OPINION:
In today’s divided political climate, it’s disturbingly common to hear the word Nazi thrown around as an insult, particularly toward a sitting president and the millions who voted for him. But I’d ask anyone who’s used that word online, in conversation or anywhere else to stop and look in the mirror.
What’s glancing back at you isn’t civility. It’s language distorting the course of history, demeaning the Holocaust and fueling antisemitism. Nazis weren’t the “other side” of a political debate; they were planners of genocide, the deliberate systematic annihilation of the Jewish people using terror, dehumanization and large-scale murder.
Using that label casually, especially against fellow Americans, strips it of its meaning and dishonors the memory of survivors and their families. So, I’ll ask plainly: Have you ever used that word to insult someone? If so, take a breath. Did you consider the impact?
If you lived through it — felt the sadness, fear and pain that doesn’t heal — you’d understand why you can’t use the word thoughtlessly. We will disagree on politics, intensely sometimes. But where language distorts the truth or reopens old wounds, it divides us.
Take a moment before you speak, tweet or tag someone with a word that carries echoes of horror, and reflect: Would your mother be proud of that expression? Think before you speak. Your mother was right.
MICHAEL RAMETTA
Haverhill, Massachusetts
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