Diabetes, no joke, is medical condition

[surg3n]

Hi all...
Probably just feeding trolls with this, but I hope that some escapists out there have noticed this and might agree with this.

Ok, so I watched a little bit of Noel Fieldings new series yesterday. It's terrible, but anyway I noticed that jokes about diabetes seem to be fair game over here in the UK now as well as the US. Now I tend to chuckle a little bit, been a type 1 for about 7 years, but it's always been a lot easier to laugh, when it's a cartoon. He makes fun of a yellow blob thing because it can't have any fizzy drink, because of it's diabetes, then ''it's not a joke, it's a medical condition''.

I'm used to jokes in Family Guy, and The Simpsons, they seem very light hearted (Simpsons is especially thoughtful and funny about it I think). I guess what pissed me off the most is him calling it a medical condition... well a miscarriage is a medical condition, cancer is a medical condition, so cancer and miscarriages are fair game as well?, so long as I explain that it's not a joke, it's ok to joke about something like that.

See I get the impression that most people don't have a clue about diabetes, how much damage it does, how difficult it can be to deal with, how life threatening it is, and how it affects sufferers. I've never met anyone outside of a hospital or doctors office that knew much about it. The most positive thing the doctor could tell me after being diagnosed, is ''at least it's not cancer''. Truthfully diabetics have it pretty rough, and I wish more people understood it, I wish I didn't have to explain it.

Anyway, if you read this far then thank you, if your a sufferer, then stick in there bro - and don't be afraid to stand up and tell someone to STFU when they can't afford their opinion.

 

[Fappy]

I know a lot of diabetics and know how tough it can be. Thing is, while cancer often times is fair game in the low-brow spectrum miscarriages and abortions usually aren't. Why is this? Probably because many women (and men) can suffer from severe depression for the rest of their lives as a result of this, ESPECIALLY with miscarriages. Its one thing to remind someone that their life suck because of their medical condition. Its another to remind them of a possibly life-altering and devastating memory.

Though I suppose a cancer joke could remind them of when they found out they had it, but its probably more likely that they'd just be reminded that having it sucks.

 

[Neonbob]

I've been a diabetic for 16 years now, and I sincerely don't care if people want to make jokes about it. Shit, if I'm going to laugh at horrible things, who am I to tell people what can't be made fun of.

And as for having it rough? So far, the worst I can say about it is that I've been pissed as hell when my pump isn't working as it's meant to and I have to spend a few minutes changing my site, if my sugar is high I feel like sandpaper is in my veins, and getting prescriptions is a pain in the ass. Other than that, most of my life is normal enough.

When it comes to people saying ignorant shit, I've learned to just let it go. If I took the time to correct everyone who said "Oh, you can't have sugar," I'd go well and truly mad.

 

[Jonluw]

Well, yeah cancer and miscarriages are fine for joking with as well.
I don't really get what you're trying to say.

 

[Ramin 123]

Had Diabetes for 18 years now

Glad to see I'm not the only one who feels like their doctors don't seem to have a notion how it affects you...I apparently have brittle diabetes (if that makes any sense to you?) and is supposed to be really unpredictable which it is of course. I am so sick of people saying to me about injections and being like "ohh I suppose you get used to them" and the completely ignorant responses I get when I get angry when my blood sugar aren't under control (I play football and hurling whilst working full time so it's really important for me to keep them under control lest I don't perform at my best, which I detest) and they tell me to calm down...*panic button*

Like you said keep at it people, I have diabetes, one kidney and a heart condition and I still make room for drinking and sport, probably shouldn't drink but fuck it, I only live once

 

[latiasracer]

I Don't suffer from it.(Tbh, with my lifestyle i wouldn't be entirely suprised if i do one day :/)

BUT, A Close freind of mine does, She was born with it i think.What i love is the community spirit in supporting her. If she has a "Wobbly" or feels weak, someone will always be on hand to dash to the shop and/or give her something sugary. What's best about her is she fits in fine. She doesn't act any differently from the rest of us and we don't treat her any differently. Nobody reacts when we are in the middle of conversation and she has to test her blood and/or injects herself.


