Have you ever had one of those days when you wished you hadn't read your Twitter feed or opened up your Facebook?
Today was that day for me.
I knew as soon as I saw a tweet that said something like "Today Show Makes Fun at Gluten-Free Again". Then there was a post about how Hoda Kotb had joked about not wanting to date a man who is gluten-free and a "picky eater". What followed was a lot of name-calling and hatred being hurled in Hoda's direction.
Then, I saw it happen. This tweet being retweeted in all forms on Twitter.
Then came the comments. More people calling Hoda "stupid" and "ignorant".
I turned to Facebook. Yup. More of the same.
Ok. I get it. She shouldn't have said it. But honestly, does she deserve being called "worthless" and "sad"?
No.
No more than those of us who have celiac disease deserve to be called anything.
Hoda is someone's daughter, sister, friend. Just like we are.
Does getting angry and calling someone names make anything better? Absolutely not.
Does educating that person and asking them to stop? Maybe.
I admit that I watch the fourth hour of "Today". Not every morning, but pretty regularly. Hoda and Kathie Lee are pretty silly and goofy and most of the time make me laugh. Some days I really need a good laugh. Lots of people don't like them or watch the show and that's okay too.
I honestly do not believe that Hoda is stupid or worthless or even uncaring or uncompassionate. She is a cancer survivor and I can bet has had other struggles in her life. I think she was trying to be funny. It is very unfortunate that she chose "gluten-free" to pick on.
If Hoda were my BFF, I would have kindly told her about celiac disease and why it isn't appropriate or funny to try to make a joke about it.
I did tweet @KLGandHoda and asked them to please stop making fun of people who are gluten-free. When she apologized, I sent another tweet thanking her. Then I let it go...
I know about being angry. I am angry I have celiac. I am angry about my other undiagnosed health issues. I am angry about terrorism and natural disasters and the economy. I have been angry about things people in the media and elsewhere have said about many things.
Here is what I have personally decided for myself. Anger helps NOTHING. The only one it hurts is me. Sitting and stewing for days about something someone said does not make me feel better. In fact, as someone with health issues, it makes me feel so much worse.
Does it make you feel better? My guess would be that it doesn't.
And how do you think others view a bunch of angry, name-calling, gluten-free folks? As just that.
Instead, why don't we turn all of that anger into something positive?
Educate, people! Isn't that what Celiac Awareness Month is all about anyway???
