A non-fiction story by Dyanoosh Youssefi
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Does Canada have anything to fear from skinheads, neo-Nazis, swastika wearers and Holocaust
deniers?
Should the views of these people be censored?
Have you ever stood up to a stranger over
something you disapproved of?
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innocuous
penitent
earnestness
insignia
compelled
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Gives little info about the narrator
Teenager (old enough to work but still in
school)
Boy or Girl? Does it matter?
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Emotional/Sensitive: “My heart was beating faster
than usual and my hands were shaking in shock,
anger and fright.”
Passionate: “Didn’t he know what the symbol
meant? Didn’t he know how many people died
because of it? Didn’t he know of the inhumanity
and absolute…horror and evil that the symbol
represented?”
Responsible: normally she would not talk to a
stranger, but feels compelled under the
circumstances. “But you’ve got to confront him.
‘I told myself. Finally, with my heart beating
furiously, I looked him in the eye and waved my
hand to get his attention.”
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“I am always hesitant to talk to people for the first time,
especially if I am the one starting the conversation.”
The ellipsis at the bottom of the first column where she
can’t find the words to express her outrage
Knowledgeable: “It is the symbol of the Nazis. The
people who killed thousands in the war. They put them
in ovens. They burned them to death. They gassed
them. They made them dig their own graves and then
shot them. They shaved people’s hair and used it to
make clothing.”
Also realizes the boy put the sign on his knapsack
because of ignorance which usually comes from faulty
education.
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Narrator’s earnestness and passion about the
subject comes through, especially at the end.
But the encounter with the boy is told in an
almost detached tone; impartial: the narrator
knows how important it is to tell the story
without bias
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15 or 16, cool, good-looking
Light brown, almost blond hair
Light eyes sparkled with vigor and youth
Cute
Typical teenager
Listening to walkman
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“He looked so innocent. I knew he was.”
“It was a sweet smile.”
“I thought to myself that he probably knows a
bit about the symbol. But he thinks it is cool,
like a peace symbol. Hey, if the sign was not
representative of so much…I would think that
it is a neat sign too. But he just thinks the
sign is cool and does not really know.”
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She knows that if you want to influence a
person, you have to do it in a kind way; she
wants to let the boy know she has no hard
feelings, that she doesn’t harbour a grudge.
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“He was not smiling anymore, but he did not
look penitent either. He just nodded his head
a few times and said ‘O.K.’ and leaned back in
his seat and put his earplugs back in.”
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“Ignorance that could result in the repetition
of history.”