Why does nothing shock me anymore? Racism, sexism, anti-semitism? Why are these things still so prevalent in a society full of people who have been educated about the history of these terrible things. It makes me sad.

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Why is it not okay, in some people’s eyes, for someone to be different? Inherently we are all different from one another, so why does it matter that this difference lies in the religion we choose to practice? It makes me sad.

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Why have I seen so much hatred towards other people in my life? I’m only seventeen, yet I have seen the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombing, the Orlando nightclub shooting, far too many school shootings, and now the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA. It makes me sad.

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What makes me most sad is that I am not only desensitized, not only upset with the hatred that lies in so many people. None of that. It is the fact that any of us could have seen this coming. Within the high school we have had our fair share of anti-semitic scandals, both ones that have been publicized and ones that remain secret. From the swastika being drawn on a computer monitor to the insults that Jewish students have received during day to day life at school, anti semitism is prevalent in our community, so why wouldn’t it be prevalent elsewhere?

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Wellesley is certainly a bubble in some regards, but hatred knows no boundaries. The same hatred that students cultivate within the walls of the high school is carried with them throughout their whole lives. At the root of many of the recent tragedies, both in the United States and around the world, is a deep hatred for someone being different than the perpetrator themselves.

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It is not hard to conclude that being more accepting, caring, and kind could certainly help put a stop to so many horrific killings. We must, inside the high school and on a national stage, cultivate an environment of acceptance and respect. I don’t want future generations of kids to grow up as desensitized as I am. I don’t want them to have to witness a presidential administration that promotes the use of hateful messages as a means to an end. I don’t want our country and our world to continue traveling the downward slope we are currently shooting down.

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Change has to start now, and we can’t just keep saying it. Try being kind and accepting to the people around you. Make a conscious effort to accept what they say rather than judge it. Whether it’s their outfit choice, their opinion on a class, or their religious view, accept them for who they are. They deserve to be themselves without fear of being attacked. Everyone does.