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Cartoon reinforces negative stereotype about ME/CFS

M

me/cfs 27931

Guest
Messages
1,294
Personally, I think the comic hits the current public perception of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Somewhere between laziness and narcolepsy.

A retraction and apology seem unlikely, and would be a (pleasant) surprise.

However, asking that the erroneous disease name be corrected seems reasonable. "Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease", not "Systematic Exertion Intolerance".

Putting the word "Disease" in there ruins the punchline.

What the Blondie writers did is like calling AIDS "Acrobatic Deficiency Syndrome".
 
ballard

ballard

Senior Member
Messages
152
I just posted this to the Washington Post comment section about the offensive Blondie cartoon in response to accusations of censorship.

"I totally agree with you about free speech issues and would not support any form of censorship.

That’s why I'm asking that the “Blondie” creators voluntarily retract the cartoon. It’s up to them to decide what to do, if anything.

Even better, it would be great if they could create a new strip correcting the impression that ME/CFS/SEID is somehow related to laziness.

As someone who has suffered from ME/CFS for 25 years, I know how much damage the public impression that ME/CFS is just a form of malingering or laziness has done to people who live with the ravages of ME/CFS.

Many uninformed doctors think that we are faking illness and only need to develop better attitudes and exercise more to get well. Friends and families sometimes treat us with suspicion and even hostility. Relationships and marriages are stressed and often dissolve. The impression that ME/CFS is a psychological disorder has cast a pall over research causing the NIH to allocate only token amounts of research funding for ME/CFS, on a par with the funds allocated to hay fever research.

People who have ME/CFS live miserable lives. Some of the severely ill are bed-bound, hooked up to IV’s, many are in wheelchairs or housebound, unable to care for themselves. Those who are moderately ill struggle to get to the grocery store or to a doctor. Most people are not able to work, spending decades in poverty.

We need an accurate public understanding of ME/CFS, for both the individual lives of the one million people who are afflicted with this illness, as well as for encouraging medical research into the biological cause of ME/CFS which could lead to a treatment and a cure.

Will the creators of Blondie rise to the occasion and help us throw off the stigma of laziness?

It would be great to have them on our side."

The Washington Post is a fine forum for our voices. Please consider adding your voice to the conversation.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...1ea02a-e027-11e5-8c00-8aa03741dced_story.html

I posted using the Facebook option.
 
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