Once again a celebrity has opened their mouth before thinking about what was being said. Yesterday Rikki Lake mistakenly stated that Type 1 diabetes was preventable. She never knew what a hornets’ nest she walked into with those few words. Very quickly after her faux pas on Good Morning America, social networks were abuzz with outrage that people with Type 1 diabetes were once again being “blamed” for their disease.
I admit that I did stand up and state that I thought she was a bit of an idiot. I also stated that sadly, like diabetes, there is no cure for stupid. I do believe that people coming out in the media should have their facts straight before they open their mouth.
The entire diabetes community was not up in arms about this as the furor might have suggested. I had a few friends who, like many of us, are simply tired of stupid. They have decided not to get their undies in a twist over every misstatement made in the media and simply take solace in the fact that their children understand how serious their disease is.
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Media workers have the job of coming up with something to say on a regular basis, so stupidity is par for the course. I don’t watch and I don’t discuss diabetes with non-diabetics so I don’t have to experience the frustration!
Whenever I talk about diabetes, I am very careful to distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2, but don’t diminish the difficulty and deadliness of either type. Most of the people I talk to are adults, and most are interested because they are pre-diabetic or have developed frank Type 2. It’s MUCH harder to get Type 2’s to take it seriously – their usual reaction, as they eat huge bowls of spaghetti, is they’re doing what their doctors tell them. I have already seen a Type 2 friend have an amputation – she hasn’t had diabetes any longer than I have, but I know she hasn’t watched her BGs all that carefully.
So I keep on talking to people – they can listen to me or not as they wish, but I think we all need to be community advocate among our friends and neighbors – if I have even a little effect, I think I’m doing a good thing.