darkSpyro

So it seems that most people, both on this site, and in the real world have established that joking about cancer is wrong and insensitive, and that's absolutely understandable. But here's something that 's interesting. What about joking about other illnesses?

For example:

Person A: "I think America will win the World Cup!"

Person B: "What? Are you crazy?!?"

Most people would find person B's response to be completely ordinary and not in any way uncalled for.

What if there were a conversation that went like this:

Person A: "I'm going to miss school for the next 2 weeks."

Person B: "Why? Do you have cancer or something?"

Most people would find Person B's response to be absurd and insensitive.

"Crazy" is a mental illness. Cancer is a physical illness. Cancer kills 7.6 million people annually worldwide. Insanity doesn't kill people......YES IT DOES. Adam Lanza, the Connecticut school shooter was insane. On a much larger scale level, Adolph Hitler was insane. People who commit suicide suffer from mental illness. Rapists suffer from mental illnesses. Even worse, cancer can be cured, but mental illnesses are a much different story. Serial killers, evil dictators, rapists, and suicide victims are all the result of mental illness. But it's still fine to say "Are you crazy?".

So, what if person B responded by saying these instead of "Are you crazy?" and "Do you have cancer or something?"

"Do you have a mental illness that's responsible for suicidal thoughts, serial killers, mass murderers and rapists?"

"Do you have a disease that causes the deaths of 7.6 million people worldwide each year?"

I don't know about you guys, but I think that these sound equally as bad......

Being crazy doesn't necessarily mean a mental illness.

On other hand, Cancer always does refer to it's physical illness.

I joke about cancer.

Words have power because we give them power. Humor is the great equalizer.

Quote: shorty

The reason why "crazy" is acceptable is that "a mentally ill person" is not the only definition of crazy. Saying "Are you crazy?" is the equivalent of saying "Are you stupid?". You aren't asking someone if they are mentally ill (unless you are, depends on the context really).
In addition, crazy isn't even a "mental illness". It can be used to describe someone who has a mental illness but that's not what it is.

"Crazy" was originally a word meaning mentally deranged. Eventually, yes, it did shift to the point where "Are you crazy?" would mean "Are you stupid?"

And that's not the only word people use for a mental illness either. People sometimes call one another "lunatic" or "psychopath", both of which are solidly meant for one who is suffering from mental illness.

Oh yeah, discussion that has close relation with the humanity-killing, soulless entity that lives on destroying humor as a tool to handle difficult and controversial situations: political correctness. As a man with cynical and somewhat nihilistic view to many different areas of life, things and whatnot I am not the best individual to say opinion that has something of emotional value etc. But I will try my best to address this double standard and PC conundrum.

As it has been said earlier in this topic those examples of yours are highly volatile for differences of interpretation. The word crazy is a word that has variable different meanings and definitions to people all around the world but the word cancer is most commonly used in a context of life-threatening disease. But let’s continue. I personally do not find term cancer offensive in that example situation you depicted even if it was told directly to my face. I just find term cancer in that context very… well… boring term. I know and have known people with cancer who have either survived or died from it but it still does not trigger my “I have the holy right to get offended!” button. I just do not find that word in that example to be interesting one way or the other. Cancer is just not that funny of a term when used in real-life situations. It is unexpected and out-of-context but not earth-shatteringly revolting and utterly disgusting, just peculiar. Cancer can be funny in fictional comedy, though.

Of course one should never undermine the emotionally volatile things concerned mental illnesses. When mind does not work, nothing works and as a man who has suffered from periods of depression, I must say that it is not that funny of a state of being. But I find words, crazy, mad and etc. to be quite… well... ordinary, uncreative and boring. Man, is there anything that I don’t find boring? But all in all I want to state that even though this kind of double standard exists, I still find term cancer to be least PC out of those two. Crazy is such a common term for anything that is out of usual conventions that are defined as normal, even though normal is already highly subjective term and someday PC-gone-mad will abolish that term once and for all as well.

