Are we still not supposed to tell Irish jokes?
My favourite Irish joke is the one which ends I wouldnt start from here.
Far from being about stupidity, & therefore demeaning, they so often sum up that delicious quality of bemusement, being caught between a dilemma & a paradox. The wisest men have always known that all logical argument ends in paradox, so these jokes acknowledge the Irish as the wisest of us all
I have a very similar problem with the proscription of the word schizophrenia in every day usage on the grounds that this is demeaning to those who suffer from the 'real' thing
I do not think there is another word in common usage which expresses quite so well the specific feeling of being in, or having, a split mind. Wanting 2 contradictory things at once. Unable to decide, & feeling slightly foolish & ashamed about it
If I have understood things correctly nobody now thinks that this is a symptom, or even a helpful description, of the distressing disease. So would it not be better all round to change the name of the disease?
Related post: Dystrenia
