There's Nothing Funny About A Global Health Epidemic

In many ways, the global health epidemic that is Diabetes is the ugly step-sister to other life threatening diseases.

We do not have the same level of awareness as other diseases.
We have no major retailers offering Diabetes support or awareness products during Diabetes Awareness Month, as seen in October for breast cancer, or the rest of the year for that matter.

There seems to be a "you brought this on yourself" sort of mentality, which invalidates the efforts of many living with diabetes.... struggling to thrive with diabetes.

This mentality was displayed again most recently on NBC's debut episode of "Are You There, Chelsea?" poking a joke at diabetic amputation.

There is NOTHING funny about diabetic amputations.

If you wish to poke fun of this global health epidemic, please joke with me about the journey itself, as opposed to joking about the dire consequences of mismanagement.

346 million people around the world are living with diabetes. So why are such jokes still socially acceptable?

A grass roots movement has begun. Their presence is found on FaceBook under the name: NBC 346 Million People Deserve An Apology. http://www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/NBC-346-Million-People-Deserve-An-Apology/210826292341284

We are the viewers. The audience. The people large organizations pay to see their advertisements. So why on earth would NBC, or any of their advertisers, wish to alienate a potential 346 million viewers?

You may recall that in March of 2011, Aflac terminated "spokesduck" Gilbert Gottfried for inappropriate Tweets following the earthquake in Japan. Aflac prides themselves on being a most ethical and philanthropic company.

Yet Aflac is a major advertiser with NBC.

If this movement interests you in anyway, please check out the FaceBook page. One voice standing alone may not be heard..... but imagine if we could unite our efforts, and helped garner the level of respect Diabetes and people living with Diabetes deserves.