Hate when people tell jokes about epilepsy

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Janellie8

Janellie8

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Good evening :)

Sooooo, a pet peeve that I have is when people make jokes about epilepsy. The punch line of the joke isn't focused on epilepsy, but for example they say, "...they looked like they were having a seizure..." and then they start laughing. I guess what I get angry about is when they say someone/something looks like they are having a seizure and then they laugh. I kinda feel like they are laughing at me in a way. A friend did it a while ago, deep down I was so mad, but I didn't have the guts to tell her how I felt about that joke. Does anyone else feel this way? Maybe I am just too sensitive about epilepsy. I don't know.

Janellie :)
 
You are not too sensitive about that. and it is not funny at all . there's a lot of the un-knowing thing that others don't understand or realize to what we go thru. Never be afraid to inform those that do not know......:e:
 
It bugs me, but life goes on. People who know I'm epileptic usually won't say things like that, but I don't tell most people. Most just don't take the time to understand.

Too sensitive? No. We all feel the sting a little.

Don't let the little things get to you.
 
rich956 said:
You are not too sensitive about that. and it is not funny at all . there's a lot of the un-knowing thing that others don't understand or realize to what we go thru. Never be afraid to inform those that do not know......:e:
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Thank you rich956. I guess that it is true that they don't understand what epilepsy is about. Next time I hear about a joke with seizures in it, I will say that I am uncomfortable with it!

Hugs,
Janellie :)
 
N Sperlo said:
It bugs me, but life goes on. People who know I'm epileptic usually won't say things like that, but I don't tell most people. Most just don't take the time to understand.

Too sensitive? No. We all feel the sting a little.

Don't let the little things get to you.
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N Sperlo,

Sting, of course! More like a punch in the gut for me. Wow, I guess I am letting these little things get to me... I just have to let that person know I am not okay with it, brush it off, and move on :) Thanks!

Hugs,
Janellie :)
 
Actually, I don't really know any epilepsy jokes, and I can't remember having heard any. (Maybe that's just my crappy memory, though!) Somehow, I don't think I would really be offended, though. I worked in a hospital for many years and there is a fair amount of black humor in those places. Probably a way of dealing with all the crises and stress and sadness that is a constant when you work in a hospital. I also play several instruments and there are a ton of musician jokes which I don't find offensive. (What's the difference between a trumpet and a trampoline? You have to take off your shoes to jump on the trampoline!) I'm also bald and take no offense at all about bald jokes or comments. I can't help it if I'm bald! With an epilepsy joke, I suppose it would come down to the individual joke and whether I found it offensive or funny at the time I heard it. I believe that the more stuff you can laugh at, the less power it can have over you. Cheers! Onward!! :)
 
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arnie said:
Actually, I don't really know any epilepsy jokes, and I can't remember having heard any. (Maybe that's just my crappy memory, though!) Somehow, I don't think I would really be offended, though. I worked in a hospital for many years and there is a fair amount of black humor in those places. Probably a way of dealing with all the crises and stress and sadness that is a constant when you work in a hospital. I also play several instruments and there are a ton of musician jokes which I don't find offensive. (What's the difference between a trumpet and a trampoline? You have to take off your shoes to jump on the trampoline!) I'm also bald and take no offense at all about bald jokes or comments. I can't help it if I'm bald! With an epilepsy joke, I suppose it would come down to the individual joke and whether I found it offensive or funny at the time I heard it. I believe that the more stuff you can laugh at, the less power it can have over you. Cheers! Onward!! :)
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arnie,

The jokes are pretty rare. But when I do hear them I feel like they are laughing at me. Its sadly to say that I don't get your trumpet joke (I will probably get it after I have read it a couple times). Yeah I would understand that people react differently with these kinds of jokes. Thank you for your up beat spirit! Yes! Onward my friend!

Hugs,
Janellie :)
 
i have just learned to let them go, it is either laugh or cry at this point.

but i do belive there is a epileptic joke thread on the board.
 
when I lived at home my mother would bring home jokes about epilepsy and say you just can't laugh at yourself.She'd make me so angry because of all the years she saw me status so she just must have been laughing at me.
 
Hi Janellie. To you and anyone else who wasn't sure about the trumpet joke (and it can be used with any musical instrument) you have to take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline, but when you jump on a trumpet (thereby smashing it!) you can leave your shoes on! As for instrument jokes, the ones that get picked on the most are the banjo, bagpipes, viola, and probably the oboe would be in there. There are jokes about all instruments, but those are the butt of lots. You can always google musical instrument jokes, but unless you're kind of a music geek you might not get 'em.

