Are jokes about mental illnesses and phobias acceptable?

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

I came across the following cartoons recently. I wasn't exactly offended. It was more like a mixture of amusement and shaking my head at the naivete of the cartoonist - 'cause this is not how agoraphobia works (especially since most agoraphobia is situational, i.e. not a fear of going outside or being a recluse). You have to admit the cartoons are kind of cute. I've always liked the funnies, even did some cartoon drawings of myself and my friends as a kid. I enjoy discovering new comic strips on the web and such. I understand that the nature of a lot of comics is to draw attention to controversial subject matter and make it humorous, i.e. political cartoons, or even The Far Side. People like to laugh off their problems, which is understandable. These comics just don't exactly get it right in terms of what agoraphobia really is, in my opinion.

I just wanted to see what others thought.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

There is a kind of feeling imo with jokes based on vulnerabilities that there is a kind of issue with timing and credibility. This is also connected to your comments about the author not getting the concept correct.

When dealing with mental illness or any vulnerability it means something if the person making the joke has had to live with it. Such people tend to make more apt jokes that reveal both an understanding and a way to cope.

Both of my parents are in dementia units so it's a part of my life and pain. I will admit that my siblings and I have at times made jokes to cope, so the motivation is love and understanding rather than anger or trying to hurt someone or make someone feel like less. Some of our jokes are geared towards our own possible demented futures rather than demeaning anyone with dementia, but it really does help to laugh about pain.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Yeah, I think it depends on both content (does it respectfully bring levity or is it demeaning) and audience (if someone consistently perceives all such jokes demeaning, then it's not appropriate - I've seen people mock others for being too sensitive to take a joke, but imo, the person who feels the need to do that is over-sensitive themselves if they can't handle feedback about joking too harshly).

I've had major depression since I was a teenager (back in the 1600s) and it's hit or miss. Marvin the depressive robot from Hitchhiker's Guide is 100% fucking hilarious to me. The only example coming to mind on the opposite end of the spectrum is maybe the Debbie Downer skits on SNL (because the hidden message to depressive folks is: yep, you're as toxic as you think you are). It's possible too that some with depression did think they were funny, they just weren't especially funny to me.

 

[Population: 1]

Not sure about how appropriate these jokes are (I definitely piss off the PC police from time to time) but they definitely aren’t funny because the cartoonists don’t seem to understand the subject matter. I think almost anything can be funny if the joke teller understands what would be funny about it. A lot of humor is putting serious topics in an amusing framework. It is also about laughing at the truth about things. Mental illness, just like anything, does have amusing aspects about it.

I’ve also dealt with serious depression in my life and yes Marvin from Hitchhiker’s guide is very funny and I’m willing to bet Douglas Adams dealt with bouts of depression in his life (hell he was a writer) and that’s why Marvin is so well written.

Btw I love The Far Side.

 

[Maou]

I think joking about anything is acceptable, but timing is everything.

 

[Yuurei]

Those are more about people thinking of cleverly ironic situations and word play than people or their mental conditions. There is nothing to be offended by.

"Is it incest if you go to the past and fuck yourself?" It's just more of a random thought..(and also no one cares if you make of the incestuous...yet.)

 

[Qlip]

I think joking about anything is acceptable, but timing is everything.

I'd probably say, joking about anything is acceptable if it's actually funny. If it's not, you may have forfeited your life. Joking is dangerous folks.

 

[Frosty]

I think it depends on whoever you are telling the joke to and why. I get annoyed lots of the time when people thinking living with mental illness IS some sort of joke. Like- hah- so glad Im not one of THEM. What freaks.

At the same time, those cartoons do not bother me because I dont believe they were meant to be taken as seriously derogatory. They were meant in a light hearted way and though they might not be accurate- which might annoy me because there are already so many misconceptions out there- they dont necessarily offend me BECAUSE I can tell that no one was meant to read them, and then base their entire understanding of agoraphobia on an image of a fenced in cowboy.

That said- I think people should be careful about what jokes they make because these sort of labels carry around a lot of pain for the people impacted by them and it can suck to feel like- here you already have so much stacked against you just by having this condition and someones going around acting like its something to laugh at.

