People may not see the options, but that's also the problem there: It's a zero-sum no-win game because another lesson in maturity people learn too late is the dual-edged sword of "no man is an island" and "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link." When you add the people bullying you into these zero-sum no-win games already decided you WILL lose, they'll think of a reason or even make one up to and lie you did it (and who cares if they lie? It's your word against theirs, and who'll believe you? You're a [insert thing they made up]!)

...they also use those facts. Look at the 'one trans person who didn't even work there cried twansphobia to a person at a game company and got them fired' and it's part of it. You choose to tell them to fuck off? Your boss won't. Or THEIR boss won't. Or their boss's boss won't. And they're willing to go all the way up to the board of directors who don't know you from Adam and will respond "shutupshutupdon'tcaredon'tcareOHMYGODIDON'TCARE just fire whichever peasant they're complaining about before their whining causes the stock price to drop". And if you're self-employed? Your suppliers won't, your customer base won't- and even if there's more people who also told them to fuck off, you just saw your customer base Thanos'd and could be the difference between survival and failure. And if it's personal life, your family might not, your friends may not. And all of them have the double whammy of "they may believe the asshole, or they may be afraid of what the asshole will do to them because if they support you, the bell will toll for them too".

The word "no" works, but it doesn't work for terminally online obsessed stalkers who will stop at nothing to defeat you.