Joking About Health: When Is It “Too Far”?

[Bailey Vincent]

Forgive me for posting about the coronavirus when so many are wanting an escape but… well, this week it has been hard to escape in my personal life. Other than the fact that friends have been stricken and it’s basically a conversational point everywhere, I was really upset to see a young man essentially “mocking” mask-wearing in a store the other day.

I vocalized my frustrations in a vent-on-video I posted on my personal Instagram, but I was so concerned with how one can trivialize something so serious for so many?

Maybe I’m being sensitive (I definitely can be), but I wondered: Has anyone ever made “light” of your Cystic Fibrosis or illness in your life? Did you discuss it with them or let it slide?

I normally am a HUGE fan of joking about symptoms or being silly with doctors and staff, but when does the line between “making light” and “reckless and cruel” get crossed?

[Jenny Livingston]

I can definitely relate to this! I recently had a discussion (that quickly escalated into an argument) about this very thing. The woman I was talking with kept referring to anyone who wears a mask as a “sheep” — the new term for anyone who believes in science, I suppose. She also said, “this is a weak virus that only attacks weak people” and went on to insinuate that if a person were to die from it, it’s because they hadn’t taken good enough care of their bodies prior to contracting the virus. She laughed about her own comments and wasn’t sure why I had taken offense.

I just don’t think that behavior is excusable, funny, or cute.

[Author]

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