A lot of what’s being discussed among our generation is the concept of being “politically correct.” One side argues that terms we use now aren’t politically correct and are the basis of racist, sexist, homophobic and other offensive mindsets. The other side argues that our generation is becoming too soft and that everyone gets offended by something nowadays. I’ve struggled with how I feel about it because I’d like to think I’m a woman with a backbone who can take a joke but also feels sensitive to those that actually face oppression. I’m lucky, as I was born into a middle class, white family. I feel as though it’s my obligation with such privilege to acknowledge that others aren’t as lucky as I am and work to make the world a little bit better, so I stray away from things that could be deemed politically incorrect.

So I’ve thought about it all a lot. Discussions surrounding the importance of “safe space” with the University of Missouri and other universities, the controversy of President Obama avoiding the term “Islamic terrorism,” the concept of “trigger warnings” in the classroom, and other issues that have surfaced within the past few weeks have made a lot of us feel uncomfortable in situations. What’s politically correct? What’s not? How do we differentiate bluntly talking about issues but in a way that is sensitive to those who are different than us?

A few days ago, I came across this tweet:

But the way I saw it on my Twitter feed was from a girl I knew that had added the comment something to the effect of “everyone’s offended by something these days." I felt it. I get it. I can’t go around just saying that everything that exists offends me. But upon looking at the tweet, it got to me. The issue doesn’t lie at hurting someone’s feelings, it’s about not trivializing something that takes lives.

To the girl that posted this tweet: I admire you for your honesty and your courage. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a real mental illness that affects more than 200,000 people per year. How many times do we hear people say “Oh, I’m so OCD about this,” when in reality, it’s a mental illness that people suffer from? And how many times are people afraid to open up about this disease when we see sweaters from Target that make light of a serious issue?

Our generation is also the one that’s starting to recognize mental illness more efficiently. Every year 42.5 million American adults suffer from mental illness. That’s one in five members of the adult population that is suffering from an illness out of their control, an illness that they need external help for. So many of these diseases are not cured on their own or without the help of others, meaning it’s crucial for those suffering to reach out to people. This means one in five people should be talking about their struggles and not feel embarrassed or ashamed of what’s going on in their lives.

We’re starting to recognize this problem and we all claim that we want to help and be there for those who are struggling. We encourage friends to reach out to us if they have problems and wonder what we can do to be there for others.

But when it gets down to it, the way to help is to not make light of their problems. The very first way we can help those who are struggling is to not make a fashion statement or a joke out of their mental illness. To not encourage one of the largest retailers in America that it’s okay to capitalize off a problem like this. And that’s why we must exclaim our discomfort with products such as these, figures that make inappropriate comments, and a world where making fun of mental illness, among other issues, is simply condoned.

Reading the replies to this tweet, a lot of people were upset with this brave girl. The responses varied, from discussing their own OCD and how it didn’t bother them to how they were offended that “her hair color triggered me” and that we all have problems. I understand where they’re coming from. We can’t live in this world of running away from things that bother us, but we can’t feel okay with living in a world that thinks mental illness is just funny. By making jokes and trivializing these diseases, we’re trivializing their courage for being okay to talk about something that affects so many people.

I brought up the topic with a few friends at lunch, saying that I was thinking about writing about this topic in the context of this tweet. I heard mixed opinions and an overall unsure attitude about how to feel about it. Just as I had felt. We talked about it some and I asked them what they thought when someone said “retarded.” Instantly their reactions changed. Just like most of us do, they felt that using the word “retarded” was completely inappropriate in all situations. One friend brought up the point that if you’re sitting in a room with lots of friends, one person uses that word and everyone laughs, you don’t know who’s sitting in the room with a brother or sister that has a disability. But when everyone laughs, it’s basically saying that that’s okay to make light of the issue. It’s saying that it’s okay to condone using words that can actually have a real impact on people. The same attitude of “you don’t know who’s sitting in there with a brother or sister with this issue” is also applicable to that of mental illness. You don’t know who’s sitting in that room struggling with not knowing where to go about their obsessive tendencies that just don’t seem right, or their thoughts concerning their disordered eating and the weight they’ve lost. You don’t know who’s silently struggling with something that you just can’t understand and it be something that could take their life.

So when people argue that our generation is too concerned with not hurting people’s feelings, think again. It’s more than that. And even if it’s not in terms of mental illness, think about the words you’re using and how they’re minimizing the problems of others that you simply cannot understand. Sometimes the best way to be a good person and good friend is always outwardly show that you’re there for support when someone needs you. And that includes not wearing a completely tasteless sweater.