Anyone else find this pretty ignorant and offensive

[Herdingcows]

Advert for a local company popped up on my fb, what were they thinking!

I'm going to get KEEP CALM AND CRAP on a mug :o

If I could make one concession, it's that OCD has been coopted as shorthand for 'super-clean' and I can see how that's not imprecise use of language/tired. I have to mark down someone's humour when they say this, just as I would if they said 'Been there done that bought the T-shirt'.

But inasmuch as I see this as a completely different thing as in a play on words, I don't find it as annoying as the above.

Of course I don't have OCD, so my view on this hardly matters.

I can see how that's not imprecise use of language/tired

Pagestillnotfound404
Apologies, I did a mass generalisation and should have acknowledged that some people did appreciate the personal choice element (and yes the OP there didn't take it well which didn't help) - it just felt at the time to me as if there were a lot of people insisting that the "person with" approach was the only acceptable one. I offer a slice of non-obsessive (probably mass-produced) as an apology...

Fair play Katy07, thanks for the apology (and ).

I don't think the cake person created the advert to poke fun at you personally op.

do you have anyone who can be with you today?

Wow there are some unpleasant people on MN these days

Totally agree @Walkingtowork. I found the advert offensive, more the belittling and trivialisation of mental illness than the advert itself maybe, but it is offensive to me and others here.

The OP is either being told outright she is wrong or they appear to be implying she needs help because of her feelings on this. I'm not going to speak for her, but nothing about her posts suggest to me she needs her hand holding. Her reaction is not excessive.

I have had bouts of OCD when I've been stressed in the past, but I'm not offended, OP.

It's a pretty crap ad, but not offensive. To me, anyway.

Yes, I did suggest she may need some real life help, Tali as OPs reaction is quite strong and, if she shares any of the traits DSis has, it isn't impossible that she has other things going on that have made what is, on the face of it, a stupid advert, into a big deal.

I also prefaced that statement so that OP would, hopefully, understand that I wasn't just sniping but was being sincere, again based on DSis and her non-cleaning based, medically diagnosed lifelong issues with OCD - like becoming fixated on a small thing as a distraction from something that has grown out of control!

Offense is subjective as this thread has shown. It's ok to be offended by stuff and it's ok for someone else not to be offended by it.

@OurBlanche I missed your comment tbh, it wasn't you I had in mind writing it. There have been other posts which have come across as terribly patronising of the OP, as if to suggest that she can't possibly be having a reasoned reaction to this. It's a tactic I've seen on here many times over the years, posters resort to picking at the OP by making them seem incapable and pathetic. It's unpleasant to witness.

I'm not doubting you were sincere, but I would put money on others not being so.

It's insensitive in my opinion because OCD is a mental illness and it's wrong to minimise the devastating impact it has on sufferers by making light of it.

Too many people seem to think that OCD is about hand washing and germs but the reality is there is a more serious element to it in the form of "Pure O" for example, it's a debilitating mental health issue and I don't see how anyone could find it funny or cute to draw a comparison between it and cakes.

Distasteful and disrespectful; It's not OK to mock bipolar so why is it acceptable to use an acronym blatantly exclusive to a mental illness to advertise cakes?

If we're opposed to the stigma of mental illness then it should be a collective opposition - I'm sure naming a cake business "Bulimic Buns" would be met with outrage, that same annoyance should be applied to any and all attempts (regardless of how innocent) to diminish the consequences of OCD.

Goodness I think you might mean me! I re read my post and it dies look condescending. That wasn't what I mean I was actually concerned. It started as a simple are you offended post but the op comments since have suggested she is fairly distressed actually about it. I don't really know anything about OCD really but it's a mental illness isn't it? So I was worry for the op. I hope it wasn't my comment I'm quite upset to think I might have caused more upset when I wanted reassure. Oh dear

Find a ladder
Get over it

Find a ladder
Get over it

Gosh, aren't you witty?

Some people find it offensive, others don't. Most people who don't have managed to be respectful to those who do.

So I suggest you find yourself a ladder (preferably a large one) and shove it up your arse.

It's not funny and it's unnecessary. I'm not offended however I think the overuse or the term OCD to describe people that like to clean or like things in a certain order etc completely minimizes and undermines the condition

ForeverLivingmyarse agree. It doesn't personally upset me but I treat OCD patients and it's a really distressing disorder for them, often comorbid with depression and other MH disorders. One of the emotions I see a lot is shame, for 'being trivial' for 'not getting a grip' and I think this serious anxiety disorder is laughed at often; this kind of thing is part of that. Great if you're not offended but I can think of a lot of people who might be quietly hurt by it.

Btw, Glad you're taking a pop at MLM with your username Forever

I'd still like to know why some people get so angry with people who are bothered about this sort of thing. Why does it matter to them?

YABU - I have OCD and I don't mind or find it offensive at all.

What I find offensive is people who don't have OCD telling me I should feel offended or being offended on my behalf. You can feel offended by it, but don't project your offense to other people, and I extend that to any other thing that people find "offensive". You can decide how you feel but you can't decide how other people should feel.

Not all people with OCD are the same, so we're not all automatically offended because someone uses OCD in an online advert ... please don't generalise.

@bigearsthethird it actually wasn't one comment in particular but I looked back for yours and I guess it's that sort of thing I mean. I think sometimes it's difficult to get across intent, so hopefully I'm wrong and others haven't tried to be mean.

In the wider sense I hope this thread has made people think. Even if they don't personally find this advert offensive, they will know now that joking about mental health is not a particularly nice idea for an advert and that it does hurt people.

I don't have OCD but my best friend has it quite severely.

I think it's a bit offensive as it trivialises OCD. I see it as an extension of "I'm a bit OCD".

Agree with the PP who said people would get offended quickly if "I'm a bit autistic" became a common expression.

Find a ladder
Get over it

Still half term where you are, dear?

Tali thanks for that! I wasn't sure, reading it back, with all else around it, if I had any hope of Herding or anyone else, taking it at face value!

do you have anyone who can be with you today?

WTF?

do you have anyone who can be with you today?

WTF?

I don't see it as projecting offence onto someone who doesn't feel offended. I know that for every person who is offended by X, there'll be at least one other who isn't.

But I also know that literally every single time a subject like this comes up, there will be some people who have the condition under discussion who ARE offended/upset/hurt/frustrated by it, as is the case with this thread. As is the case with every such thread. In some cases they may be the minority, but they exist. Literally every single time. My experience - which includes caring for and advocating for my disabled DH - has taught me that thoughtless words and so-called "jokes" can make life harder than it should be, by perpetuating unhelpful stereotypes or trivialising aspects of the condition. We've even experienced that in one or two DWP employees over the years, and when you're talking about people who might have the power to say yay or nay to much-needed benefits, then it can REALLY make life harder if they let stereotypes and prejudices influence their decisions.

So I will continue to ask people to think about the language they use, and explain why some people WILL find X or Y unhelpful or insulting. Not might, not should, but WILL. Not everyone, but enough.

No one's life will be adversely affected if this advert DOESN'T exist in this format. Some people's may be now that it does. That's enough for me.