Ebola-chan

[Okami]

I think she is adorable, as for her being a "representative" for Ebola virus I don't really mind it and I don't see whats a big deal about it. We are all going to die some day one way or another I don't see what's a big deal about 1 cause of death of many. Car accidents take as much lives as any virus if not more but there is many jokes about them and nobody makes a big deal out of it.

 

Not to mention that most of those new virus stories turn out to be exaggerated just like Mad cow disease, pig virus and bird virus. 

[solidbatman]

I think she is adorable, as for her being a "representative" for Ebola virus I don't really mind it and I don't see whats a big deal about it. We are all going to die some day one way or another I don't see what's a big deal about 1 cause of death of many. Car accidents take as much lives as any virus if not more but there is many jokes about them and nobody makes a big deal out of it.

 

Not to mention that most of those new virus stories turn out to be exaggerated just like Mad cow disease, pig virus and bird virus. 

[Lewycool]

This left a bad taste in my mouth... I'm going to go and wash it out *leaves*

[Insania]

 

I'm going to address many of you on this, since I have unique views on it apparently. 

 

This is blatantly incorrect.  This has strongly impacted the relief effort, increasing the mistrust of the natives and making prevention methods harder.  I mean, they already see these people coming in wearing hazmat suits, sealing their loved ones in plastic bags and carting them off, spraying chemicals all over their homes, and preventing them from preforming their normal burial rituals so they think their loved one's death is comprised.  They don't need anything else to make them distrust the relief effort, they already distrust it enough.  I've discussed the issue with some of my professors and they've come to the same conclusion.  I personally find it absolutely fascinating how some meme can impact the relief effort of a major epidemic on the other side of the world and would like to study this issue more but that's probably just me. 

 

I agree with Zaka, it was funny on the outset.  This article discusses the matter.  Creating it was fine, posting it on Nairaland and claiming its a "demon sent by a new racist cult in Europe and in the USA" is way over the line. 

 

Now, I will address this and all the other posts that claim they cannot understand how anyone would create this:

 

You say there are certain things that should never be joked about.   I have to disagree.  There is a fine line of what is acceptable and what is not and this varies greatly from person to person.  Everyone has their own idea of what is acceptable and what isn't.  As long as no harm is brought to others, there is no reason why things should or shouldn't be joked about.  In this case, there was definite harm in the use, so I would agree that this has gone way to far. If you don't believe me, I have a question for you.  How many of you have played Katawa Shoujo?  From the screenshots I have seen, I find this game to be horribly offensive and would never consider playing it.  You could argue the game does not deal with people dying, and therefore is different.  Again, that's your value difference speaking.  Some people would consider those conditions just as bad as death if not worse, so it can be considered equally offensive as Ebloa-chan. 

 

On that note, I have another point.  What is humor in it's truest sense and what are its uses?  Humor is used to facilitate socialization but it can also be seen as being used as a coping measure for stress.  Not everyone does this I'm sure, but I tend to make jokes, and mock on the ridiculousness of a situation when I'm under a lot of pressure.  Studies have also shown that black humor tends to be most common in higher-stressed specialties especially (you guessed it) physicians.  Those in the health-care professions are notorious for having some of the darkest senses of humor and making fun of things that many others would consider "unacceptable", and this is not a bad thing.  Some studies have found that black humor can benefit clinicians and patients by reducing tension and allowing the clinician to focus on the situation at hand.  So no, I don't think its fair to say there are things you should never joke about. 

 

Now relating this to the matter at hand, as far as I know, we don't know who actually created this image.  I could have been someone in the U.S. who has no connection, but it could have been someone in Africa who was nervous when they saw the disease spreading, or someone in the relief effort (or who has family in the relief effort who was worried about them).  Until we know that individuals circumstances I don't think it's far to make value judgement (if then you really can't because you don't know their perspective).  However, the person who posted it on the site and spread fear was definitely in the wrong.   But again, we don't know their conditions either.  This is why morals are tricky business. 

 

Perhaps my absolution of 'never should  be joked on'  was too extreme. 

 

I understand the need for black humour in certain situations and it being a viable and, depending on the person, effective use of relieving stress, tension, and other effects from dark situations. I do it myself.

