- Joined
- Jul 13, 2017
I know the main situation here is sticking up for his wife but you mentioned how he doesn't talk in other situations. There is something in early life that is a potential indicator of autism but doesn't always result in autism but has strong correlation to some of its traits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_mutismJust going by the order of how things went, I think Phil's brain turns off more than usual when he's on the spot. You notice how passive he is when he's with PPP, when it's live, he won't rock the boat; you get him in some other scenario, and he's gonna huff and puff and put his foot down. Dollars to donuts, you get him on a livestream with PPP and he'll become more docile/submissive. Also willing to bet he never even considered standing up for his wife until he saw other people talking about it. If history has shown us anything, one of Phil's biggest problems is how vaccuous his brain is when it comes to other people; whether it's friends, non-friends, or his wife. He'll get mad at the trolls saying Kat's fat because the trolls are an ephemeral faceless entity that he can bludgeon; but PPP, he can't stand up to him on the spot, whether it's because Ashton has that much more presence than Phil or because Phil really doesn't get the shit he's allowing. He'll retcon the fuck out of it, but no way in hell would he have even said anything if others didn't bring it up first.
Most children and adults with selective mutism are hypothesized to have an inherited predisposition to anxiety. They often have inhibited temperaments, which is hypothesized to be the result of over-excitability of the area of the brain called the amygdala.[17] This area receives indications of possible threats and sets off the fight-or-flight response. Behavioral inhibitions, or inhibited temperaments, encompass feelings of emotional distress and social withdrawals.