It's all good. Not even sure this is On Topic to be honest... But there we go.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

My twin sisters are diabetic, they were diagnosed when they were 10 and they're 17 now, it was rough on them and my family at first, but they've grown accustomed to it. They've been on the pump for about 3 years now. Last night one of their pumps died and my mom was freaking out and my sister said it just died right then. My mom worries about them tons actually.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

A family friend of ours passed away just after Christmas, due to diabetes of course.

Diabetes is certainly no joke, but a joke is. Remember that.

Yes.

I'll laugh at a cancer joke if it's funny, but I won't just point out conditions and chuckle.

The only crime Noel Fielding's deluxe comedy commits is being completely unfunny. The Mighty Boosh was really funny...what happened?

 

[Robert Ewing]

I'm diabetic. But get over it. A joke is a joke, and that joke is often funny. Not matter how dark you perceive the subject matter. Every subject matter is fair game. A joke about abortion? Somebody is going to find it funny, and quite often is the case that /care if you don't. If you don't think it's funny, move the hell on.

If everyone gets all touchy about all these kinds of jokes, humanity will dive into a deep spiraling depression because everything everyone says will eventually get more offensive to a lot of people. Take the joke in your stride, and if you don't find it funny, IT ISN'T FUNNY. You don't have to make a massive moral issue about it.

Long live dark humor.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I've had Diabetes for 8 years now, and I don't care about the jokes. Everything should be made fun of, including my disease. Accepting that things should be made fun of makes you a bigger man then any one who's against those kind of jokes or anyone who makes those jokes.

Heck, I make those jokes occasionally!

 

[lacktheknack]

Why yes, miscarriages and cancer ARE targets in comedy.

Yeesh, people with Tourette's Syndrome constantly get the short end of the stick with some RIDICULOUS lies about what Tourette's is in the comedy arena, but that doesn't mean that I, a sufferer, need to explain to everyone. It's not a personal attack, stop treating it like one.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Don't have diabetes but my Dad's had type 1 since he was 15. Basically from what I've heard, read and, been told type 2 is the kind that you can cure and thanks to new technology and techniques it looks like Type 1 is close to a cure as well (thanks to the islet cell transplants happening now in some of the more awesome countries).

The thing is I think it's easier for people to joke about diabetes since there is a second, easily (or easier to) cure type. I haven't seen this show though and believe that absolutely anything can be funny if the joke is just right. It's a lot easier to make a funny thing not-funny though.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

The condition itself is not funny. A joke about the condition is funny. Because it's a joke, that's its job.

 

[Lilani]

I know a lot of diabetics and know how tough it can be. Thing is, while cancer often times is fair game in the low-brow spectrum miscarriages and abortions usually aren't. Why is this? Probably because many women (and men) can suffer from severe depression for the rest of their lives as a result of this, ESPECIALLY with miscarriages. Its one thing to remind someone that their life suck because of their medical condition. Its another to remind them of a possibly life-altering and devastating memory.

I think there's a lot of truth in that. With cancer, most of the time there is still hope. As long as it's not in a high stage or malignant they are undergoing treatment to get better. They're still alive, and there's still a hope for recovery, so they still have things to smile and make jokes about.

Miscarriages, on the other hand...there is very little light or good there. Baby is gone, mother is possibly severely damaged from it, and depression is very likely. Really just a bad situation all around, not much to make light of without being a total asshole. And even just the thought of it is sad for the audience who would be listening to the joke, which would hinder its schtick significantly. That is a very fragile place to step. It can be done, but it takes just the right timing and setup. You can't just belt out a miscarriage joke as easily as you could a Wilford Brimley joke.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

It's comedy, one should be free to make fun of what they like. I know... a handful of diabetics, one whom has suffered from it since birth, they can all take a joke. We all need a good laugh, sometimes we need a good life in spite of ourselves.