It’s not okay to intimidate or bully someone on the basis of mental health issues.
Recently, some smart or highly influential people made fun of mental health at the expense of an opponent, and I take great umbrage with that.
Hip-hop artist Drake recently made this mistake in a display of arrogance and ego.
Allow me to give some background:
Kid Cudi, an artist also in the hip-hop genre, has struggled with mental health. We’ve known of Cudi’s battle with depression and suicidal thoughts since around 2013, but he said he’s been struggling much longer. He has prided himself upon helping youth who struggle. His first major album, "Man On The Moon: The End Of Day" (note the album title) peaked at number four on the billboard top 200.
Recently, Cudi checked himself into rehab for depression and suicidal urges, writing a letter to his fans saying he was ashamed and that the decision was difficult.
“My anxiety and depression have ruled my life for as long as I can remember, and I never leave the house because of it," Cudi wrote in a Facebook post in October. "I can't make new friends because of it. I don't trust anyone because of it, and I'm tired of being held back in my life. I deserve to have peace. I deserve to be happy and smiling."
Less than three weeks before checking into rehab, Cudi sent out some tweets that were attacks on many in the music industry, most notably Drake and Kanye West. Kanye, after some resistance, came out in support of Cudi.
''So Cudi, he in rehab right now, but he got a #1 song on the radio and I want you to sing so he can hear it'' pic.twitter.com/mXoAUycbHG
— Audio Plug (@AudioPIug) October 27, 2016
Drake, on the other hand, refused to take the high road.
“You were the man on the moon/ Now you just go through your phases/ Life of the angry and famous,” Drake rapped on the song "Two Birds One Stone."
“Still never been on hiatus/ You stay xanned and perked up/ So when reality set in, you don't gotta face it,” the song
To break this down quickly, Drake is attacking Cudi, the “man on the moon,” for going through depression which Drake calls “phases” (decent wordplay, I guess). He’s also insinuating that Cudi abuses drugs (Xanax and Percocet) to get through life.
Drake took the most childish defense one could take and basically said “he started it.”
Here is why you should care: Although nearly 8 percent of people ages 12 and older report suffering from depression, the Center for Disease Control reported only 13.6 percent of the population sought treatment in 2011. Drake’s dis is particularly relevant to his and Cudi’s demographic – only 7.6 percent of African-Americans sought treatment in 2011.
As a Drake fan, it's disgraceful to hear he dropped a diss track making fun of Cudi's depression...
— Matt Hamers (@matt_hamers) October 24, 2016
Even Senator Bernie Sanders couldn’t resist during last year’s democratic debates. Sanders said he would invest a lot of money in mental health if president, then took a jab at Republicans saying “and when you watch these Republican debates, you know why we need to invest in mental health.”
I get it. It’s cute and funny and a great way to make fun of your opponents, but people took notice. I know some presidential candidates have behaved in similar or worse manners. We had candidates attacking each other about penis size for goodness' sake, but none of that makes this acceptable.
Dr. Deborah Fernandez-Turner, the children's medical director for Mercy Maricopa Integrated Care, said that whenever someone is put down, it affects their self esteem.
"It’s hard to not let (put downs) impact someone’s self-esteem," Fernandez-Turner said. "The impact of it does vary depending on a person’s individual level of resiliency. An individual who is very highly resilient, has a very strong family and friend support system … is going to be able to tolerate a little more than someone who does not have that resiliency."
I’m not trying to be overly politically correct. Humor has and will always be used to make us laugh at sad things. Nothing in comedy should be off-limits. However, timing, delivery and deliverer matter. Pete Davidson is allowed to make 9/11 jokes because his dad died as a firefighter in the terrorist attacks. Davidson’s humor allows us to laugh at a terrible tragedy without causing harm to anyone.
Mental health, as humor, struggles to find the right timing. We all make references to being crazy, or we joke about forgetting to take medication, but these jokes only have harm in offending people.
The difference with a personal attack for mental health issues is that it leads to stigmatization, and those who suffer hide their struggle instead of seeking help. Attacking an opponent, for real or fake mental health issues, is not OK.
Stigmatization plays a large part in why people don’t seek help, and jokes about mental health only add to that. If you feel like an admission of struggle will open you up to criticism, you’re likely to pretend you don’t struggle.
Fernandez-Turner said we need a more open dialogue in culture about mental health, and we need to encourage people to get the help they need.
"I would love to see more open discussion about mental health, whether it be in classrooms or the workplace, (more effort) to frame it in a more positive light," Fernandez-Turner said. "I would love to see much more discussion … about mental wellness and framing the need to build self-esteem, resiliency (and) to build community support."
Reader, please make an effort not to attack, criticize or joke about someone’s mental health struggles.
Senator Sanders, I know you have a good heart, I imagine you’ll learn from your mistake as we all do. Reflect on your joke and be more cautious in the future.
Drake, show some support for Cudi. While you're at it, hire some new ghostwriters.
Reach the columnist at maatenci@asu.edu or follow @mitchellatencio on Twitter.
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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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