I guess individual tolerances vary on when a person feels that point is reached. I just figure most people just- dont realize the magnitude of what they are joking about somwtimes. And while that is discouraging- its best to just inform that person calmly that you felt their joke wasnt cool and then- hope that the person actually listens.

I feel also like expecting everyone to always be ultra sensitive in what they say is kinda- unneccessary too. No one is impacted by every single negative thing in the world- there are quite a few of them- and expecting people to completely avoid saying anything that could ‘potentially’ be upsetting is a bit unreasonable and stifling.

Also, another thing. Sometimes extremely unfair ‘insults’ are disguised as jokes. Or names of mental illnesses are used to describe traits in individuals. This sort of thing... I dont like because I think it adds to this view of mental illness as ‘otherness- impossible for me to get because Im just naturally incapable/not weak enough/too good to get’- though I recognize this thing is often another thats born out of ignorance to the magnitude of the lifelong and enotional impact on the labels thrown around. But usually if this is the case and you say something- the other person will apologize or at the very least- stop. If thats not the case its usually either defensiveness or intentional insult. Defensiveness is to be ignored after explanation- left, imo, for the person who is told to work out. Insult is where I have a problem.

So... I guess im ok with jokes- on a spectrum. Generally the more seriously you treat how valuable your ‘joke’ is- the less it becomes a joke in my eyes and the more it seems like a faintly concealed way to feel superior to another human being by putting them down. Jokes- Im for the most part ok with. Commentary on mental illness disguised as a joke- less so.

 

[Maou]

I'd probably say, joking about anything is acceptable if it's actually funny. If it's not, you may have forfeited your life. Joking is dangerous folks.

No risk, no reward...or laughs. You can try to take my life, but Ill still poke fun at you!

 

[Earl Grey]

If it makes people laugh, even the person/s with the disorder; OK.
If it makes people laugh, at the expense of the person/s with the disorder; NO.

It's not that hard.

 

[Lord Lavender]

It depends on many factors but overall the main thing is that like how serious it is e.t.c. Like say I made a joke like on the pictures above it isn't really making fun of a singular person but rather the condition itself and hmmm its kind of like say people tend to take personal singular jokes more offensive than wide spanning ones. Say for instance those jokes above featured some public figure or otherwise a real person who was battling mental illness it would be far more offensive.

In general show self awareness and that you understand that mental health is a serious topic e.t.c.

 

[anticlimatic]

Acceptable for what? Enjoyment? That's murky... lets consult the Anointed Book:

First Libithians, Chapter 9, Verse 12 tells us:

"And thou shalt be weary of any jest, or joy, or humor regarding any persons, or creatures, or personified objects, less it chance to be at their expense."

So we are right in being weary it seems, but we have to look at Sloppy Second Sodomites Chapter 2, verse 2 for proper clarity:

"For both elation and distress fly quickly towards the Dark One, and only unassailable humans rendered from tactile persons can be saved."

This reveals that the deeper issue is that joy itself is counter productive to true enlightenment, particularly since it's the opposite of feeling offended, and therefore is its closest relative- if not one in the same.

So generally speaking, if it causes us Joy, it is probably a sin.
But it is made a mortal sin by causing us joy, and also at another creature's expense.


The dogma is clear: it is not acceptable.

 

[ceecee]

As long as people still use the term PC for normal civil behavior, please have at it. Insult and degrade anyone you like, any way you like.

 

[Deprecator]

I work in healthcare, and a longstanding joke in my field is that even prior to looking at their medical history it's still very easy to distinguish the patients of psychiatry from the patients of normal doctors. To this end I have a lot of respect for psychiatrists because you could never pay me enough money to have prolonged interactions with some of these people. Annoying, obnoxious, always complaining and trying to make my job difficult... it's a small wonder that half of them are wanting to do whatever it is that they want to do.

Are these jokes about mental illness acceptable? Well to be fair, proponents of psychiatry argue that mental illness is determined through a diagnosis from a qualifying psychiatrist, and skeptics of psychiatry argue that mental illness is determined when a person thinks that visiting a psychiatrist is a good idea. Of course, often time it's not the patient who thinks that it's a good idea to visit a psychiatrist so much as it's a judge who might list psychiatric evaluations as a parole or sentencing condition.