It all comes down towards the attitude and context of the people who say those contradictions and jokes. Words are only words and therefore they are exposed to constant state of developing. Definitions change, world changes, times change and well… attitudes change. To every people who get easily offended by something that is not politically correct, ask yourself at least these following questions: “Is this joker’s meaning to my life worthy enough of my emotional investment?”, “Why do I give this joke, word, situation too much of meaning, purpose and emotional investment?” Everything comes down to meanings and definitions which have emotional worth to people. Here the word rationality comes to play. Do not react with your first-hand emotions. Let the things cool down and truly think before you say or do something back. Only thing that should matter is one’s own respective relations between the people that truly matter in one’s own life.

That is all that I have to say. If this text offended someone, I already say my utter most government-insisted apology beforehand. It was truly appalling of me to say my free-speech-right-based opinion about this matter and I am truly ashamed of myself. Carry on people…

A lot of people on the site get really angry when you joke about depression and other mental conditions. Crazy is let go because the word in modern terms doesn't apply specifically to any mental illnesses. But if you specifically joke about depression, autism, or the like, people on the site are bound to be a little upset and maybe call you ignorant.

And if you equate crazy with mental illnesses, all you do is potentially step on the toes of people with mental conditions. "I'M NOT CRAZY I HAVE BI POLAR DISORDER". Crazy is a very blanket term.

No matter what you joke about, someone somewhere is going to be unhappy about it. It's inevitable.

EDIT: Should also note that "cancer" as a term or anything is not offensive. And cancer survivors joke about it at times as well. It's all a matter of context and who you're telling the joke to.

Quote: shorty

Quote: Mrmorrises

Quote: shorty

The reason why "crazy" is acceptable is that "a mentally ill person" is not the only definition of crazy. Saying "Are you crazy?" is the equivalent of saying "Are you stupid?". You aren't asking someone if they are mentally ill (unless you are, depends on the context really).
In addition, crazy isn't even a "mental illness". It can be used to describe someone who has a mental illness but that's not what it is.

"Crazy" was originally a word meaning mentally deranged. Eventually, yes, it did shift to the point where "Are you crazy?" would mean "Are you stupid?"

And that's not the only word people use for a mental illness either. People sometimes call one another "lunatic" or "psychopath", both of which are solidly meant for one who is suffering from mental illness.

Yes, exactly. In this day and age it doesn't generally mean "mentally deranged".
I've never heard anyone say "Are you a lunatic?" or "Are you a psychopath?" in the same context as someone would say "Are you crazy?". And again, that isn't the only definition of lunatic and psychopath. It depends on the context.
As DummyZ pointed out, when people joke about cancer, they are referring the the physical disease most of the time. Again, it depends on the context in which it's used.

But obviously being stupid is different from being crazy. Being crazy is considerably worse. Should people really use a word thats LITERAL DEFINITION is "mentally deranged". It's like saying someone who is sick has cancer.

"No, he is not crazy, he just isn't very intelligent"

"No, he does not have cancer, he is jusg suffering from a very bad fever."

Quote: shorty

Quote: Mrmorrises

But obviously being stupid is different from being crazy. Being crazy is considerably worse. Should people really use a word thats LITERAL DEFINITION is "mentally deranged". It's like saying someone who is sick has cancer.

"No, he is not crazy, he just isn't very intelligent"

"No, he does not have cancer, he is jusg suffering from a very bad fever."

That's only one of crazy's definitions. There are other definitions for the word crazy. That may have been the original definition of crazy but that's not the definition which is commonly used today. Languages evolve.

It is the original definition, and is still the primary definition. And I have heard people call each other lunatics or psychopaths before; they toss it around like a regular phrase.

Quote: Project_Unnamed

Oh yeah, discussion that has close relation with the humanity-killing, soulless entity that lives on destroying humor as a tool to handle difficult and controversial situations: political correctness. As a man with cynical and somewhat nihilistic view to many different areas of life, things and whatnot I am not the best individual to say opinion that has something of emotional value etc. But I will try my best to address this double standard and PC conundrum.

