Do Words Hurt More Than ‘Sticks and Stones’?
For one Washington sophomore, it started during COVID-19, when online spaces and social media became the main way to connect. People she called her best friends at the time would taunt her, commenting constantly about her appearance and sexuality, even going so far as to calling her slurs. “Sometimes you’re just made to feel like you should be ashamed of it,” the student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said. “I didn’t really tell anyone for a while because I didn’t want people to know that I let this happen.” She also mentioned being torn between telling someone and not wanting to get them in trouble because part of her felt like they were still her friends: “It was a hard pill to swallow. I call these people my friends because they’re all I’ve got, but I know they’re not.”