 

However I believe there a certain mediums people should not use for controversial dark humour, particularly the use of the public, or more specifically the internet. It is too public and not suitable for such controversial 'jokes' for the very reason it is being discussed right now: being get offended.

 

Perhaps my wording of my opinion did not convey my entire opinion on the matter of joking on suffering, but my outrage are to that of people who joke lightly on these matters and are not involved in the crisis. The picture itself is not my main focus of rage, but rather the response to it, particularly from 4chan. Because they are not making stress-reducing jokes, they are not in involved in the horror that comes with disease. They are just showing a shocking lack of empathy for those who are involved.

 

I may not be personally involved with Ebola, but I sure as hell am not so cold hearted to be so cruel for no reason other than out of pure malice. 

Tl;dr: It is the idiocy of the response from 4chan and their ilk that angers me, not the picture they responded to.

 

Also I am curious as to why you find Katawa Shoujo so offensive, if you don't mind me asking.

[Stray Cat]

Perhaps my absolution of 'never should  be joked on'  was too extreme. 

 

I understand the need for black humour in certain situations and it being a viable and, depending on the person, effective use of relieving stress, tension, and other effects from dark situations. I do it myself.

 

However I believe there a certain mediums people should not use for controversial dark humour, particularly the use of the public, or more specifically the internet. It is too public and not suitable for such controversial 'jokes' for the very reason it is being discussed right now: being get offended.

 

Perhaps my wording of my opinion did not convey my entire opinion on the matter of joking on suffering, but my outrage are to that of people who joke lightly on these matters and are not involved in the crisis. The picture itself is not my main focus of rage, but rather the response to it, particularly from 4chan. Because they are not making stress-reducing jokes, they are not in involved in the horror that comes with disease. They are just showing a shocking lack of empathy for those who are involved.

 

I may not be personally involved with Ebola, but I sure as hell am not so cold hearted to be so cruel for no reason other than out of pure malice. 

Tl;dr: It is the idiocy of the response from 4chan and their ilk that angers me, not the picture they responded to.

 

Also I am curious as to why you find Katawa Shoujo so offensive, if you don't mind me asking.

 

[Funyarinpa]

When I saw it first, I laughed.

 

I'm ashamed.

[Down]

For me at least, disabilities are something you don't make fun of, and I would personally would classify joking on that as extremely offensive.  I've seen multiple jokes online that I would classify as much worse than the drawing of Ebloa-chan.  But as I previously discussed, that's just my personal view based on my culture, morals, etc.  Obviously there are quite a few people (including many of the ones here) who find it quite humorous, even though I call it as distasteful.  That's just how the world works though, conflicting values and opinions struggle to be heard and accepted.

[Kaguya]

 How many of you have played Katawa Shoujo?  From the screenshots I have seen, I find this game to be horribly offensive and would never consider playing it.  You could argue the game does not deal with people dying, and therefore is different.

[bl3u]

This type of humor isn't funny. It merely goes for shock value.

[Lefon]

Wasn't that just those dicks at 4-chan?

[Cyrillej1]

Someone showed me this before.. my first reaction was, okay that's pretty interesting.. but horrible too. It's creative and interesting how something like this was made for fun and actually had an effect on people irl. But the way it was used is horrible. I don't like things that harm others, especially something serious like disease, even if it's supposed to be a joke... It's just really immature.

[nohman]

That's kind of the point of shock humor. I see this falling in line with other "offensive" or "in poor taste" jokes. I mean, there are holocaust jokes, 9/11 jokes, nazi jokes, nechrophillia jokes, gay jokes, racist jokes. The point of shock humor is to cause, shock. Humor doesn't always have to be comfortable. A joke is meant to invoke or provoke some kind of emotion. And that emotion doesn't necessarily have to be laughter. I mean, people joke about dying, when they're lying In a hospital room on life support, quite literally on their "death bed" humor is the most sterile and pure way of coping with a negative situation by making light of it, rather then say, offing yourself because you cant handle the fact that ebola is spreading rapidly. And while I do think that Ebola-chan's propagandizing and worldwide negative influence isn't good. That doesn't prevent me from finding the joke funny. And finding the mainstream press' huge overreaction even funnier.

In the end, Ebola-chan's "joke" is an interesting way to see where an individuals line is drawn when it comes to comedy.

