooses to remain silent even in the most difficult arguments because i don't want to aggravate the situation, am i doing something wrong? if i believe that remaining silent can actually help me solve the problem in a much better way, is my practice erroneous ??. to control the fire, you use water right??...
but then why is it that my silence is misunderstood as my weakness?? why is my effort to sustain the relation taken as my defeat?? my silence in no way implies that i am wrong or my point of view doesn't matter in a discussion. why do i have to suffer in a situation where i am not supposed to?? why do i have consider my shame, my manners and my "cultural upbringing"?? what about my self respect that gets crushed??

-The Silent Sufferer