In His Article, "People Don't Forget," Darrell Sifford presents the case that some remarks that people make to others with whom they are close are so callous and insensitive that they could never be forgotten. Additionally, he claims, specifically, that while such cruel comments might be forgiven, they could never be forgotten. I fully agree with Sifford's contention.
To begin with, Sifford presents his main point that some remarks that people make to significant others in their lives are so scarring that they could never be retracted. To back up his main point, he relates an experience from a psychiatrist named Alan Summers. Summers presents the case of a married couple, and specifically, of a husband who constantly insulted his wife. One day, the husband had insensitively told his wife (in the worst insult yet), "I can replace you with a ten cent telephone call." Once the words were out, the wife discovered her husbands view as replaceable. Summers pointed out the fact that no matter how much her spouse was sorry and apologetic, that the one second it took to say that cutting remark would scar their relationship forever. That single, thoughtless comment revealed the true way in which he thought about her.
He also supports his argument with an additional example of a personal story from his days as a youth. Sifford tells of a time when as a sixteen year old he got into an argument with his dad concerning the use of the family car. When his so-often self-sacrificing father told him that he could not borrow the car, because out of anger and frustration he unthinkingly made the statement, "You can make me obey you, but you can't make me respect you." That one slip of Sifford's tongue, had changed his father's perspective on him for life. That one thoughtless comment had wounded him so deeply, that Sifford still sees the extent of his scarring in his adult life. That is, he continued to apologize profusely throughout the subsequent years, but to of no avail.