As it has been said earlier in this topic those examples of yours are highly volatile for differences of interpretation. The word crazy is a word that has variable different meanings and definitions to people all around the world but the word cancer is most commonly used in a context of life-threatening disease. But let’s continue. I personally do not find term cancer offensive in that example situation you depicted even if it was told directly to my face. I just find term cancer in that context very… well… boring term. I know and have known people with cancer who have either survived or died from it but it still does not trigger my “I have the holy right to get offended!” button. I just do not find that word in that example to be interesting one way or the other. Cancer is just not that funny of a term when used in real-life situations. It is unexpected and out-of-context but not earth-shatteringly revolting and utterly disgusting, just peculiar. Cancer can be funny in fictional comedy, though.

Of course one should never undermine the emotionally volatile things concerned mental illnesses. When mind does not work, nothing works and as a man who has suffered from periods of depression, I must say that it is not that funny of a state of being. But I find words, crazy, mad and etc. to be quite… well... ordinary, uncreative and boring. Man, is there anything that I don’t find boring? But all in all I want to state that even though this kind of double standard exists, I still find term cancer to be least PC out of those two. Crazy is such a common term for anything that is out of usual conventions that are defined as normal, even though normal is already highly subjective term and someday PC-gone-mad will abolish that term once and for all as well.

It all comes down towards the attitude and context of the people who say those contradictions and jokes. Words are only words and therefore they are exposed to constant state of developing. Definitions change, world changes, times change and well… attitudes change. To every people who get easily offended by something that is not politically correct, ask yourself at least these following questions: “Is this joker’s meaning to my life worthy enough of my emotional investment?”, “Why do I give this joke, word, situation too much of meaning, purpose and emotional investment?” Everything comes down to meanings and definitions which have emotional worth to people. Here the word rationality comes to play. Do not react with your first-hand emotions. Let the things cool down and truly think before you say or do something back. Only thing that should matter is one’s own respective relations between the people that truly matter in one’s own life.

That is all that I have to say. If this text offended someone, I already say my utter most government-insisted apology beforehand. It was truly appalling of me to say my free-speech-right-based opinion about this matter and I am truly ashamed of myself. Carry on people…

Too lazy to read but gonna applaud anyway

honestly you people (and one more + tryhard teachers who treat "stuff" like a swear word) are the only ones ive seen that care about what terms other people use. i still don't see the big deal about saying anything if it's used in a mild way. you can usually tell by someone's tone if something's meant to be offensive, so don't overreact to the way people speak. this could be a reason why some people don't get along with others no matter how hard they try tho

Eh...
Quote: shorty

The reason why "crazy" is acceptable is that "a mentally ill person" is not the only definition of crazy. Saying "Are you crazy?" is the equivalent of saying "Are you stupid?". You aren't asking someone if they are mentally ill (unless you are, depends on the context really).
In addition, crazy isn't even a "mental illness". It can be used to describe someone who has a mental illness but that's not what it is.

Quote: CAV

A lot of people on the site get really angry when you joke about depression and other mental conditions. Crazy is let go because the word in modern terms doesn't apply specifically to any mental illnesses. But if you specifically joke about depression, autism, or the like, people on the site are bound to be a little upset and maybe call you ignorant.

And if you equate crazy with mental illnesses, all you do is potentially step on the toes of people with mental conditions. "I'M NOT CRAZY I HAVE BI POLAR DISORDER". Crazy is a very blanket term.

No matter what you joke about, someone somewhere is going to be unhappy about it. It's inevitable.

EDIT: Should also note that "cancer" as a term or anything is not offensive. And cancer survivors joke about it at times as well. It's all a matter of context and who you're telling the joke to.

Quote: shorty

Quote: Mrmorrises

Quote: shorty

The reason why "crazy" is acceptable is that "a mentally ill person" is not the only definition of crazy. Saying "Are you crazy?" is the equivalent of saying "Are you stupid?". You aren't asking someone if they are mentally ill (unless you are, depends on the context really).
In addition, crazy isn't even a "mental illness". It can be used to describe someone who has a mental illness but that's not what it is.

"Crazy" was originally a word meaning mentally deranged. Eventually, yes, it did shift to the point where "Are you crazy?" would mean "Are you stupid?"

And that's not the only word people use for a mental illness either. People sometimes call one another "lunatic" or "psychopath", both of which are solidly meant for one who is suffering from mental illness.

