In this age everything is open to interpretation and humour, from black comedians calling themselves niggers, and Jewish hustlers making fun of their large noses, it does seem that nothing is taboo anymore, but I have to worry at a new trend of making fun of those with certain disorders. Whilst the big C word still holds an aura of fear, it seems as though any mental disorder is open for jokes and humour and this is a little disquieting as surely these are the people who can't fight back?
We've seen the scary mocking anna-rexia costume, and we've been freaked out by kiddy size prams and pushchairs aimed at toddlers, so what's your reaction now to the obsessive compulsive action figure?
Apart from this trivialization of such a life changing illlness, the blurb also refers to the toy in such a way as to make it farcical, implying it could be 'snapped out of' if you put your mind to it, and as someone who has suffered from depression I find this highly insulting.
Apparently the OCD figure is 'worried about whether or not you washed your hands after you used the bathroom. Just in case, he's sure you won't mind if he wears his gloves and surgical mask when he shakes your hand. ' How kind of him. It's this sort of nonsense that masquerades as humour that sets us back to the 1950's in terms of acceptance. It seems that if everything is OK nowadays, that laughing at yourself is the beginning of the end, and I can't imagine a sufferer who would find this amusing; or want to receive it as a present. Yes people joke about things they're uncomfortable with to make it more understandable, but this level of frat boy humour is unwelcome and uncalled for.
Just reading the rest of the product blurb gets my blood boiling, 'Now, as soon as he finishes counting those ceiling tiles, he can get started on alphabetizing the canned foods. Mini surgical mask included. Packaged with a sanitary, hypo-allergenic towelette to clean off the figure before you touch it'. This kind of literature is simplistic, unhelpful and stereotypes sufferers into a (literally) plastic box.
People aren't one size fits all, so why should their illness/action figure be?
