I read “It’s Not Funny”, an article in the March issue of Teen Ink. This was written by a teenage girl that was raped. When she hears someone joke about the concept of sexual abuse, she becomes angry. The person does not understand what they are talking about. Experiencing something like this is not a joke.

I connected strongly with this article. Although this has never happened to me or anyone I know, I also feel very upset when someone uses words like this. Some people can talk about nothing other than rape. There are other hurtful words as well. “Are you retarded?” a friend of mine often teases. When I tried to tell my friend to stop, he refused. “There’s no one like that in this room,” he said, trying to show that he wasn’t hurting anyone. While that may be true at the moment, many people suffer from this or are close to someone that does, so it is very easy to hurt someone. Some people, such as victims of rape, have suffered much pain. Some, like people with mental problems, are still suffering. There is no need to re-open their wounds by bringing back the horrific experience. I hardly use words like “rape” without reason, but I will try to limit myself even more. I encourage others to do the same.