Comments | friendly_crips: The joys of oversimplification

rainbow_goddess in friendly_crips

The joys of oversimplification

Jul 04, 2012 11:47

There are a lot of memes that go around on Facebook. Today I saw two of them that were just so incredibly ignorant I could hardly believe it. I choose to call them "oversimplified" because they try to take something complex -- the definition of "disability" and the use of drugs and medication to treat diseases -- and over-simplify it into a meme.

( Pictures behind cut )

conditions: fibromyalgia, sport, positive thinking, running, oversimplification, people: ellie challis, people: andy hooper, people: oscar pistorius, medication, conditions: asthma, people: scott hamilton, memes, mobility, diet, facebook, ablism, conditions: diabetes

Comments 20

deborahw37 July 4 2012, 19:09:43 UTC

Oh dear!

The one which bugs me has a wish list of expensive consumer goods all crossed out and the message " All that a person with ( insert illness or disability here) wants is a cure"

Um no! Even if we don't get into the knotty issue of endlessly seeking cures for disability I want LOTS of things!

World peace, rainbow unicorns, a faster internet connection, a houseful of books, fresh cut flowers, more time with the grandchildren, a higher wage packet... need I go on?

(The comment has been removed)

deborahw37 July 4 2012, 19:32:54 UTC

Yes, that ...and Roses that don't attract greenfly!

eqfe July 4 2012, 21:25:22 UTC

dreamer

cluelessinchi July 4 2012, 20:08:44 UTC

Scott Hamilton is a Olympic gold medalist and champion figure skater from the US who happens to have Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. He is a cancer survivor too. It is sad that he did not educate himself on other disabilities.

rainbow_goddess July 4 2012, 20:20:18 UTC

I know who he is and I know about his cancer. Unfortunately he seems to be completely ignorant about what a disability actually is.

cluelessinchi July 4 2012, 20:23:29 UTC

I did not know and perhaps others did not know either. And I agree with you.

sammason July 4 2012, 20:24:51 UTC

Is Hamilton the man running in the first photo? Or is he the author of the meme? Or both I suppose. In any case I'm not impressed by the way a photo of the little girl (Charlotte Nott, I think; she's been mentioned on this comm before) is being used to sell a particular pov. When she grows up, she may or may not agree with that view.

Thread 10

dragonsally July 4 2012, 23:14:34 UTC

Arghhhh, both of those sentiments are just so judgemental.

sammason July 5 2012, 06:49:00 UTC

So simplistic, too. Esp about the little girl. At her age, being a quadruple amputee, I don't think she should be judged in public for her 'attitude'. It's the 'poster child' type of exploitation.

cat63 July 5 2012, 11:13:50 UTC

"There is always an easy solution to every human problem-neat, plausible, and wrong."
H. L. MENCKEN, “The Divine Afflatus,”

You can't reduce even one disability to a meme, never mind all of them. :(

wicked_sky July 5 2012, 11:59:38 UTC

"You can't reduce even one disability to a meme, never mind all of them."

This. A million times this!

lara_everlong July 5 2012, 15:09:54 UTC

The first one bugs me way more than the second one, not because I think the second one is an okay sentiment by any means (I absolutely rely on my medications for my "wellness") but because I don't think the general population is going to fall for that one. I know there are some people out there who DO believe everyone can conquer whatever ails them just by eating well and exercising, but I think most people understand that illness - something like strep throat maybe - ABSOLUTELY requires an antibiotic. I believe that if it were broken down for the average person, even if they might not argue with the meme, they would understand that oh yes, of course someone with an infection needs an antibiotic, and yes, of course a diabetic needs insulin, and etc. I hope I'm not overestimating the general population here, but I really don't think people are going to argue with pure fact - unless they're nut jobs, which makes them outliers and not counted with the general population ( ... )