Careless comments sting

Last Saturday at my neighborhood’s garage sale, a woman bought some of my old clothes. When she accidentally added the total up wrong, she jokingly said that she didn’t want to “Jew” me out of a quarter. I know she had no idea the hurt her words caused; she probably didn’t even understand what they meant, but to me, after observing Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, with the rest of the Jewish community, they bothered me immensely.

This time every year when Yom HaShoah arrives I become extremely sensitive to what people, especially teens like me, are saying. Phrases like “that’s retarded” or “that’s so gay” or “you’re such a Jew” are heard in the school halls every day. Every time I hear something like this, I feel a little sick.

I know I’m not the only one. I doubt the world will ever be perfect, but it would be nice of people to realize the implications behind their words and think before they speak.

Emma Bortz

Spokane