Some things are funny. Diabetes isn’t one of them. The story is simple enough — order a coffee, get an insult to yourself and your sick relatives. The label was computer printed, not hand written. The hand written reply says it all.
The level of insensitivity is also self-explanatory. A lot of people still don’t know diabetes is the world’s most hated eight-letter four letter word. It represents nothing but misery for a lot of people, and it’s happening in plague proportions around the Western world. About 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed each year, and the current estimate is that there are about 30 million people with the condition, including about 8 million undiagnosed. Diabetes was a factor in 234,051 death certificates issued in 2010.
So if you really want to annoy 10 percent of the people, (plus their relatives, call it at least 20 percent of the population) it’s hard to imagine a more efficient way of doing so than something like a “funny” coffee order. Apparently the lucky Starbucks manager with the genius barista was “seriously upset,” according to reports.
This is a one-off case, unless someone wants to turn it in to a marketing tool. The problem is that this sort of incredible lack of tact and basic awareness is now normal. Let’s face it, there’s nothing too surprising about total ignorance these days.
Imagine a range of pre-made insults for everyone:
“Hey, you make minimum wage! Here’s your slop!” on every fast food order.
“You’re a kid. Eat this crap and pretend you have a future!” on kiddie’s portions.
“Old idiot stuff” on all prescription medication.
“The color you should be” on all white goods and consumables.
“Can’t afford decent clothes” on all clothing labels and brand marks.
Fun, huh?
Just for the record, O wannabe Chicken Feces with a penchant for annoying people — there are those of us who’ve had diabetes in the family and would be only too happy to return an offensive cup of coffee by sticking it wherever most appropriate, preferably using a sledgehammer. Got it?