Thus, for all this talk about "lifting the social stigma against mental illness and those seeking help for it", at the same time psychiatry is still being used to actively discredit or undermine the views of people who harbor different political views. For an example, Dinesh D'Souza is an Indian immigrant who pleaded guilty to campaign finance fraud after donating $20,000 to New York politician Wendy Long, a Republican, during her Senate race in 2012. Is this non-violent crime indicative of a person who is in dire need for regular psychiatric evaluations? According to the judge, yes. And of course, according to Republican leaders this sentencing was totally unfair and 100% politically motivated (i.e. this was merely a liberal activist judge who was trying to use psychiatry in an attempt undermine and discredit a conservative film maker).

So when it comes to 'making jokes about mental illness', people can't get it both ways. If we want to people to get help without fear of ridicule, if we want people to stop making jokes about people who visit psychiatrists, then the psychiatrists themselves should really stop using their positions to assess the mental conditions of people they've never met in an effort to undermine or discredit.

 

[LucieCat]

As far as the OP's post, I did not find those two jokes funny at all. But that's just me.

It largely depends on context, timing, and other factors. So, I would not advise joking about these things lightly since these are actual problems.

Though, I find mental illness to be a touchy subject in general. I have often been surprised at how people have reacted to issues regarding it. For instance, a childhood friend of mine who I have not talked to in a long time but am friends with on social media shared something about mental health awareness and suicide prevention after an individual we graduated from high school with committed suicide. Someone ripped into the post in the comments, essentially expressing that "You don't suffer from mental illness so you don't get to talk about it." I read this and was taken aback (also, how can someone know for sure another person is not mentally ill). My childhood friend responded with a very eloquent and professional reply stating that, yes, she does not know what it is like to be mentally ill. However, she believes in spreading awareness about these issues and cares about the lives affected by mental illness.

You just never know how people are going to react, especially with a sensitive subject.

 

[anticlimatic]

As long as people still use the term PC for normal civil behavior, please have at it. Insult and degrade anyone you like, any way you like.

People use the term PC for robotic mandated mono speak, normal civil behavior is simply normal civil behavior.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Acceptable for what? Enjoyment? That's murky... lets consult the Anointed Book:

First Libithians, Chapter 9, Verse 12 tells us:

"And thou shalt be weary of any jest, or joy, or humor regarding any persons, or creatures, or personified objects, less it chance to be at their expense."

So we are right in being weary it seems, but we have to look at Sloppy Second Sodomites Chapter 2, verse 2 for proper clarity:

"For both elation and distress fly quickly towards the Dark One, and only unassailable humans rendered from tactile persons can be saved."

This reveals that the deeper issue is that joy itself is counter productive to true enlightenment, particularly since it's the opposite of feeling offended, and therefore is its closest relative- if not one in the same.

So generally speaking, if it causes us Joy, it is probably a sin.
But it is made a mortal sin by causing us joy, and also at another creature's expense.


The dogma is clear: it is not acceptable.

Now say ten hail Steinems and give yourself 20 lashes.

 

[prplchknz]

context is everything

 

[EcK]

Hum, there is nothing for you to 'accept' or 'not accept'.
Do you have to like all jokes ? No.
The solution: you can say you didn't like the joke or not associate with the source of the joke.

problem solved.

 

[EcK]

It depends on many factors but overall the main thing is that like how serious it is e.t.c. Like say I made a joke like on the pictures above it isn't really making fun of a singular person but rather the condition itself and hmmm its kind of like say people tend to take personal singular jokes more offensive than wide spanning ones. Say for instance those jokes above featured some public figure or otherwise a real person who was battling mental illness it would be far more offensive.

In general show self awareness and that you understand that mental health is a serious topic e.t.c.

To help you in your journey towards self awareness, i'd like to point out that the correct, 'self aware' formulation would be
"Say for instance those jokes above featured some public figure or otherwise a real person who was battling mental illness it would be far more offensive to me".

Thank you for not universalizing your own feelings as if they were some objective measure. It negatively influences people with a similar lack of self awareness so I don't think it's a constructive thing to do.