An off the rails joke at Jungle Skipper today

[NeuroCindy]

I have the firm belief that if you're going to make a joke, be clever. This isn't a clever joke. It's old and inaccurate.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would have laughed, then left for my FP. As someone who has many mental health issues, and loves many people who do... I think humor helps tremendously.

 

[smiths02]

I can see how it might rub someone the wrong way, and I just don't think it is funny. But if the server wasn't talking to me, I probably would not have reported it.

On a side note, I was watching Jim Gaffigan stand up the other night on Netflix. He's pretty non-offense as comedians go, but the best part is when he does the voice criticizing himself and acting offended at what he said. Maybe Disney can train the WCC, 50s PT, and Skipper Canteen people to do this.

 

[L&Lfan]

I have the firm belief that if you're going to make a joke, be clever. This isn't a clever joke. It's old and inaccurate.

This^^^^ I'm not offended at all by the schizo joke. I just thought it was stupid and definitely not funny.

 

[AngiTN]

This^^^^ I'm not offended at all by the schizo joke. I just thought it was stupid and definitely not funny.

Now this I can agree with. The joke wasn't terribly funny or clever but it wasn't something to be reported to management either.

 

[Huff]

Sorry, but to me, those "gentle" jokes aren't even funny. If that's the only kind of "jokes" they can tell to prevent offended someone, they might as well abandon jokes altogether.

When we have to lower 'jokes' or other talk or actions down to the lowest common denominator such that NOBODY is offended then the world becomes a rather dull place. Suppose I found what you wrote above very offensive on this forum. Should you refrain and remove it or is it me that should tolerate differing views so we all get along? We all have differences in what we find offensive and that is why limiting everything to the lowest common level of acceptance makes for a dull drab world!

 

[EveDallas]

I don't think I'd be proud of the fact that I got someone in trouble, but whatever. And the PC police don't need to bother because I think people get offended way too easily these days.

 

[TheRealDrDisney]

We wanted tap water...

And I'm offended by this because I have friends in Flint, Michigan who can't enjoy tap water.

Next time, try a little sensitivity please - there could be people from Flint at the next table!

 

[Lisa F]

Yep. Lighten up and laugh.

I once had someone walk up to me to chew me out over my shirt.

It had a picture of Dr House (from the TV show) and it said, "It's not Lupus." She was all upset because her friend had lupus and if I had any compassion, I wouldn't wear a shirt that makes fun of people with lupus. If you watched the show, Dr House, would always say, and sometimes yell, "It's NOT lupus, it's never lupus." She ended with, "If you had lupus, you would understand."

After she was done, I very calmly said to her. "I have lupus." And I turned and walked away.

So she got into this tirade defending someone that wasn't even there, all without checking my status. My shirt didn't effect her whatsoever. But she somehow felt the need to go off on me.

Be interesting to find out if the server's parent or child has schizophrenia. Or maybe the server himself has a mental health issue. And the joke was self deprecating.

I think that is a very difficult situation. It is an actual quote from a show and it is not talking about the people who have lupus but rather making fun of doctors who go there for every unexplained illness. If you are a doctor who diagnoses lupus for everything remotely weird and don't look further into it and you are offended... well... good! But someone who HAS lupus has no reason to be offended about it because it is not about someone who has it.

it could be self depreciating but regardless I feel like there are a lot of other jokes that can be made more appropriate to the theming than that one.

 

[erinch]

Well, golly. OP here.

As reported before, the server was not our server. I asked the manager if I could make a comment regarding the joke line up. I did not identify the server by name. And made it clear that I was not personally upset, but was providing an observation.

Which gave her a lot of latitude in how to respond.

The server introduced himself with the rhyme to a neighboring table, which had 2 parents, and 3 children, 2 of them preschool age. As has been pointed out, a problem with the rhyme is that it has nothing to do with actual schizophrenia. And I continue to be strongly of the opinion that it is up to parents to decide how to handle humor about disabilities or other "differences" with their children.

We were a table of 2 adults and 2 college student young adults. The ta water comment would not have been appropriate with preschoolers either. Who are literalists.

 

[gmboy95]

I always tell my son dont fall into the trap of complaining about "political correctness"....because it is that very thing that has stopped words like "retard", "you throw like a girl", "thats gay", (insert many words used to disparage gay people), and many racist dumb jokes that masquerade as "humor"....and at the end of the day, you come out the other end a better man for it!

 

[gmboy95]

People need to laugh more.

absolutely....but not at others expense.....they call those laughs, cheap

 

[Lisa F]

absolutely....but not at others expense.....they call those laughs, cheap

and this is what disney has always been good at. Humor without making fun of anyone. Like I said before, the humor in the Jungle Cruise is corny, hokey and has a lot of bad puns. You can do all of that without making fun of stereotypes.

