By Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D
EL CAJON, California — Profanity isn’t power: rise above hate without losing yourself.
When you’re face-to-face with antisemitism—or any brand of hate—the fury is real. It burns through your gut and shreds at your soul. Every instinct screams to scream back. To curse. To retaliate with the same venom that’s being hurled at you.
But let’s be honest: shouting “fuck” or “pussy” doesn’t make us warriors. It doesn’t protect our people. It doesn’t honor those who’ve suffered before us. It doesn’t change anything. Hate doesn’t back down because you yelled louder. No one stops murdering, raping, or kidnapping because they were cursed out.
Hate dehumanizes—let’s not join in. When we respond to hate with vulgarity and slurs, we mirror the same darkness. We become part of the noise. We don’t dismantle hate—we echo it.
What do we lose when we react with obscenity?
• We surrender the moral high ground.
• We forfeit our chance to educate and influence.
• We drive away allies who could’ve stood with us.
• We allow our rightful pain to be used against us.
So. what does real strength look like?
• It looks like unshakable calm in the face of rage. Not passivity. Not appeasement. Forceful, unrelenting strength!
• It looks like standing firm and speaking truth—without filth, without flinching. Strength looks like holding your ground without losing your head.
• It looks like using words as precision tools, not crude weapons.
• It looks like fierce dignity, relentless courage, and bold action.
• And yes, when needed, it means defending ourselves with strength, with muscle, with force. But not with playground language.
We are not powerless—and true power doesn’t scream
Strength doesn’t need to shout to be heard. It shows up. It stands tall. It acts.
Let’s shut down hate not by screaming over it—but by outlasting it, outsmarting it, overpowering it.
Let’s surely cast off the failed strategy of silence, invisibility, and meekness. Let’s show up—unapologetically, unmistakably—with dignity and resolve. Not to blend in, but to stand out with our stubborn adherence to Torah values. Not with words that dishonor us, but with actions that uplift us, while we double down on our identity and mission.
This is our moment.
To lead.
To protect.
To rise—without profanity, without shame, without fear.
Let our actions, not our outbursts, speak for us.
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Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D is a freelance columnist based in El Cajon, California.
Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D is a freelance columnist based in El Cajon, California.