Yes, exactly. In this day and age it doesn't generally mean "mentally deranged".
I've never heard anyone say "Are you a lunatic?" or "Are you a psychopath?" in the same context as someone would say "Are you crazy?". And again, that isn't the only definition of lunatic and psychopath. It depends on the context.
As DummyZ pointed out, when people joke about cancer, they are referring the the physical disease most of the time. Again, it depends on the context in which it's used.

^^All of these^^....

*Waits for someone else to make the same point I did, but instead be praised as a genius for it*

Quote: AvatariDragon

Or just don't joke about stuff like that at all?

ARE YOU CRAZY?

Quote: Mrmorrises

*Waits for someone else to make the same point I did, but instead be praised as a genius for it*

Odds are they'd get the same reaction as you did.

smash bros confirmed to be racist towards hands with mental illnesses

1 like = 1 Dairy Milk

Quote: CAV

Quote: AvatariDragon

Or just don't joke about stuff like that at all?

ARE YOU CRAZY?

Quote: Mrmorrises

*Waits for someone else to make the same point I did, but instead be praised as a genius for it*

Odds are they'd get the same reaction as you did.

Nah, there are some people on this site who can say whatever the hell they want and everyone will be all like "You're so smart, everyone should listen to you!"

Quote: Samius

Quote: Mrmorrises

Nah, there are some people on this site who can say whatever the hell they want and everyone will be all like "You're so smart, everyone should listen to you!"

While human beings do tend to agree with people they like and respect more often, I think it's also partly because of tendencies like this (quote below). Some people see a long post and think whoever wrote it must be a genius. Not everybody cares enough to take a closer look at what is being said.

I've noticed that whenever I type a really long post on some subject I often get replies saying things like "this^" or "I agree". I appreciate it, of course, but I really wish people didn't do that. These replies basically just serve to deter others from voicing their disagreements (which is bad, it kills the conversation).

Then again, whenever I type a shorter post with an equally logical point (like the one I posted on this topic) I get no replies. Which is funny because I'd imagine that simpler, shorter points are easier to get your mind around.

Quote: xXBeavcoonXx

Too lazy to read but gonna applaud anyway

Every Project_Unnamed post ever.

Most people I know who use the term crazy don't even know this literal definition, while the people who I've heard make jokes about cancer know very well what they're doing. I mean, unless you're intentionally using the term crazy to mean "mentally deranged" or something, I don't see the problem with the people who use crazy as in "stupid" or "odd"

Quote: Samius

Quote: Mrmorrises

Nah, there are some people on this site who can say whatever the hell they want and everyone will be all like "You're so smart, everyone should listen to you!"

*snip*

Always go for quality over quantity, even in the words you type out! ^.^b

Quote: Mrmorrises

Nah, there are some people on this site who can say whatever the hell they want and everyone will be all like "You're so smart, everyone should listen to you!"

That's usually because they say something that everyone already thinks and believes in, but puts it in a sophisticated tl;dr way that they can appreciate. I highly doubt if someone known for that were to speak in defense of your claims that they would be praised and followed. They would get the same response as you.

Quote: Samius

While human beings do tend to agree with people they like and respect more often, I think it's also partly because of tendencies like this (quote below). Some people see a long post and think whoever wrote it must be a genius. Not everybody cares enough to take a closer look at what is being said.

I've noticed that whenever I type a really long post on some subject I often get replies saying things like "this^" or "I agree". I appreciate it, of course, but I really wish people didn't do that. These replies basically just serve to deter others from voicing their disagreements (which is bad, it kills the conversation).

Then again, whenever I type a shorter post with an equally logical point (like the one I posted on this topic) I get no replies. Which is funny because I'd imagine that simpler, shorter points are easier to get your mind around.

You're so smart, everyone should listen to you!

And Cancer is also a constellation, it doesn't offend all

Quote: Sesshomaru75

Quote: Windumup

And Cancer is also a constellation, it doesn't offend all

Dude, what the actual ****?

I am a Cancer, I was born in July

why is then even a topic

Quote: Windumup

And Cancer is also a constellation, it doesn't offend all

Why do you always bring in off-topic posts?

^this whole topic

TL DR