[bl3u]

Humor doesn't have to be about laughs, but cheap humor usually strives to be. Which is what I'd call this. If it's not about laughs, then it should be about trying to spark a conversation and draw attention to something. For example, all the jokes made about FEMA after Hurricane Katrina that made fun of their delayed response and lack of preparation weren't very funny, but they did strike a cord. It could also be about coping, but I honestly doubt that's the intention of "Ebola-chan."

Most attempts at shock humor are usually cheap and made because of how they are easy to make. It doesn't take a great amount of wit to personify a virus.or make light of a recent school shooting. It's done because its easy to capitalize on. That's not to say there's no such thing as intelligent dark humor and commentary to be made about the situation, but things like this are lacking in substance and are meant to be edgy more than anything.

[Kaguya]

I see why there would be a fuss about this, since it has actual effects in the real world.

Here's a thing, though- you shouldn't expect other human beings to follow the same moral code you do. They are laughing at the suffering of other people, yes. To a lot of people, that is amoral/immoral (depending on who you ask to). To some it isn't, and some people simply don't care about that. 

 

Anyway, you reeally shouldn't expect respect, compassion, understanding or anything else from other people. Specially not from everyone else in the world. You'll just get needlessly angry when you inevitably don't recieve that. Most of us value ourselves and our needs more than we do others- that much is natural. Some people just happen to value their fun over the suffering of other people. And I think that's ok too. If you enjoy this type of bad joke, It's guaranteed fun vs possible suffering to someone you don't know- the choice most people would take is obvious. It's not right, but not everyone cares about what's right or wrong- getting angry about it just makes those people have more fun. 

 

Me? Personally, I don't think it's funny. I see where both sides are coming from, and I don't think it's the type of discussion that leads anywhere. If the thread gets too heated or derailed, I will be closing it, so be sure to keep your calm, everyone. 

[madvanced]

For me at least, disabilities are something you don't make fun of, and I would personally would classify joking on that as extremely offensive.  I've seen multiple jokes online that I would classify as much worse than the drawing of Ebloa-chan.  But as I previously discussed, that's just my personal view based on my culture, morals, etc.  Obviously there are quite a few people (including many of the ones here) who find it quite humorous, even though I call it as distasteful.  That's just how the world works though, conflicting values and opinions struggle to be heard and accepted. 

[nohman]

What's wrong with cheap laughs? I mean, I laugh at shitty puns and stupid jokes. Perhaps I just don't see the significance, but I don't think jokes have to be filled with meaning or something deeper. And being edgy? I disagree, but I think we have different ideas of what edgy means. But the main thing I wanted to point out in your post was. "If it's not about laughs, then it should be about trying to spark a conversation and draw attention to something." Please, tell me if I'm wrong. But hasn't Ebola-chan raised the attention of the public about ebola jumping countries. Or to what's happened in foreign countries? Look at all the news articles the discussions. The western public is commenting on this. Fuck me, Ebola-chan sparked a 2 page discussion in less than 24 hours in this thread. I'd say conversation has definitely sparked. And when conversation grows. More attention is drawn to what's being discussed.

[Darklord Rooke]

But hasn't Ebola-chan raised the attention of the public about ebola jumping countries. Or to what's happened in foreign countries?

[Clephas]

One of the problems with this is that a lot of African tribes (which are still more or less intact, despite urbanization) are animists, even if they happen to be Muslims on the side.  As such, the idea of worshiping a natural disaster such as a disease isn't alien to them.  To us, it is absurd.  However, to them...?

[Okami]

Go get ebola, then we'll see how much you mind. Actually i doubt you will seeing how you'd be dying but whatever. And as someone who was in a serious car accident, and had a relative in a car accident that killed two people, I find jokes about car accidents in very very poor taste. (On another note, I also go that pig virus, called Swine flu. It fucking sucked). 

This type of humor isn't funny. It merely goes for shock value. The people who came up with it are so detached from everyday normal life, that they find shit like this acceptable. Any student of history would know just how distrustful many nations in Africa can be towards the West, and seeing things like this don't really help matters at all. 

