Be careful of your words.  Once you spout off, like the bullets fired from a gun, you can't pull them back in.

            As the war in the Middle East intensifies so does anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.  Not just in the Middle East, but the growing hate is spreading throughout America.  Fingers are pointing; he said/she said; I read where…; I heard that…; it was reported on… Those words are common in conversations today.

            The latest was the explosion at the hospital in Gaza that killed more than 500 and injured more than 1,000.  The smoke hadn't finished rising from the ruins when Hamas blamed it on an attack from Israel.

            The war has claimed more civilian lives.

            As the first victims were being removed from the rubble the story and the hate that followed it permeated social and mainstream media.  Student groups joined ethnic organizations in playing the blame game.  Who can blame them? After all it's what they heard or what was quickly posted to social media.

            Israel denied that they were responsible for the attacks and less than 24 hours later provided evidence to back their claim.  The United States intelligence community backs up that claim.  But, that didn't deter the people who had already made up their minds.

            And the hate continues to spread to the point where some military and political experts fear that Iran will become more prominent in escalating the war, possibly drawing Russia into it with them.  After all, Iran is a supplier of weapons to Russia in its war with Ukraine.

            We've seen and heard the denial from Israel and have seen their proof.  We are now waiting for Hamas to present the proof of their claim.

            If it turns out that it wasn't an Israeli bombing, will those people who have already spread their hateful, threatening and condemning messages recant?  Probably not.

            Will those who vandalized buildings in our major cities come back and clean up their mess?  Will those who had physical altercations with others apologize?  Will those who are so ready to point fingers and hate so quickly do so again at the next incident?

            After the world hears from both sides decisions can be made.

            Knee-jerk reactions are becoming too common.  Don't be so quick to come to judgment while the facts are still being uncovered.

            Stay focused and research at every level you can.  Be careful of social media posts and get your news from multiple sources.

            Don't pull the trigger on your words and actions unless you are sure that you're right because you can apologize, but you can't take them back.