Dear Bernie Sanders: Mental Illness Is Not A Joke
Someone’s feeling the Bern, and it just happens to be Sanders himself.
Bernie Sanders made a joke about mental illness at last night’s Democratic debate, implying that the GOP candidates’ behavior was the result of mental illness. Here’s the joke in his own words:
“We are… going to invest a lot of money into mental health, and when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health.”
Really, Bernie? I never liked this guy much to begin with, mainly because he’s a Socialist, and he wants to destroy the freedoms we’ve held onto for so long. However, I find that his failed joke irks me more than his policies at the moment. He’s essentially implying that behavior he and others find offensive is the result of a mental illness.
Guess what, Mr. Sanders. My mental illness is not the result of my political or religious views. Mental illness doesn’t pledge itself to any individual party. It affects people of all backgrounds, creeds, races, genders and sexualities. Democrats, Republicans, Independents and more have mental illness, so perhaps you should take a step back and realize you’ve isolated 1 in every 5 voters. Because that’s how many people have a mental illness in this nation.
I don’t care what your views are. I don’t care whose side you’re on, who you’re voting for, or what you ate for breakfast this morning. Mental illness is indiscriminate. Bernie Sanders’ joke about mental illness was met with applause, but I can only hope the audience at that debate realized later how awful it was to clap for it.
Hey Amber! So while I don’t agree with what Sanders said, I’m not sure that he really meant to be mean to those who have mental illnesses. I DO think the way he said it was stupid and inappropriate, but I think what he probably meant was that many of the republican runners for president are acting insane.
However, I definitely see your point and what he said was definitely ignorant. Especially since he said how mental health is important and then he goes to make a joke about it. So, I get what you’re saying. I just think that sometimes we (meaning the world) take things a little too literally. I do agree with you though that he shouldn’t have said what he did and that it was stupid.
So you know, I just nominated you for The Spirit Animal Award!
Sorry for the late reply!
I agree that people take a lot of stuff too literally, but a presidential candidate who’s running for the highest office in the land can’t make jokes like that. The national spotlight is on the candidates, and joking that the GOP and those who support them are mentally ill because of their views is very divisive. The GOP’s behavior (aside from Trump) hasn’t been worthy of the criticism they’ve received. Having different views and espousing those views doesn’t make a person crazy; it just means that they have a difference of opinion.
I do see your point in some aspects.