Important video: Mental health representation in tarot

[Raggydoll]

This goes beyond the specific deck mentioned in the video, and it’s a really important topic. Discriminating or making fun of someone who’s suffering from mental illness is simply not okay. 

[Raggydoll]

The Kickstarter campaign for the deck that is mentioned in this video has been cancelled. I don’t wish to bash that creator, who has now written a public apology on Kickstarter. The reason why I’m sharing this video is rather because I feel that Katey has a message that needs to be heard. 

[ilweran]

I agree with her except for the acceptance of anxiety and depression - a lot of it is only really on the surface, yes, if you need time off social media people will post supportive messages, but those people are not always so supportive in real life or for anything that impact on them. Having got that out the way, the card (from the description, I've not seen it), the comment, the comments from others, all absolutely apalling and it's sad that as a society we've not moved on from this. And I see and hear so much about this, about the stigma and the discrimination around mental health, about the discrimination that comes from within services as well.

 

(I still remember my shock when I saw a letter in my medical notes from my employer (not my current one!) asking about my history of depression. Not asking about the CFS/ME which in many ways would have been more understandable, but specifically about the depression - and this after I'd ticked the box on the job application saying I did not give permission for them to contact my GP without discussing it with me first. The only positive was the absolutely glowing letter about me my GP had written in reply.)

[Raggydoll]

1 hour ago, ilweran said:

I agree with her except for the acceptance of anxiety and depression - a lot of it is only really on the surface, yes, if you need time off social media people will post supportive messages, but those people are not always so supportive in real life or for anything that impact on them. Having got that out the way, the card (from the description, I've not seen it), the comment, the comments from others, all absolutely apalling and it's sad that as a society we've not moved on from this. And I see and hear so much about this, about the stigma and the discrimination around mental health, about the discrimination that comes from within services as well.

I totally agree. I have several friends and loved ones with various degrees of mental health problems and the stigma in society is very real. 
 

1 hour ago, ilweran said:

 

(I still remember my shock when I saw a letter in my medical notes from my employer (not my current one!) asking about my history of depression. Not asking about the CFS/ME which in many ways would have been more understandable, but specifically about the depression - and this after I'd ticked the box on the job application saying I did not give permission for them to contact my GP without discussing it with me first. The only positive was the absolutely glowing letter about me my GP had written in reply.)

I’m so glad your GP wrote a lovely letter but I am horrified that your former boss would do that! Is it even legal? Here in Sweden it certainly wouldn’t be! They would not have been allowed to ask and the GP would not have been allowed to reply. 

[katrinka]

2 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

Here in Sweden it certainly wouldn’t be! They would not have been allowed to ask and the GP would not have been allowed to reply. 

Here in the US we also have doctor-patient confidentiality and there's a potential lawsuit here.
But corporate entities in the US often don't seem to be subject to laws, or the Constitution, or anything, really. And trying to sue them can be a fruitless task.

@ilweran, depending on where you are, you might be able to file a complaint with the Labor Board. (Here in Texas, our Labor Board is part of Texas Workforce, i.e., the unemployment office, and they're useless. But in Massachusetts they're part of the state Attorney General's Office, and they help people.) If it hasn't been years and years, it could be worthwhile to do that. You know if they did that to you, they're doing it to others, and it needs to stop.

Off to watch the video now.

[ilweran]

They clearly shouldn't have written as I'd ticked the box on the application form saying they did not have permission. That should have showed me the sort of employer they were. I ended up leaving due to bullying, which did my mental health no favours at all.

 

They asked about health on the form, which is why I told them about the CFS/ME and the depression (I suppose I could have not answered but then how would I explain the lack of previous employment, caught between a rock and a hard place there!). But this was pre the Equalities Act which changed what could be asked around protected characteristics and employers can't do it now unless, for example, it's relevant for the role.

 

@katrinka this was back in 2000/01. The company is currently in administration (again), though limping painfully on for the moment.

Edited July 29, 2020 by ilweran

[katrinka]

6 minutes ago, ilweran said:

this was back in 2000/01. The company is currently in administration (again), though limping painfully on for the moment.

Yeah, too long ago. But it sound like the wheel of karma might actually be starting to grind them a bit.

[katrinka]

Watching the video now. And I agree that the Britney fiasco doesn't need to be revived. The girl was exploited and taught nothing but "shake your moneymaker" from early childhood on, how could people expect anything BUT a public meltdown? I'm surprised she's still around. She's tough. Her music isn't really my thing, but I like her.

And while Princess Diana's kids enjoy things that most of us can't even dream of, they still lost their mother. Was that card with knives stuck in her back really necessary?

And YEAH. Let's NOT have George Floyd in a deck with lite pop culture references like the Mean Girls. Though it IS a pretty accurate representation of the characters rattling around in our collective minds, how could she not expect problems? It trivializes him and his murder. A lot of the BLM movement is about being heard and taken seriously. This deck was NOT helping. And that's obvious without even seeing Death or the Hanged Man.

 

[Raggydoll]

9 hours ago, katrinka said:

Watching the video now. And I agree that the Britney fiasco doesn't need to be revived. The girl was exploited and taught nothing but "shake your moneymaker" from early childhood on, how could people expect anything BUT a public meltdown? I'm surprised she's still around. She's tough. Her music isn't really my thing, but I like her.

And while Princess Diana's kids enjoy things that most of us can't even dream of, they still lost their mother. Was that card with knives stuck in her back really necessary?

And YEAH. Let's NOT have George Floyd in a deck with lite pop culture references like the Mean Girls. Though it IS a pretty accurate representation of the characters rattling around in our collective minds, how could she not expect problems? It trivializes him and his murder. A lot of the BLM movement is about being heard and taken seriously. This deck was NOT helping. And that's obvious without even seeing Death or the Hanged Man.

 

I agree with all those points. Some years ago I read an interview with Harry where he talked about how it took him 20 years to be able to start dealing with the grief and seek counseling for the loss of his mother. I feel for them all. Losing a parent when you are in the limelight must be so difficult. I think the point here is also that when you depict a real person you will have to choose what facet of them you focus on, and this deck sadly did not take dignity and the bigger picture into consideration. I don’t believe the creator meant to cause any harm and in the end, this can be turned into a good lesson for many. 

[katrinka]

8 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

Some years ago I read an interview with Harry where he talked about how it took him 20 years to be able to start dealing with the grief and seek counseling for the loss of his mother. I feel for them all. Losing a parent when you are in the limelight must be so difficult.

Exactly. The human condition is what it is. Money doesn't fix everything.

[ilweran]

Indeed @katrinka. The only difference money makes is that you can pay to access private health care services (talking about UK here), rather than waiting for the NHS - I know staff for the most part do their very best but mental health is very much a 'cinderella' service.

[katrinka]

It's similar here...maybe worse. The US often turns their mentally ill out into the street.
You can fix a lot of things with money. Just not everything.
That's the Death card, that's the Tower.

I remember being horribly poor and broke when Prince William was born. And Diana was all over every paper and magazine with her nice wardrobe and salon hair and jewelry, her new baby, her rich husband. Set for life. They'd never shut HER utilities off or threaten to evict her. I couldn't help kind of resenting her. I knew it was wrong, but the media was really rubbing her in our collective faces. But as time went on, it was obvious that she didn't have a happy life.

Edited July 30, 2020 by katrinka