Pictured above is a firefox, never would I mean for this kind and cute and cuddly little creature to be harmed (I love this creature, I have posted about it before because it is so awesome). Firefox the browser, on the other hand, should be severely beaten. For some reason Firefox automatically uploaded the latest version of Firefox and totally wiped out all my bookmarks. Normally I wouldn't care, hell, I've never cared about bookmarks or anything computer related before in my life, except now that I've started reading blogs. The only way I keep track of blogs is by bookmarking them. Plus all the cool art and art sites I've found, I had all those bookmarked too. Oh well, I think I have the fortitude of spirit to overcome this tragedy... but probably just barely.
Quick and Easy Way to Get on My Bad Side: Tell Me I'm Faking My Illness
There aren't too many things that anger me. Really, I'm actually a pretty laid back kinda person. There is one thing that really angers me though, and it happened the other day, multiple times. This incident usually angers me so much I sink into silence and the only sound I can muster is a short, lackadaisical, uneasy sort of laugh. This of course, is my standard response to anyone who makes a joke of me looking good, haha, I look so good I'm probably faking my illness, haha... Shit, you think that's funny? My mouth might be smiling because it's all I can do to restrain the logical reaction, which the crazy look in my eye probably hints at...Seriously, I can't understand how making a joke of me faking my illness would be funny. That joke really hurts me, my illness is for real, I have the bloodwork to prove it, doctors to prove it... I guess it's just so demeaning, and really disrespectful, even if it is a joke... I mean, it feels like it negates all the bullshit I've gone through, all the pain and fatigue, sort of like calling me a bullshitter and a lazy bastard all in one. I wish I wasn't so sensitive about it, but I'm already frustrated by my circumstances, and people making jokes like that is like grabbing the knife that was already in me and twisting it just so. I really can't wait to be completely better, so that I don't have to hear jokes like that. People can be such assholes to people who are sick, and I try not to let it bother me too much, but it's easy to say that, hell, it does bother me, any way you slice it.
Yet this story isn't about unrequited wrongs, the story ends in a nice way. Hooray!
In a way, it's fortunate, this last person that made the joke is a pretty good friend, and I didn't want to hold this against him. So I ended up emailing him after a couple days letting him know how his joking about my faking my illness had hurt me. He was really sorry, in a very sincere sort of way, and I know he meant no disrespect, he's very supportive of me as a person and of my work as an artist, he knows firsthand that I'm not a lazy person... He's also a person I have a lot of admiration and respect for. That is why I thought it was important that I let him know how I felt, I had a feeling he'd understand and would make sure not to drop that joke on me again.
Moral is: Never, ever make a joke to a sick person about how they are faking their illness. Sure, life ain't all black and white, some unscrupulous people lie about being sick, I realize that possibility, but your safest bet is to not make that joke. I bet that more likely than not a sick person really is sick, so you're probably gambling on losing percentages when you make a joke like that. Plus most people aren't as kind as I am and would probably have ripped your throat out for that kind of joke... just sayin'.
