Sigh...now Bill Cosby is an authority

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinio...plague_called_apathy_tbvGiDoQUJe3g9eav1R5wK/0

If you feel like bombarding the NY Posts email about this latest round of ignorance about T1, email Letters@NYPOST.com

 

I don't know what's worse - what he said or the fact that he wrote an opinion piece in The New York Post, which to me is right up there with The National Enquirer.

 

Unfortunately, that link took me to page 3, so I read that whole mishmash of his previous ramblings before I went back to find the little blurb about "juvenile" diabetes. Email away, I'm going to let this one slide. I'm not sure how many people still listen to the man.

 

Saw Mel's post on FB and wrote to the editor. inexcusable.

 

I agree, totally inexcusable. (And I wrote to the editor as well.) This isn't the first faux pas he's made in the last year or two. He needs to just sit home watching his reruns of the Cosby Show on cable and remember the good years. And shut up.

 

I agree. People wrap their fish in the NYP. Just because he played a doctor on TV doesn't make him an authority...jeez. Did he stop to think for a moment that he used to hawk Jello to kids on TV? Ya, that's it Bill. Your sugary Jello gave my kid Type 1 diabetes.

How do you follow the comments on this article? Can't find the link to that.

 

Could you link it? I always have problems with finding stuff on FB...

 

It was just the article as posted above

 

I pity the person who's inbox all the emails are going into! Just sent my letter off. Hopefully, someone may listen. But, it's the NYP, a real font of knowledge and thoughtful, insightful reporting

 

Dr Huxtable needs to go back for some schooling!

 

May I ask what people are emailing? The main issue I see is that he called what I figure to be type 2 in children "juvenile diabetes." I'm certain he's not talking about type 1 at all. Does the Cos have his own social media page(s) (since he's the author, not the NYP)?

 

This was probably an honest mistake. A lot of people I run into have big misconceptions about the different of type 1 and type 2 (family included) just because they really don't know. It doesn't make me mad, I feel it's my duty to educate them a little so that maybe they can go educate someone else who has the same misconceptions. He most likely meant type 2 because obviously we all know you can't prevent t1.

After 3 years I still get family members asking me if she'll outgrow it... This is what I have to deal with lol.

 

Obviously he was talking about Type 2 diabetes.

It really is a shame that they (Type 1 and Type 2) are both called "diabetes" cause it would be so much easier and less confusing if they had different names, wouldn't it?

 

From the article: "Juvenile diabetes. Children are not being taken out of harm?s way. And there are many things that we also can do, but one is you don?t want your child consuming too much sugar. That is what the mayor tried to do with the sugar in the soft drinks.

It is my belief ? my BELIEF in big letters ? when people don?t make good choices, you can yell as loud as you want to at me about this is my body and I do what I want to do with my body, so OK yes you can. But now you are spreading it along generationally so that your daughter and grandchildren have it and everybody?s doing it. It becomes a term of apathy because people say my father had it, my aunt had it. People then ask you, ?What your mother die of?? ?Diabetes.? ?Grandmother?? ?Diabetes.? These things don?t have to happen if you make the correct choice."

While he may have been talking about type 2 in children, the term "juvenile diabetes" has always been a reference to type 1. This is what has people up in arms. I think he probably knows nothing about type 1/juvenile diabetes and just put the words together to imply type 2 diabetes in juveniles.

The author could have done some research and put a [sic] after his "juvenile diabetes."

 

While I'm not defending him, I think he chose his words poorly and should have done his research prior to spouting off. The newspaper failed in proofing what he read and I wrote my letter from that point of view:

To Whom it may concern,

Please tell Mr. Cosby that Juvenile Diabetes (it is now referred to as Type 1 Diabetes) is not caused by giving a person too much sugar. It is an autoimmune disease that doctors and scientists have not even found a cause yet. I think Mr. Cosby is confusing Type 2 Diabetes with this. If you had a person with a medical background proof read his comments they would have immediately picked up on this and avoided the onslaught of emails you are receiving from fellow parents of children with Type 1 diabetes from around the world. Type 2 Diabetes in both adults and children is caused by genetics, lifestyle and diet. This is where the too much sugar (possibly from Mr. Cosby's favorite product...non-sugar free Jello) would come into play.

In the future, I would suggest your opinion pieces with medical statements by lay people should be more closely monitored and reviewed. It would save you from having hundreds of emails in your in box on a Monday morning.

Respectfully,

 

I think he meant childhood diabetes but fancied the word up to juvenile, thus making the mistake. Lol about the jello! Good point!

 

Yes, lol about the jello.


Yes, he messed up and said juvenile diabetes instead of "diabetes in juveniles" or whatever. type 2 in kids is a problem. Just to be "devil's advocate," would you have known the difference before you had a child with type 1? Some of us might have, but I doubt anyone would be so up in arms about it.

But if you read the rest of the article, (I mostly just perused it, didn't read every word) he has a good point. People do need to start caring about things and working to take care of themselves instead of waiting for someone else to fix all their problems. There are a lot of people who sit around and let life happen to them instead of going out and getting what they want/need.

Don't take it personally. He didn't mean to offend you by mistaking type 1 and type 2 in kids.

 

The article has been amended to remove juvenile from the description of diabetes. Glad they fixed it!

No. 2: Diabetes. Children are not being taken out of harm’s way. And there are many things that we also can do, but one is you don’t want your child consuming too much sugar. That is what the mayor tried to do with the sugar in the soft drinks.

It is my belief — my BELIEF in big letters — when people don’t make good choices, you can yell as loud as you want to at me about this is my body and I do what I want to do with my body, so OK yes you can. But now you are spreading it along generationally so that your daughter and grandchildren have it and everybody’s doing it. It becomes a term of apathy because people say my father had it, my aunt had it. People then ask you, “What your mother die of?” “Diabetes.” “Grandmother?” “Diabetes.” These things don’t have to happen if you make the correct choice.

And yes, he does make some good points in general about responsibility.

 

Bill is out of his league on a couple of levels here. First off, he's a pretty poor writer. That piece needed some pretty heavy editing just on mechanics. Second, I would think that if you were going to write an opinion piece in a nationally-read paper (even if it is the Post), you'd be careful to get your facts straight. He is not some idiot walking up to me on the street and asking if my kid got diabetes from eating too much sugar. He's writing it as FACT in a national freaking newspaper! And sorry, not all T2 diabetes happens because people make bad life choices. I bet there are plenty of people out there with T2 who eat better than Bill does. Third, (and this is just my opinion), I think Bill has turned into kind of a know-it-all a**hole as he's gotten older. Everything I read from him now is "Hey you kids, get offa my lawn" on a variety of topics. I'm frankly tired of reading his rants, and now he's making them uneducated rants. He could use a little dose of STFU.


ETA: I don't find the correction much better than the original. It's still a shitty piece of writing, on a couple of levels.

 

Yes, an honest mistake. Yes, a mistake spoken from ignorance.

But also a political motive and an attempt to support regulations that would effect the lives of many. A clear example of how celebrities and politicians who are not doctors should be involved in these type of life style decisions as little as possible. So, Mr. Cosby,yes it is my body (or my kid's) and I am obviously more able to make good decisions about it than you are. Thank you for making the opposite of what you want the obvious choice.