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Writer's pictureShmuel Sackett

The Five Words I Hate

I realize the importance of being politically correct but we must be careful, that while following the rules, we still manage to be true to our values and ideas. I speak very frequently to large groups and write many articles so I am aware of the power of words. The right sentence can make one a hero while the wrong one can ruin a career. So what do you do, if you feel something controversial needs to be said? Do you say it – and suffer the consequences – or avoid it and be everyone’s buddy?

I have always found that truth is the best policy. People can argue with an opinion but it is futile and quite silly to argue with facts. My game plan has always been to not worry about controversy, as long as I am stating facts. Yes, some facts are hard to swallow, but that’s not my problem. A speaker/writer has to “tell it like it is” and the listening/reading audience will either accept it or not.

And now for the challenge: A speaker wants to “stack the deck” and have the audience agree with him. He doesn’t want to appear like a salesman but somehow, he needs to figure out a way to slip his opinions and ideology inside the facts he is stating. How does he do that without getting caught? Simple! By using the following trick he plays his listeners for fools. We all know that magicians are experts at sleight of hand but did you ever notice how many public speakers and journalists are experts at, what I call, “sleight of mouth”? The trick is in the very words being used! Here are 5 words that are magically used to change the thinking of millions of people.

Word number one: “Palestinian”. I can write a 20 page essay on this subject alone but permit me to explain this in just a few sentences. Palestinians don’t exist. They are not a nation, nor a people but by using this word – which the world has accepted – the concept becomes real. Everyone feels bad for this “nation” without a land and this “people” without a home. Students across American campuses protest for them and the world feels guilty… after all, who doesn’t feel bad for homeless, displaced refugees? Why doesn’t big, bad Israel just let them go home?! Do you see the “sleight of mouth” being used here? Instead of talking about Arabs, the world talks about Palestinians. Think about it for a second; how many people would care about Arabs wandering around Israel? There are 22 Arab countries so the world would simply tell them to go to one of them… but no… they are not “Arabs”… they are “Palestinians” and they cannot go to Kuwait or Lebanon… they need to go home… to Palestine. They are a poor, unfortunate nation subjugated by Israeli oppressors who stole their homeland. By using this word, an entire article or speech takes on a different meaning. Therefore, don’t fall into this trap and don’t ever – and I mean never use this fake and cunning word.

Word number two: “Terrorist”. Every time a Jew is stabbed in Israel, the media reports that it was done by a “terrorist”. When a car is rammed into IDF soldiers, it was done by a “terrorist”. The reason this word is used is because of… sleight of mouth. The media doesn’t want you to look at Arabs and think that they can kill at any moment so… poof! – the magical-media-man has just turned that 17 year old Arab into a dreaded terrorist. In my mind, a “terrorist” is one who has been trained for years in military maneuvers. A soldier from Hezbollah is a terrorist while a 25 year old Arab woman who stabs a soldier with a kitchen knife is not. A trained fighter from Al-Qaeda is a terrorist but his 19 year old cousin who drove his car into innocent Jews crossing the street in Jerusalem is not. He is an Arab. Period.

Word number three: “Disengage”. I have to admit that the invention of this word deserves some sort of prize. How do you make the expulsion of 10,000 Jews from Gush Katif seem ok? After all, they were, literally, thrown out of their homes! Many years later we see that scene being repeated in Amona, Migron and Ofra with men, women and children being forcibly dragged away while their homes are turned into a pile of rubble. How can one justify that? Simple! The “David Copperfield Word Magician” tells you that these Jews were not expelled (bad word) or kicked out (also bad word)… they were merely “disengaged”. Say what?? Yes, the 10,000 people were part of the Disengagement Plan… what’s wrong with that? Most people I know actually buy this nonsense and look at me weird when I educate them with the truth, how this was no “disengagement” but an “expulsion”. Once again, the mouth is quicker than the ears as the fancy word magician slips his opinions into the very words he uses.

Word number four: “Territories”. By pulling this word out of their hat, the magician succeeds in making you think that the 500,000 Jews living in Yehuda and Shomron are like Indians running around tepees in a reservation. These people don’t live in cities or towns, like normal people. No, no, no. These wild west bankers and their fanatical families have squatted on land and live in the “territories”. Therefore, when you hear the nonsense of creating a Palestinian State (for a nation that doesn’t exist) where some loonies currently live in territories, you have no problem coming to the conclusion that these extremists should be thrown out, I mean, disengaged. See how easy it is?

Word number five: “Eliminate”. Oh, how I hate this word! It’s actually a new one and I shudder every time I read it. “The IDF eliminated 3 terrorists last night in Jenin”. First of all, please refer to what I wrote above; these animals were not terrorists. Second of all, they were not “eliminated”… they were killed – as they should have been! Does anyone believe that the world will like Israel better if the IDF doesn’t kill the bad guys but merely eliminates them? By using this word, the masterful illusionist does an incredible trick of changing Goliath into David… or so he thinks. In reality, however, he makes Israel look weak, which is what his real intention was all along.

I could give another 50 examples of words that are designed to change your thinking. They are used to brainwash the listeners and sadly, they work. You need to be aware of this fact so that you see through the lies. These words are not “politically correct” as they claim to be, so please – delete them from your vocabulary and don’t be fooled ever again.

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