Here's a good link I found that makes interesting reading. I just skimmed it, but it says kind of what I said about when you laugh at something it takes the power away from it. It seems to be aimed at people your age, Janellie, so you may find other stuff on the site interesting and relevant, since different age groups have different struggles with epilepsy. Here's the link:

http://healthtalkonline.org/young-peoples-experiences/epilepsy/humour-and-jokes-about-epilepsy
 
For me it's not the actual joke. It's the ignorance of the people telling them. A good portion of the population only think of someone with Epilepsy / Seizures as people who shake uncontrollably on the ground. They don't understand that, that is just one type of seizure. IE: One late night comic described a stars dancing routine as someone having a seizure because they were all over the place.
 
Hi Bigman. I think you are right on the money with that comment. Jokes like the dancer looking like he was having a seizure ARE ignorant and lack anything that would make them at all funny to those of us who know a lot about E. The musician jokes I was talking about above are funny, especially to musicians, because we understand the subtle, "inside" humor that makes them funny.
 
BIGMAN131307 said:
For me it's not the actual joke. It's the ignorance of the people telling them. A good portion of the population only think of someone with Epilepsy / Seizures as people who shake uncontrollably on the ground. They don't understand that, that is just one type of seizure. IE: One late night comic described a stars dancing routine as someone having a seizure because they were all over the place.
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When most people here the words 'epilepsy' or 'seizure' all they can relate it to is a tonic colonic - flopping around on the floor and shaking like crazy. They don't realize that there's more than one type of seizure.

A lot of times when I tell people that I have epilepsy they get a scared look on their face like they might catch it or that I'm going to fall on the floor and shake. I get a laugh about that!

The only real jokes that I have about epilepsy and seizures are the things that I do when I have one. It's usually my husband and I that get a laugh about it, because I have most of them around him, and we'll joke about it for a long time. I'll tell my good friends or close family about something that I did and we'll laugh about it together.


C0urt said:
i have just learned to let them go, it is either laugh or cry at this point.
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I agree with this too about anything in general. I always say "Don't cry, laugh. It feels better."
 
Ugh I hate that! I totally get pissed. I feel like they are laughing at me too. People are so ignorant.
 
Friends,

Comedy Nights with Kapil on Colours TV from India being telecast in Europe and America including UK and USA is insulting Epilepsy Patients Globally.

To monitor the height of abusing the Epilepsy and people suffering is depicted in its Cheap Comedy Show Episode 23 telecast on September 7, 2013 [the practice goes on undeterred]. Example: Please visit Colours TVs official website and go to Comedy nights with Kapil, Full Episode -23, Sep 7th, 2013 [you may GOOGLE also]. Then please straight JUMP TO timing 18.30 to 19.30. This portion of the show abuses around 50 million epileptic patients globally and jokes on epileptic seizure for one full minute while the COMEDY is on and the whole audience laughs on epilepsy.

Photo sensitive people may observe caution for Graphics / and lights. The show I am not sure whether maintains sensitivity to epilepsy patients.

Please STOP this show from beaming into your country.

Sam
 
I am parent of a child with epilepsy and when I see people joking about epilepsy I not feel sad, depressed and helpless but also feel like correcting all the wrongs in one click - Alas! I am just a small fry in this big bad world. My efforts will continue in this direction till the wrongs have been undone. God Bless y
 
This is no "laughing" matter indeed...just as it is no "little" matter...

To us it is serious and important...of course as all things are to be considered...there are times and places for certain things...but people who intentionally say/do things to offend or hurt someone deserve absolutely no respect...

however...we must not just to conclusions or create false accusations or spawn blind assumptions...we must analyze the situation accordingly and deal with it in the most rationally insane way possible :D
 
If rape culture exists, it could be said that it exists in my country. For that reason, epilepsy jokes here tend to be sexual jokes. They really make me feel horrible and objectified. Other epilepsy jokes bother me too, but less so. Plenty of joke material comes my way, being an almost-blonde writer with the attention span of a goldfish. Those jokes are always told affectionately. They don't bother me at all and, other than the blonde jokes, there is usually some truth in them, which is what makes them funny in the first place. But epilepsy jokes...no...do you tell jokes about fourth stage cancer around fourth stage cancer patients? For the same reasons, epilepsy jokes are just in poor taste, in bad form, and a lower form of humour.
 
Thank you friends for your valuable support. Epilepsy is No Joiking Stuff.

If singally inefficient, together we can make the difference.

God Bless You All.
 
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