[starkweather]

I knew that someone will gonna say something like "You would see if you would mind it if you ware the one getting infected" and my answer is my opinion wouldn't change at all, in fact as an otaku I would probably find it funny that cause of my death has cute Anime character as it's "representative" and if anything I would like her far more then I do now. And it's not like you are doing any damage by joking about other peoples death and if you do you are at least honest about it, I prefer that over Hippocrates who pretend to care about complete strangers.

of course thats your opinion, thinking about getting it and actually having it are two different things. the whole point of posts like that are that opinions usually change when someone experiences it for them self. also according to this thread these jokes have been damaging, but i dont really know if its true.

[Okami]

of course thats your opinion, thinking about getting it and actually having it are two different things. the whole point of posts like that are that opinions usually change when someone experiences it for them self. also according to this thread these jokes have been damaging, but i dont really know if its true.

 

If you are an intelligent person and you know yourself good you should be able to know what you would do and think if you find yourself in a specific situation. If you can't do that it only shows that you don't know yourself that good.

[starkweather]

If you are an intelligent person and you know yourself good you should be able to know what you would do and think if you find yourself in a specific situation. If you can't do that it only shows that you don't know yourself that good.

 i don't think think it has anything to do with intelligence or knowing yourself. there are certain situations that are almost impossible to just imagine and know exactly how they're gonna make you feel. i think experiences like these can definitely change someones opinion.

[Nosebleed]

If you are an intelligent person and you know yourself good you should be able to know what you would do and think if you find yourself in a specific situation. If you can't do that it only shows that you don't know yourself that good.

I remember when I thought breaking bones like they did in movies was just a pain you could easily overcome.

I still remember passing out in pain when i broke my shoulder in real life (granted i was way younger but i do not wish to experience that pain again), not fun. I can guarantee you my intelligence and my knowledge of myself would have served no purpose in such a situation, you're underestimating this kind of stuff.

 

Most human beings think of themselves as special, as more immune to certain things than other humans, a common psychological trait, thus you'll never understand the true severity of something like Ebola until you have it and if you truly think you do then you are being delusional.

 

But regardless, my thoughts on Ebola-chan is that people are letting it get too serious.

Why are you taking /b/ seriously? That's exactly the issue here. I'm still surprised some news outlets actually take 4chan seriously.

Ebola-chan is just another tasteless joke out of /b/, how many of them have been now? Too many to count.

My only opinion on it is that it has 0 relevance in the world and thus serves no purpose in being discussed, wether it's offensive or not the relevance is the same, nothing. How many people on 4chan mock other serious events around the world? Too many to count.

This is just another dumb joke that /b/ created, let's get over it like the pointless joke it is, shall we?

[Okami]

I remember when I thought breaking bones like they did in movies was just a pain you could easily overcome.

I still remember passing out in pain when i broke my shoulder in real life (granted i was a kid but i do not wish to experience that pain again), not fun. I can guarantee you my intelligence and my knowledge of myself would have served no purpose in such a situation, you're underestimating this kind of stuff.

 

Most human beings think of themselves as special, as more immune to certain things than other humans, a common psychological trait, thus you'll never understand the true severity of something like Ebola until you have it and if you truly think you do then you are being delusional.

 

But regardless, my thoughts on Ebola-chan is that people are letting it get too serious.

Why are you taking /b/ seriously? That's exactly the issue here. I'm still surprised some news outlets actually take 4chan seriously.

Ebola-chan is just another tasteless joke out of /b/, how many of them have been now? Too many to count.

My only opinion on it is that it has 0 relevance in the world and thus serves no purpose in being discussed, wether it's offensive or not the relevance is the same, nothing. How many people on 4chan mock other serious events around the world? Too many to count.

This is just another dumb joke that /b/ created, let's get over it like the pointless joke it is, shall we?

 

Yes it would, if you know yourself good enough you should be able to predict what you would do when you are in a great pain, In beginning of this year I had surgery that was so painful  that I had hallucinations from pain yet my actions and thoughts ware exactly as I thought they would be if I ever was in such a great pain. As long as you know yourself good enough you should be able to predict what you would do and think in any given situation, true that said during my days of "psychological experiments" on people around me I noticed that very little people know them self as good as they think they do.

 

But I agree that people are making a too big deal out of this.

[phersu]

I prefer Malaria-sama's design, to be honest. I'm not into lolis.