ClaireBear
Banned
abooja said:Anyone who would have a problem with that bear must be insane.
Ooooh! Ooooh! Feels like a signiture moment!!!!
sigh
- Thread starter chcr
- Start date
Ooooh! Ooooh! Feels like a signiture moment!!!!
ClaireBear
Banned
tank girl said:You're too cute, CB too cute
Awwwe shucks!
I'm a real bitch in reality! This Bear bites... and not in the nice way!
SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Having spent years as a mental health therapist treating seriously and persistently mentally ill individuals...
1. In a literal sense, the bear's image is a bit insensitive.
2. Yanking this bear off the market will do not one thing to improve public perception of mental illnesses as a whole.
3. The furor over this doll has sold more teddy bears than simply shutting up would have, thereby providing the "offensive corporate pigs" who made it more profit.
4. This is a much bigger deal to PC morons than it is to mentally ill people. Many of the folks I treated would love to have one of these bears. Most of them would, I'd wager.
5. The best way to promote a more positive and healthy public image of those suffering from mental illness is education. Mentally ill people do not wear identifying bracelets; they do not behave in any stereotypical manner; they are not a danger to the public at large as a whole. Only by learning what these illnesses are will public perception ever change...a damn teddy bear will not make the problem better.
1. In a literal sense, the bear's image is a bit insensitive.
2. Yanking this bear off the market will do not one thing to improve public perception of mental illnesses as a whole.
3. The furor over this doll has sold more teddy bears than simply shutting up would have, thereby providing the "offensive corporate pigs" who made it more profit.
4. This is a much bigger deal to PC morons than it is to mentally ill people. Many of the folks I treated would love to have one of these bears. Most of them would, I'd wager.
5. The best way to promote a more positive and healthy public image of those suffering from mental illness is education. Mentally ill people do not wear identifying bracelets; they do not behave in any stereotypical manner; they are not a danger to the public at large as a whole. Only by learning what these illnesses are will public perception ever change...a damn teddy bear will not make the problem better.
unclehobart
New Member
Speaking as someone whose brother was the poster boy for schizophrenia from 1986-1997...
I have no problem with such an item. I do not see it as socialy stigmatizing or demeaning or predjudicial in any way.
I have no problem with such an item. I do not see it as socialy stigmatizing or demeaning or predjudicial in any way.
abooja
Well-Known Member
I agree. You certainly are.tank girl said:
As one who has suffered from her share of (undiagnosed) depression, and given the manifold sources of actual horrors in the world, I find nothing whatsoever offensive about a bear in a straitjacket.
Keep jumping on every stray cause you can and you will drive yourself crazier than you already are.
tank girl
New Member
Then we disagree. Abooja, you can speak to me in the most condescending tone...you can bluntly tell me I am wrong (from whatever authority you deem yourself to be? ).. you can turn this into something about me again if you like -but it won't work. but that has got nothing to do with the issue. I'm not jumping on, as you put it "every stray cause" this time; this is something that directly affects me but is also an issue that is much larger than the matter of whether or not an individual takes offence to it or not.
Obviously that is subjective - and to be honest the bear doesn't even explicitly "offend" me when presented with it on its own either - and it would be a bit hyper-sensitive to get all upset if say, somebody gave it to you as a gift. But that is a very misleading conclusion to come to as it is really not a matter of this one bear or an individual that may or may not take offense to it.
The issue is much larger than one little bear, whether or not the bear would offend the next person you come accross is besides the point.
The point is that it reinforces and naturalises implicit (and in this case, not so implicit) stereotypes that make it harder for society to accept people that suffer from mental illness.
you say that to what, provoke me further? redefine for me your blatant ignorance? your complete lack of sensitivity? or merely join the clique of people that seem to enjoy dishing out low slung personal attacks at me wherever I turn?
I can't argue with such a latent disregard for any alternate (and might I say, more informed) perspective. I seriously can't believe the continuing ignorance, casual acceptance of Blasé attitudes (and what I percieve to be an underlying cynicism towards anything that has what you might deem has having in a "liberal" intentions), in a supposedly 'open' forum like this.
