Just so I’m clear: when 140 mentally ill patients die in the care of Life Esidemeni it’s a national scandal and a moral outrage, but when 180 people die of listeriosis because they’ve eaten processed meats it’s hilarious?
Look, I get it. I like cracking jokes and sharing memes about current affairs as much as the next compulsive attention-seeker.
But, dear jokers, babies are dying. I’m sorry to be a buzz-kill but that’s actually happening. Longed for, dreamed of, they arrived like a miracle and then they got killed by this vicious little bug, and now their parents’ hearts are broken and nothing can ever by funny again, not really – except for you, for five seconds, until the next meme pops up on your screen.
Read Tom Eaton's full column on Times Select
Opinion
Why are we laughing when babies are dying?
Listeriosis memes and puns expose our fantastic callousness
Image: ALON SKUY
Just so I’m clear: when 140 mentally ill patients die in the care of Life Esidemeni it’s a national scandal and a moral outrage, but when 180 people die of listeriosis because they’ve eaten processed meats it’s hilarious?
Look, I get it. I like cracking jokes and sharing memes about current affairs as much as the next compulsive attention-seeker.
But, dear jokers, babies are dying. I’m sorry to be a buzz-kill but that’s actually happening. Longed for, dreamed of, they arrived like a miracle and then they got killed by this vicious little bug, and now their parents’ hearts are broken and nothing can ever by funny again, not really – except for you, for five seconds, until the next meme pops up on your screen.
Read Tom Eaton's full column on Times Select
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