The tipping system is fucked, but that doesn’t at all change the fact that it’s baked into the system. EVERYONE (in that moment) expects you to to tip; so if you don’t, you’re effectively stealing from the server.
If you don’t want to tip, your only options are to either not eat out at restaurants, or to find restaurants that have “Hospitality Included” service (a trend which I’m thankful to see growing – albeit slowly).
Okay, then at the very least when you walk in you should declare your intention to not tip. Still shitty towards the server that gets stuck with you, but now it causes conflict amongst the staff and brings the issue to a head.