Not Going To Let It Pass

Okay, I was not going to say anything about this because I figured that I was just being overly sensitive and/or easily offended as usual. But I saw this article on CNN and I would like to rant a bit and then I'll leave it alone.

A few days ago I received an email entitled "E-Coli Claims Its First Celebrity Death" and became very concerned. It was from a friend who is usually very genuine, conscientious, and considerate. I had no reason to suspect it was a joke. Having lived through the e-coli crisis in Walkerton, I don't take jokes about e-coli causing death very lightly. But there he was - Popeye in a coffin with a can of spinach perched just off of the lid. Even if she didn't know that I'm from the Walkerton area (which I was pretty sure she did know), she should have thought things through before sending that out en masse and adding the comment "Hyuck yuck yuck". There are many people in the United States dealing with a horrible e-coli outbreak and now a 2 year old boy's death has been linked to e-coli. That is no laughing matter. I knew people in Walkerton who had their grandmother die and listened on the radio as death after death was announced. The toddler deaths were especially heartbreaking. Now someone else has lost their little baby to e-coli and people are sending out jokes about the matter.

Think about who your comment or email forward might affect before you offend or hurt someone. You never know who it's going to hit home with. Better yet, just don't make jokes about crises at all.

Sorry to be such a downer but that was really bothering me. Now it's out and I feel better. Sort of.