Thursday 18 September 2014

Prejudice - it's time to stop crisis managing the symptoms.

After hearing of the appalling episode of "Holby City" aired by the BBC this week I watched, speechless earlier as they rubbished and ridiculed a disease which  - call it what you like - has had a massive impact on my family's health and life. EGID is no walk in the park, it's not about intolerances, or fads, or imaginary ailments. It's a very real and extremely debilitating condition. Neither is it knew, but in the constant modern quest for clear classification it is persistently reevaluated and renamed.

It causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, failure to thrive, pain, phenomenal abdominal distension, reflux, choking, throat impaction, diarrhoea, constipation and chronic impaction and autonomic issues to name but a few of the symptoms we have dealt with over the years.
Ignorance is never an excuse for prejudice.


Not really a walk in the park, is it? And that's just a random selection of the first pictures I came across. Believe me, it's not fun, not superficial and not all in anyone's mind.

Programmes like this are about as helpful as people posting "cure-all" panaceas. Recently I came across a gem which I had obviously been missing out on for years. Apparently Cinnamon and Honey is a tried and tested wonder cure for most health issues?  I kid you not. Recently I discovered several misguided individuals suggesting via Facebook that this amazing combination would cure virtually all known ailments. Goodness! And we've endured years worth of symptoms we could have kissed goodbye to in an instant. I mean, it makes you wonder why doctors go to medical school for seven years - doesn't it?

As my friend described on her Blog "Seven Years to Diagnosis" this episode of Holby City was insulting not only to those individuals fighting this comparatively rare disease and all its ramifications, but anyone dealing with a disease which has yet to become mainstream and fully accepted.

But what bothers me most is that this is not merely stupidity born of ignorance but an example of an endemic problem in society, possibly a trait in the human psyche we will never eradicate - to be suspicious and critical of the unfamiliar, to condemn that which we don't understand. At a time when we bend over backwards to accommodate known difference and apply criteria of positive discrimination we fall short of tackling the root cause of inequality in society. Fear of the unknown.

It's all very well to retrospectively tackle racial inequality, sexual inequality or educational inequality, but what of criteria we fear, misunderstand and shy away from addressing? Prejudice against the disabled, the chronically sick and the mentally ill is still as mainstream and accepted today as it was a decade or two ago. Ok, maybe we've gone some way to address this within our comfort zone - disabled veterans, cancer sufferers and elderly alzheimer sufferers - and that IS progress, but what about those with Bipolar, Depression, Eating Disorders, ME, and Food Allergies? Or Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Skin disorders, Epilepsy, and Cerebral Palsy? It might be unacceptable to use terms like "Retard" or "Wally" but that hardly stops prejudice in its tracks.

We are indeed anthropologically programmed to mistrust that which is new and unfamiliar. Without knowledge and understanding how can we ascertain whether we are at risk ourselves? After all, self-preservation and herd instinct are pretty ingrained in human instinct. I remember first hearing of Eosinophilic Disease myself when my second child was young and apparently suffering "merely" with reflux. I vividly remember how profoundly grateful I felt that it was not something we would have to deal with. How wrong can you be. And when doctors and health professionals themselves are struggling to understand and classify a relatively new disease (in terms of acknowledgement, not symptoms) it's not surprising this social ignorance breeds prejudice.

But although sufferers of chronic illness might be on the periphery of mainstream medical understanding - yet to be chronicled in journals and textbooks as well-understood and accepted - they deserve respect and understanding too. It's time we challenged the root causes of prejudice, just as we would a new disease. Crisis-managing symptoms is only ever a short term sticking-plaster, whether you are referring to disease, or trends in society.

Ignorance is never an excuse for prejudice. And neither is Fear.



21 comments:

  1. Beautiful words Kate (and thanks for the link!). Am proud to have got to know you because of EGID, though wish that our children could have had it an entirely different way. Will be sharing on. Rxxx

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  2. I don't watch Holby City or Casualty but I know it has had several storylines where they haven't treated the subject matter very well. The problem is that people don't understand the depth of problems and just pass them off as if people are making a big deal about nothing.

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  3. Oh I totally get this (although I didn't see the Holby episode sorry). We too are dealing with a 'condition' (PDA) that people would far rather deny is real than try and help with. What gets me is that 'people' think that any parents would want to make any of this up to give themselves a difficult life. It's just a crazy lack of understanding - and you're right, it's being scared of what they don't know enough about. Some people, the better ones, care enough to learn. Others sadly don't x

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  4. I must admit I don't know much about this...but I would never ridicule it just because I did not know/understand. It is a shame people do that, and a bigger shame that a TV programme did that.

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  5. I think Holby writers need to remember that while they are writing for 'entertainment' purposes they are talking about real disease that effect real people and that their mis- portrayal on mainstream TV has a knock on effect. Everyone deserves respect and understanding, and I am sorry that that is not the reality.

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  6. It is awful that some people are so judgemental. Although drama programmes on TV are meant to be fiction, they often tackle issues that affect the everyday lives of people and do not realise what affect that has on how people view certain illnesses, etc. It is also a shame that some of the viewers of these programmes do not question the fictional portrayal of these issues and instead, take them as reality.

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  7. They should have acted more responsibly x

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  8. I can hear your frustration and I understand completely why you would feel that way. I think (hope) that attitudes in society are changing and people are becoming more accepting of differences. I am quite shocked to hear that such a popular programme would broadcast such a misrepresentation - I don't watch it though, just as well or I would have to stop. #pocolo

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  9. Didn't watch the Holby but I hate when people judging and hate things that they don't know/don't understand!

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  10. What did the episode say? I didn't see it and don't know what happened.

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  11. Surely the show has medical advisors who are paid to make sure that the facts are always the facts and not changed for the purpose of entertainment. Thanks for highlighting this x

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  12. Soaps can be ridiculous at the best of times. Shame people actually believe all that they see on TV instead of checking their facts.

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  13. Well said and well done for speaking up for this condition. Television producers wield so much power and I'm not sure they always appreciate this. #pocolo

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  14. Thank you for highlighting this - I so think that sometimes the soaps just brush over major issues and do not show the full impact of illnesses such as this.

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  15. I completely agree with what Sonya said. I don't watch Holby so I can't comment on what they have done. I do think that the writers should take greater care with their storylines. These do affect real life people. Thank you for linking to PoCoLo :) x

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  16. Ohhh my word this is shocking . Cant say I watch it now some things I sure agree and are so wrong.x

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  17. great post - I don't watch TV but it's really important that writers ensure that storylines are accurate

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  18. I didn't see Holby City but i agree with Sonya and, after all, it has generated discussion here and probably many other places

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  19. I don't watch programs like Holby city as generally find them too distressing so steer clear. I'm so sorry to hear that its contents held so much upset for your family. I hope the message gets back to them so they can try to avoid such things in the future.

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  20. I don't watch TV but very well said. Script writers should take time to fully understand.

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  21. I have never seen it but I do think writer should make sure they are well educated on a storyline before they air it. Great points here hunn. Well said. Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me I hope to see you again soon. #sharewithme

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Many thanks for taking the time to comment, I really value your responses.

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