What the crap is this?!
This is what I found at my local mall, in a retail store.
How rude! Is it cool to wear something that brings so much pain and death??
Next, they will be making hoodies that says ‘RAPED’
…too far!!??
Travel for everyone
Travel tips and advice from an American travel blogger exploring the world.
It's like a Mom Blog, but Geekier
Lifestyle. Fashion. Art.
Raising four Valkyries on the prairies
Welcome to the Jungle
A great WordPress.com site
global group of international organization for poverty & disable development program
Finding normality within Bipolarity. The inner musings of a chemically challenged manic-depressive. Mildly* asocial and a purveyor of awesome.
Bipolar, Unemployed & Lost 
Times have certainly changed.
I guess it’s chic to have a Bipolar diagnosis now.
If it offends you, tell the manufacturer.
Feelings are totally valid.
You’re not obligated to defend how you feel.
The image, for me, evokes a totally lack of maturity – it’s for someone in Junior High, maybe, that level of emotional angst. For someone like that, it may be empowering.
I wouldn’t add that to my wardrobe.
But that’s not to say, if I found an image that appealed to me, and indicated Bipolar Disorder, I wouldn’t buy it. If I wanted it, I would. But somehow, I doubt that I would want to advertise it on a t-shirt. I like the idea of a tattoo much better.
LikeLike
Yeah, I don’t know who was wearing that. To tell you the truth I never saw anyone wearing around town. What lame companies to to make money is beyond me!
LikeLike
I don’t see how that icon is stigmatizing and yes, I hae bipolar disorder. I know a handful of people who have that sign tatted on their bodies in a place people can see it. The people i Know how have those tats, see it as a sign of being proud of who they are and bipolar just happens to be a piece of who they are.
LikeLike
The purpose of Neurofool.wordpress is to try to make (some) people more sensitive when they use certain language, because words are important. I am guessing that the creator of the “Bipolar” tee-shirt, for example, did not have a bipolar son or daughter who had an episode and killed him/her self. Otherwise, they probably would not have made the shirt. Neurofool exists solely to keep a record of people who use stigmatizing words, for ridicule, or to make a profit; or out of ignorance. Neurfool is not a PC censor. People can say what they want. Many times, however, the only result is pain and stigma.
LikeLike
Hey there. I gotta agree most with sknicholls, I really don’t find that very offensive. I mean, if they were correlating bipolar with behaviors such as cheating, lying, stealing, hurting other people… that would be offensive. But it really is just a smiley and unsmiley face. I mean, we do have mood swings, and it really isn’t putting false attributes on the disorder. So I would actually say this sweater is fine. We need to fight stigma, but I don’t think this falls under that umbrella.
And I really hope you don’t try to publicly humiliate via the neurofool website. Honestly, that website disgusts me. Attacking people just because we feel hurt doesn’t solve jack shit, and I hate to be associated with that kind of hate and bigotry. I mean, attacking Ben Stiller for using the word retarded. Websters. Retard. Noun. 2: : : slow or limited in intellectual or emotional development or academic progress .
Guess what? Many people are retarded, in a myriad ways. But not everyone is. Most of us on here are retarded in some way, often emotionally. Medicines can cause cognitive retardation. A shit by any other name still smells like shit- forcing people to use blocky, non-succinct language in an attempt to ameliorate the very legitimate pain we feel over our personal shortcomings, or the empathy we feel for other’s pain, is simply not an effective way to promote the inclusive behaviors we really want. Rather than trying to further an Us vs Them mentality by lambasting these people, I would suggest anonymously describing the language we see being used, and discussing how it makes us feel. Explore why it makes us feel that way- sometime it really is the language itself. I would venture other times the pain is more internal, and would be there regardless.
Wkigerl, I hope you don’t take what I’m saying personally. I really think it is good you are trying to change the way people interface with the mentally ill, and damn if it doesn’t suck to see the look of disgust pass across somebody’s face when they find out. Enough to melt your defenses, easily. I just think the list ends up doing more harm than good. I guess you are free to disagree with me, and I’m giong to take back what I said about “hating to be associated with that kind of hate and bigotry”. That wasn’t fair, and I’m sorry. I retain disagreement over the tactic, but I do see your heart is in the right place.
Love to all of you,
Formerly Falling Apart
LikeLike
HA! your the best for going back and apologizing, but why apologize? People opinions are their own… no need. I understand what you mean, but people who don’ know anything about mental illness will look at that hoodies and not understand what it means, and how it effects people lives around them. I think it shows that people can make money off of the worst things… I think it may need to be discussed.
LikeLike
I’d say definitely give wkigerl the information, and maybe try to get a letter-writing campaign started to the company as well? That truly is hella offensive.
LikeLike
Yeah, it really sucked when I saw it.
LikeLike
And maybe get the label’s name, and address, from the shirt.
LikeLike
If you give me the name of the store, I can post it, and your pic, on my neurofool.wordpress.com site (a stigma-busting site). Or you can post it yourself, under “report a Neurofool.”
LikeLike
I think name of the shop is called TEE-shirts. Its a local store in my mall, and please use the photo provided. Let’s stop this stigma, and the way we use our words
LikeLike
I agree, it is offensive. I don’t have bipolar disorder but I have other mental illnesses and if I had seen those hoodies I would have been very tempted to pull them all off the rack and hide them!
LikeLike
yeah, it really sucked to see. They were right in the window too!
LikeLike
After fifty three years of living with this disorder and the many family members afflicted with it (some now dead, including a mother who committed suicide), I have learned to laugh at myself, so I am not so much offended. It is the stigma that you are most offended by. I hope for your pain to be lessened. We are all in this thing together.
LikeLike