I do respect non-magic Buddhism, I really do. I especially appreciate the push for non-violence.
We so need more non-violent solutions in our society-- people are too quick to use death-dealing tools as a "solution" to "problems".
That being said, I also appreciate that you cannot use "passive protest" if those you are protesting are willing to shoot you in the head, just for laughs, or worse-- out of indifference.
So I do think there is value in not being a martyr. We have a sufficient number of martyrs, and to spare-- we don't need any more.
For I have found, that all too often, the "martyrs" were not the people responsible for what was going on. It's never those at the very top of the heap, who are martyred, is it?