 

[gmboy95]

and this is what disney has always been good at. Humor without making fun of anyone. Like I said before, the humor in the Jungle Cruise is corny, hokey and has a lot of bad puns. You can do all of that without making fun of stereotypes.

agreed....i have a bunch of friends that i argue with constantly about "language"...not swearing per se, but just not being lazy with language. Words cut like knives at times, and i can only imagine if you are a person suffering with a debilitating and horrifying condition like schizophrenia, and you where at that table, how uncomfortable hat would be. How isolating it would make you feel, and frankly how it could ruin your dinner......If you would not make a joke about the condition of mental retardation, why would another cognitive condition be OK to joke about???

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

Well, golly. OP here.

As reported before, the server was not our server. I asked the manager if I could make a comment regarding the joke line up. I did not identify the server by name. And made it clear that I was not personally upset, but was providing an observation.

Which gave her a lot of latitude in how to respond.

The server introduced himself with the rhyme to a neighboring table, which had 2 parents, and 3 children, 2 of them preschool age. As has been pointed out, a problem with the rhyme is that it has nothing to do with actual schizophrenia. And I continue to be strongly of the opinion that it is up to parents to decide how to handle humor about disabilities or other "differences" with their children.

We were a table of 2 adults and 2 college student young adults. The ta water comment would not have been appropriate with preschoolers either. Who are literalists.

Okay, I can understand the sentiment behind "don't joke about mental health," but the bolded is just...

(Apologies in advance for selecting that emoticon to anyone with one eye that's larger than the other.)

 

[wilkeliza]

Okay, I can understand the sentiment behind "don't joke about mental health," but the bolded is just...

(Apologies in advance for selecting that emoticon to anyone with one eye that's larger than the other.)

Yeah that seems to take it too far. Parents could easily explain that they weren't actually drinking river water and it was just a joke because they are suppose to be in a restaurant in the jungle. That takes it a little too far into the PC realm.

 

[Lisa F]

Okay, I can understand the sentiment behind "don't joke about mental health," but the bolded is just...

(Apologies in advance for selecting that emoticon to anyone with one eye that's larger than the other.)

my kid is on the spectrum and also very literal. he is learning (very slowly) not to be but it is by practice. So I don't find the river thing to be inappropriate at all and in fact it might end up being a very useful discussion for us. I guess the lesson is if you have a thin skin don't go to Skipper's Canteen. I do think the original joke was not appropriate though, for many reasons mentioned. I think Disney is capable of doing better and keeping the jokes silly and fun and punny and not offensive to anyone. I know they are which is why I expect them to be. And believe me, I laugh at some very very wrong humor so I am not unable to see the humor in things. Heck, I might even laugh at that if it were actually funny! But Disney should be held to a higher standard. JMHO. I would also not want to have to explain to my very literal and curious child what schitzophrenia is and why that joke was supposed to be funny either. He would be asking and it would be another conversation like "why are some kids mean to other kids" and "why does being mean to people make some kids feel better about themselves" and "why do people think just because you are different you are weird" and those kinds of questions. none of which I have an answer for beyond "because some people do."

I think the reason many people think this is ok is because people with mental illness sometimes act out in ways that make us uncomfortable. A very common way to deal with that discomfort is to laugh at it, and turn it into something funny... even though it may be hurting the person inside so much to be that way. It is a coping mechanism for our discomfort about something which we don't understand and may even terrify us if we think about it too long. I think as people come to see mental illness as a true disease and not as a personal shortcoming that stuff like this will happen less and less. It is just not as common as something like depression where many people speak out against misconceptions.

 

[Jennasis]

This is why we can't have nice things. Soon there will be no jokes and it will be just like every other restaurant.

 

[DrunkJam]

As a person with Bipolar who has spent many months in hospitals, and many years in outpatient care, AND as a person who has managed mental health day services, as a professional, I see it as inappropriate.

*I* can make jokes about mental health, with people I *know* who also know me. I am also not going to perpetuate inaccurate stereotypes.

However, if someone who does not know me, or my history finds it appropriate to make inaccurate, wrong, comments about mental health issues, I will say something, NOT to get them into trouble, but because, I understand the journey. The more people understand the easier the journey. When I was diagnosed, it meant not being able to get insurance, it meant not being able to get a mortgage, it meant a smaller chance of a full time job than someone who had just come out of prison. It meant statistically more chance of being assaulted or abused. Now, 20+ years later, I can work, I can own a house, I can (albeit at vastly inflated prices) insure myself. Because we understand more. 20+ years PREVIOUSLY, I would have been shut away, possibly sterilised.... Small steps make HUGE changes.

The more people that see that these incorrect statements used as "humour" are part of what maintains discrimination and inequalities in a growing population of people affected by severe and enduring mental health problems, the harder it is to change things. People who often report that the stigma, and discrimination are harder to live with than the illness itself (which is already no picnic)

 

[DrunkJam]

Oh, and my son is on the autism spectrum, and we work hard at understanding jokes and non literal things. We can laugh now about things he used to not understand, we don't need protecting from things we can explain, there and then, no harm done. There is no need to *over* react.

it's not about ALL jokes.