An off the rails joke at Jungle Skipper today

[EveDallas]

"She said she would speak with him." I would give big money to know how that conversation went. Cause I bet I can guess.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

I, for one, always take the time to contact my work colleagues when on vacation if I am in need of validation & am not getting enough of it on Disney message boards.

 

[kandb]

Op you never mentioned how the people at the table reacted. I will assume if they were offended and felt "accosted" by that joke it would have been obvious, and you would have mentioned it here to further your opinion about the joke itself.
Maybe they thought it was hilarious and felt no need to report their server for the service they received. Maybe you should have let them decide whether or not it was worth speaking to the manager. What's next reporting passer-bys for saying something you don't like?

It's not just about the one time the OP heard the CM say the "joke". It's about future times that they might say this and offend someone. Nothing wrong with explaining to the CM, that's it's not OK to joke about someone with a disability.

 

[kandb]

More likely the manager said that to shut up the complainer and rolled his eyes when she left.

Well, that's your opinion. Sorry, sadly, it's not OK, for someone to make a joke about someone with a mental disability. Can't believe how many people on this thread thinks mental problems are "funny". It's sad.

 

[kandb]

In all honesty? I highly doubt it. Possible without a doubt. Sure, the manager said that to the OP because they never disagree with a guest to their face. They aren't going to laugh at them and tell them to "lighten up Francis" because they are professional and know how to appease the guest in front of them. Did the Manager actually speak to the server? Who knows. Likely forgot all about it when the next guest complaint came in. Because in the grand scheme of things that can be wrong and complained about, this isn't even a blip on the radar

If you were at the restaurant sitting next to your daughter or granddaughter that was schitzophrenic, I DOUBT very much you would think it's funny.

 

[Hikergirl]

It's not just about the one time the OP heard the CM say the "joke". It's about future times that they might say this and offend someone. Nothing wrong with explaining to the CM, that's it's not OK to joke about someone with a disability.

We will have to agree to disagree.

 

[Hikergirl]

If you were at the restaurant sitting next to your daughter or granddaughter that was schitzophrenic, I DOUBT very much you would think it's funny.

How do you know that? Some of us have no problem laughing at our real problems.

 

[kandb]

Sorry, that doesn't offend either. It's not making fun of a guest. It would be making fun of himself. Neither this comment, not the original one was directed AT anyone. Neither directly make fun of a guest.

As for the racial joke comment, not the same thing at all. Again, no one made fun of someone else here.

Yes, but do you have proof that someone who heard the comment in the restaurant doesn't have Parkinson or schitzophrenia? That's the point, how would you know if someone of someone's spouse, child, parent had these medical conditions and don't find "laughing" at it funny.

 

[kandb]

How do you know that? Some of us have no problem laughing at our real problems.

Yes, you are right but I would bet the majority would not find it funny. Perhaps a lot of you don't know the challenges of debilitating (mental or physical) diseases. I am not saying none of you but I doubt the majority would feel like everyone around "having a good laugh" over it. Did you ever hear the phrase "until you walked in someone's shoes"?

 

[Hikergirl]

Yes, you are right but I would bet the majority would not find it funny. Perhaps a lot of you don't know the challenges of debilitating (mental or physical) diseases. I am not saying none of you but I doubt the majority would feel like everyone around "having a good laugh" over it. Did you ever hear the phrase "until you walked in someone's shoes"?

I know my sense of humor, and I know my family's sense of humor so I know exactly how we would handle that situation whether or not we have a debilitating mental or physical disease. Like I said some of us are able to laugh at our problems.

And having a good laugh "over it" and having a chuckle over a little joke aren't really the same thing.

 

[kandb]

Of course you would! As would anyone who heard it, no matter what the mental ability of their families are. That would be atrocious and worthy of firing right on the spot. What this server said and that statement are not even in the same universe of severity.



No one made fun of a guest in that statement. It was not directed AT anyone.

I agree with you, it was not directed at anyone specific, BUT if someone close by had a severe mental illness or had someone very close to them with one, I doubt it would of made them feel good. I get it that it's just a "joke" and I love joking but I just think about someone who may of heard this said as a "joke" nearby and being upset about it. Like I said, I just don't think it's appropriate to joke about a disability.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Yes, you are right but I would bet the majority would not find it funny. Perhaps a lot of you don't know the challenges of debilitating (mental or physical) diseases. I am not saying none of you but I doubt the majority would feel like everyone around "having a good laugh" over it. Did you ever hear the phrase "until you walked in someone's shoes"?

