A BAD taste top ten of Christmas carols poking fun at mental illness has been slammed as 'degrading' after it was published with the backing of a social services department.
The booklet contains a list titled 'Christmas Carols for the Mentally Disturbed'. It then names psychiatric conditions and suggests festive songs which would suit the illness.
They include:
* Multiple personality disorder - `We Three Kings Disorientated Are';
* Paranoid - 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Get Me'; and
* Dementia - 'I Think I'll be Home for Christmas'.
Zinette Camille - who has a family member who suffered with mental illness for 19 years - made a formal complaint after picking up the magazine at the Meadowbrook psychiatric care unit which is in the grounds of Hope Hospital, Salford.
She said: "I could not believe what I was reading. I was astonished that it could be so insensitive."
The publishers have now withdrawn the magazine to remove the offending article.
The magazine, called Marooned, is issued four times a year.
It is for users of mental health services and is produced by users of Cromwell House in Cromwell Road, Eccles, which is staffed by Salford council care workers and others employed by the Bolton Salford and Trafford Mental Health NHS Trust.
Ms Camille, from Cheetham Hill, Manchester, said: "I was angry that they could belittle people in that manner. I phoned up the council to express my concerns and someone at the magazine asked if I would like to write in and say why I found it offensive."
A spokesman for the magazine's editorial board said: "No offence was intended by the feature and we apologise sincerely for any distress. The magazine will now be recalled and the article removed. We have spoken to Ms Camille and have invited her to meet the editorial board which is made up entirely of mental health service users.
"We have also said we would be happy to include her response to the feature in the next edition."
A spokesman for Salford council said that future editions would be subjected to closer vetting.
The 10 carols featured in 'Marooned':
1.
Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?
2.
Multiple Personality Disorder
- We Three Kings Disoriented Are.
3.
Dementia - I Think I'll be Home For Christmas.
4.
Narcissistic
- Hark The Herald Angels Sing About Me.
5.
Manic - Deck The Halls And Walls And House And Lawn And Stores And Office And Town And Cars And Buses And Trucks And Trees And...
6.
Paranoid
- Santa Clause Is Coming To Town To Get Me.
7.
Borderline Personality Disorder
- Thoughts Of Roasting On An Open Fire.
8.
Personality Disorder
- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why.
9.
Attention Deficit Disorder - Silent Night, Holy Oooh Look At The Froggy, Can I Have A Chocolate, Why Is France So Far Away.
10.
Obessive Complusive Disorder
- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,.
Comments
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I entirely agree that this was in bad taste. People suffering mental illnesses deserve our sympathy, respect and assistance - not being poked fun at. Those with mental illness havethe same dignity as anyone else without.
Bad?? NAY SAD!!! What a sad dried person this is!! I myself am disabled and have had hours of fun taking the mick out of fellow sufferers!! And because of ONE single sad person this?? Just glad I now live in FRANCE and do not have to put up with such a waste of space!!
Even though I am sometimes insesitive enough to laugh when I shouldn't these so called jokes are simply not funny. Who hires these people?
As someone who has lived with mental illness for many years, and still under psychiatric supervision, I actually found the article amusing and light-hearted. It appears these days that people are so obsessed with being politically correct that the concept of having a bit of fun has been lost. If you consider almost any joke, pun, comedy etc, there is always going to be a person, situation or stereotype being ridiculed, the public need to lighten up and smile a bit more. People with mental issues are not demons, they DO have a sense of humour and can see the funny side of a light hearted article. I may see this article in a different light if I am in the middle of a paranoid attack, but for today I can enjoy it.
I well remember a couple of years ago in my business I went to do a small domestic job in NE Manchester for a dear and very strange man. We got talking because of a shared passion for politics. He showed me a letter he had received from David Cameron in response to his informing the Conservatives that though he'd voted Labour all his life he was disenchanted with Tony Blair and was now a Tory convert. Naturally I was happy to encourage him away from the Labour Party. Almost exactly to the day it so happens I was back for a repeat job and I asked him if he was still in corespondence with Conservative Central Office. His reply: "Oh Richard I wasn't feeling very well last year, I wasn't in my right mind. I'm a Labour man born n bred n back where I belong." So there you have it ... sane people vote Labour.
Oh for goodness sake. I am a certified nutter (category 5), and this made me laugh out loud. Humour is one of the most useful tools in the fight for mental health. Whilst I can understand that this might not fit everyone's humour template every day, for some, this is great. It's two fingers to the sensitive social worker/CPN/PC sensitivity police. It's taking back the stereotypes and rubbing them in the face of the public, celebrating the genuine funniness that can sometimes happen with mental illness. I know that sometimes humour like this is inappropriate, but if we have to tiptoe around everything in the world because someone might get upset, nobody would ever get anything done. If you're feeling ill or vulnerable, read past items like this. Look again when things are better and see if you can smile then. Right, I think I haven't decorated next door but one's dustbin yet.....
I think if they are honest most people cn discern whether humour is well-intended and warm-hearted or mocking and malicious, even a veil to say something nasty which would not be tolerated if said 'straight'. The Marooned article was insensitive and inappropriate because it was generally mocking of the mentally ill, most of whom are so vulnerable as not to be able to 'give as good as they get'. Anybody is of course entitled to be witty and self-deprecating about their own illness but general comments about everyone - in a quasi-official publication - really are out of order. And I must say that whilst indivduals may choose to laugh at themselves without offending others and even be funny in so doing, it is sad if and when it is really an expression of self-loathing.
That was the best laugh I have had in a long time. No not the silly carols in the article but Mr Carvath and jermec's postings. A happy and safe new year to all.
From the look of Zinette Camille's photograph, she's got a few problems herself. Primarily a sense of humour by-pass.
No, Zinette Camille has got good judgement in this matter and was entirely right to criticise the article in poor taste in 'Marooned'. Though we know nothing about Zinette's sense of humour, it would seem reasonable to discern from your comment that you have a nasty sarcastic streak.