By Regan O’Brien
In chapel on Feb. 18, we had a speaker who made some good points, but he fell short in his comedy routine. Now, I am all for telling jokes in chapel — the more jokes the better — but we need to draw the line on what is funny and what is offensive. It is not funny to joke about a chronic illness like diabetes.
I talked with some students after leaving chapel that day and most of my friends were feeling angry for the ignorance expressed about a disease they see me suffer with daily. A roommate of mine said, “I wanted to shout something, but I knew that was not appropriate.” I talked to some other diabetics on and off campus, and they also felt angry because our disease is not a joking matter.
The speaker opened with a game of deciding if things were just or unjust. He said, “Taking candy from a baby?” And the audience responded, “Unjust.” The speaker then commented, “Okay good, some of you may have been like, ‘Well, I don’t want him to have diabetes.’”
Sure, the speaker did not specify whether he was referring to Type 1 diabetes, which is caused by hereditary traits and can be triggered at any point in time of your life, or Type 2 diabetes, which is caused because of an insulin resistance due to consuming too much sugar, not getting enough exercise or genetics. No matter the circumstance of developing a disease where your body does not process sugar well, it is tacky to make a joke about it.
I have lived with Type 1 diabetes for nine years now. You do not get Type 1 diabetes from eating candy. You do not get Type 2 diabetes from eating candy. This disease is ruthless and not something to joke about. I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes because it is in my genes, not because of any action I took or choice I made.
This disease is an emotional and financial toll on anyone who has it. A single bottle of insulin costs upwards of $400, and I personally go through about one and a half a month. Most insurance companies refuse to cover certain insulins because of the cost, leaving the patient to ration his or her insulin or scrounge up money to afford the insulin his or her body needs. Diabetes is not something to joke about, and I do not appreciate hearing joking comments from anyone, especially a member of the Asbury faculty. Given the public platform of chapel, we should be mindful of what we are saying and how damaging words can be to those affected.