Many of us deal or have dealt with family members with mental illnesses. I know I have in my family & as a neighbor. Most of us hearing a joke like that would probably roll our eyes, but I definitely wouldn't report anybody to a manager. You seem determined to beat your opinion into our heads, but some of us simply don't agree with you. It's not personal. It just a matter of different people & different opinions. We don't all choose to handle difficult situations the same way.

 

[kandb]

At the end of the day, we're never going to agree on this, and that's fine. Some of us discourage these jokes because we're trying to break the stigma surrounding mental illness so people do get help before they hurt themselves or others, and don't live suffering. It's not that we don't want people to have fun or want to be wet blankets.

At one time people thought it was okay to tell racist jokes with the n-word, jokes about mentally handicapped people, and jokes about the LGBT community. People stood up for those communities, and it made a difference. Those jokes aren't nearly as socially acceptable anymore.

I am standing with the mental health community, and if that makes me the "PC police" so be it. If it stops even one person from hurting themselves or feeling worse about what they're dealing with, it's worth it.

GREAT post, I agree 100%

 

[kandb]

Not only that, but OP mentioned that their family was worried about making it in time for their next FP. I hope OP's family didn't miss out on something they had been looking forward to because OP had to put on their white armor & get up on their horse over something that didn't concern them & was dismissed as soon as they left.

This post is offensive. The OP, who seems very reasonable and caring, just mentioned it to the manager on the way out, thinking that she was perhaps preventing someone from hearing this "joke" by someone who would be highly offended by it.

 

[kandb]

I know exactly what the OP said. I could be more blunt about my thoughts, but I won't. To put it as tactfully as I can, if you were dining with your brother & your server made a joke about the mentally ******** (your words), then you would be justified in saying something to the manager.

To me, the fact that this joke doesn't even make sense should make it less offensive not more.

ETA: Most anyone would find the extreme example you gave offensive, including me. My original response to this post is to reply to your statement in relation to the OP.

My example was maybe more extreme but my mother was at a dinner show one night and the character's made derogatory remarks about "retards". My mother went up to that actor after the show and balled him out. Like I said, someone could be hearing these statement's that love someone with a disability and don't want to hear people laughing about their disability.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

My example was maybe more extreme but my mother was at a dinner show one night and the character's made derogatory remarks about "retards". My mother went up to that actor after the show and balled him out. Like I said, someone could be hearing these statement's that love someone with a disability and don't want to hear people laughing about their disability.

But what your Mom apparently heard & what the OP overhead from a different table can't even be compared. Jumping to the extreme to make a point rarely has an effective result.

 

[Mflowers92]

Am I the only one who doesn't think the OP caused some enormous obnoxious scene by reporting the comment to the manager? It didn't sound like she was trying to tattle on this server, just pointing out that someone made a joke that others might find offensive. She then went on her way. It seems appropriate. It's not as if she turned around and chewed out the server publicly for his joke.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Am I the only one who doesn't think the OP caused some enormous obnoxious scene by reporting the comment to the manager? It didn't sound like she was trying to tattle on this server, just pointing out that someone made a joke that others might find offensive. She then went on her way. It seems appropriate. It's not as if she turned around and chewed out the server publicly for his joke.

IMO, chewing him out would have been better than reporting him to his manager.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

This post is offensive. The OP, who seems very reasonable and caring, just mentioned it to the manager on the way out, thinking that she was perhaps preventing someone from hearing this "joke" by someone who would be highly offended by it.

I'm offended that you didn't like my post.

 

[CaliTex]

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.

The jungle cruise makes fun of cannibals. I think it's really insensitive to cannibals. And I don't want to be on a boat with a bunch of mortally offended cannibals. KWIM?

In general, we have all become too thin skinned for our own peace of mind. I'm not judging OP; he followed his conscience and that's his prerogative. The comment by Snow White? Definitely not cool. Needed to be addressed. Likely just a young person with no real understanding of these things.

Hey, I am bothered by people that use the F word as punctuation and really bothered by people that take my Lord's name in vain. I don't let it rock my world, I just say a prayer for them and move on. I dunno. The older I get the less I sweat stuff, the more I just want to show compassion and understanding. It's hard to believe, but I am actually mellowing out!