We have all been short changed at one point or another. Would you describe it this way: "I went to the store and bought a cup of coffee for $1 dollar, gave $5 and the cashier did not give me change. The clerk tried to rape me."

Would you describe it this way to your sister or your mom? Is there a metaphorical grain of truth in this statement? Is this the way you see it in your mind?

When I was in high school, I used to refer to after school detention as the "gulag". I would say, "Late to school again and have to go the gulag." I thought it was a funny metaphor. That is until I said it to a Bulgarian friend of mine who sharply rebuked me and said that his grandfather died in a gulag in Siberia. That was the very last time I ever referred to detention as the gulag.

Words matter.