This is a matter that I particularly believe in, it affects not only me as an individual but also a segment of society as a group - and so it is another thing I am standing for in a partiularly strong way - I feel it neccesary to defend such an action where people such as yourself take it on themselves to make a mockery of such efforts, and try to make an example of the (minor) efforts that are made in order to raise awareness of the basic rights that we (as members of a "free and democratic society") supposedly have - and the very simple ways in which these can be infringed upon without anybody blinking an eyelid.
Obviously that is subjective - and to be honest the bear doesn't even explicitly "offend" me when presented with it on its own either - and it would be a bit hyper-sensitive to get all upset if say, somebody gave it to you as a gift.
But that is a very misleading conclusion to come to as it is really not a matter of this one bear or an individual that may or may not take offense to it.The issue is much larger than one little bear, whether or not the bear would offend the next person you come accross is besides the point.
The point is that it reinforces and naturalises implicit (and in this case, not so implicit) stereotypes that make it harder for society to accept people that suffer from mental illness.
you say that to what, provoke me further? redefine for me your blatant ignorance? your complete lack of sensitivity? or merely join the clique of people that seem to enjoy dishing out low slung personal attacks at me wherever I turn?
I can't argue with such a latent disregard for any alternate (and might I say, more informed) perspective. I seriously can't believe the continuing ignorance, casual acceptance of Blasé attitudes (and what I percieve to be an underlying cynicism towards anything that has what you might deem has having in a "liberal" intentions), in a supposedly 'open' forum like this.
This is a matter that I particularly believe in, it affects not only me as an individual but also a segment of society as a group - and so it is another thing I am standing for in a partiularly strong way - I feel it neccesary to defend such an action where people such as yourself take it on themselves to make a mockery of such efforts, and try to make an example of the (minor) efforts that are made in order to raise awareness of the basic rights that we (as members of a "free and democratic society") supposedly have - and the very simple ways in which these can be infringed upon without anybody blinking an eyelid.
ClaireBear
Banned
tank girl said:
What a day for Bear quotes!!!!
Bet you slipped that one in there just for ickle me!
tank girl
New Member
Leslie said:
You of all people have seen me "get all bent out of shape about fluff in a jacket" I would hardly agree that I'm doing it here, would you?
I thought it would've been appropriate to offer some intelligent input for once - this is the "Real World" forum, after all or am I mistaken?
perhaps this should have been the lunatic lounge?
abooja
Well-Known Member
tank girl said:
tank girl said:
Well, well, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black. Who is more condescending around here than you have been to countless other people? Who claims to speak with authority on a myriad of random subjects more than you? I chose to say something because your irrational, kneejerk response to this particular issue finally pushed me over the edge. You certainly dish it out enough. Deal with it, and stop projecting your own inadequacies on me.
tank girl
New Member
abooja said:
Take a chill pill, Abooja.
This, for once - wasn't at all irrational. I do know what I am talking about here. For many other things I may not be entirely accurate but I know I am a lot closer to some rationality in some areas here than others. IMO all of your responses as far as trivialising the issue about the bear are exactly that - irrational.
If you wanted a light-hearted thread, go play in the kiddie korner. I don't percieve the issue of discrimination and bias as light-hearted at all.
abooja
Well-Known Member
I am perfectly calm, thank you very much. I am not the one who has tried to prop herself up as the Joan of Arc of mental illness.tank girl said:
And I'm not about to start taking orders from twitty, loudmouthed 20-somethings with egos even larger than their overdeveloped larynxes.
tank girl
New Member
Leslie said:
I can think of a few others that wouldn't appreciate being labelled as "the rest of us" if that means being in your boat, Leslie.
In that case I would appreciate it if "the rest of you" didn't take it on yourself to 'speak' for me - in other words - jump to conclusions about my intentions before acknowleging what I have to say.
