Reply From DUK

[angel30eyes]

Hi,

It?s the Balance team here at Diabetes UK. There have been a lot of comments and feedback about this opinion letter and we wanted to let you all know our reason for publishing it.

The original reader letter disagreeing with injecting in public was published in the ?Your Letters? section of our March/April issue, where it clearly states that the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Diabetes UK.

We feel that everyone is entitled to their opinion even when they don?t agree with the charity, the magazine or other readers. The reader in question is a member of Diabetes UK, and we aim to be as open as possible when publishing readers' viewpoints in the opinion pages of Balance. Differing opinions are allowed and indeed encouraged to stimulate debate and that is what this letter-writer has done.

Such extreme views do help bring out important matters and in the following issue (May/June), we printed sixteen letters disagreeing with this opinion. In the current issue of Balance (July/August), more responses are printed and we have also included a reply from the original letter-writer to allow her to respond to the high volume of criticism. We do appreciate that her reply might have offended some readers, but we only ever censor letters that are libellous to an individual or factually incorrect.

The reader?s opinion was in no way reflected in any of the regular articles in Balance, written by members of staff.

Finally, we would like to reassure you that at Diabetes UK, we do listen to our supporters and respond to issues you feel are important. In fact, after hearing from our young supporters about the ignorance and misconceptions surrounding diabetes and insulin injections, we created two short videos aimed at educating young people about the condition and the need for injections. These are available on My Life, our web space for young supporters, at http://www.diabetes.org.uk/bus and http://www.diabetes.org.uk/record

We hope this helps clarify the issue, and we apologise if any of the comments published have caused offence.

Sincerely,

The Balance team
Diabetes UK




Well i'm gobsmacked to say the least

 

[Northerner]

...We do appreciate that her reply might have offended some readers...The Balance team Diabetes UK

It's this line that amazes me! I am a member of DUK and an insulin-using diabetic - why would they print something that is going to offend some, or even one, of their supporters????? Why offend anyone, however small a number of their supporters? And, in fact, they have probably offended the majority of their supporters, since the view expressed is surely in the extreme minority.

 

[sasha1]

Hi All,


I'm speechless....and feel very let down....just whose side are they on

Heidi
🙂

 

[angel30eyes]

Differing opinions are allowed and indeed encouraged to stimulate debate and that is what this letter-writer has done.

This letter wasn't a differing opinion, it was an outright attack on insulin users anf I would have thought the heroin inuendo was enough to be 'Liabellous or INFACTUAL enough to censor'!!

 

[Steff]

this is disgusting and to have been printed once never mind twice i find it totally disgraceful many people on here i think will be cancelling there membership now and i would not blame one of them, does the word SUPPORT need to be explained to them or what

 

[insulinaddict09]

This letter wasn't a differing opinion, it was an outright attack on insulin users anf I would have thought the heroin inuendo was enough to be 'Liabellous or INFACTUAL enough to censor'!!

EXACTLY ANGEL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS A B****Y DISGRACE 😡😡

 

[angel30eyes]

Have just rung and cancelled my subscription and they didn't even ask me for a reason just a 'yes that's done'

 

[mikep1979]

i think duk should brace itself for a very very large number of its members not renewing their memberships. i for one used to give a nice sum every month to them as a charitable donation and also when i saw them collecting in the street etc i would always put a tenner in. i hope that for them to have published this letter they will see the damage they have done to their own reputation and also to the very people they are ment to be fighting for the rights of. i also believe that if they have one shred of decency left in them they will openly and publicly appologise for the fact they have allowed this nurse to air what is a very very onesided and narrow minded argument which is from a very minorital (probably not a word but sounds good) portion of the population.

this has really got my back up and i dont think they can ever do enough to make this right in my eyes.

 

[Munjeeta]

Oh dear... I think I'm in the minority here but (as much as her opinions frustrated, angered, amazed me) I don't really see why her letters shouldn't be printed... She's entitled to her opinion as much as we are, and there are always people who feel like this about injecting in public. I DON'T agree with her, I always have and always will inject at the table in a restaurant (politely of course) but the fact that her letter inspired so many people to write and complain and also to react on this board is a good thing: at least more people disagree with her than agree (there were a few!) It's definitely not something I would withdraw my membership for - think of all the good things that DUK do and have done for diabetes and diabetics...

Please don't slaughter me for daying this... 😱

 

[aymes]

Oh dear... I think I'm in the minority here but (as much as her opinions frustrated, angered, amazed me) I don't really see why her letters shouldn't be printed... She's entitled to her opinion as much as we are, and there are always people who feel like this about injecting in public. I DON'T agree with her, I always have and always will inject at the table in a restaurant (politely of course) but the fact that her letter inspired so many people to write and complain and also to react on this board is a good thing: at least more people disagree with her than agree (there were a few!) It's definitely not something I would withdraw my membership for - think of all the good things that DUK do and have done for diabetes and diabetics...

Please don't slaughter me for daying this... 😱

I do agree in that I won't be planning to withdraw my membership on the basis of this as I believe that the organisation, despite a number of faults and frustrations, does a lot of good. I also have no issue with the first letter being published as it gave the opportunity for others to state the opposite view, and I believed encouraged a lot of people to view injecting in public in a more positive way.
I do however have an issue with the second letter as the offensive terminolgy used I feel went beyond simple debate and into a bitter attack on people who had disagreed with her. I don't feel the readers of Balance had anything to gain from a repition of her views and its a shame that DUK did nothing to mitigate what she said, either by not printing it (she'd already expressed her views) or by adding an editorial comment with DUK's 'opinion' which one would hope would offer suport to those needing to inject.

 

[mikep1979]

Oh dear... I think I'm in the minority here but (as much as her opinions frustrated, angered, amazed me) I don't really see why her letters shouldn't be printed... She's entitled to her opinion as much as we are, and there are always people who feel like this about injecting in public. I DON'T agree with her, I always have and always will inject at the table in a restaurant (politely of course) but the fact that her letter inspired so many people to write and complain and also to react on this board is a good thing: at least more people disagree with her than agree (there were a few!) It's definitely not something I would withdraw my membership for - think of all the good things that DUK do and have done for diabetes and diabetics...

Please don't slaughter me for daying this... 😱

i would have shared those views in the past but not any more. duk had a good chance to issue a statement or appology but this has not been forthcoming hence i take it that the silence from duk means they are in agreement with this woman over public injections. as for them doing good work can you point out in the past 9 years any good thing duk has done??? they have not helpped a single person with diabetes get anything done at all. if you want to get something sorted do it yourself!!!! as for my money i would rather throw it down the sewer than give it to duk anymore.

 

[Northerner]

...I do however have an issue with the second letter as the offensive terminolgy used I feel went beyond simple debate and into a bitter attack on people who had disagreed with her. I don't feel the readers of Balance had anything to gain from a repition of her views and its a shame that DUK did nothing to mitigate what she said, either by not printing it (she'd already expressed her views) or by adding an editorial comment with DUK's 'opinion' which one would hope would offer suport to those needing to inject.

This is me too - I am trying to calm down and consider my decision as to whether I withdraw my membership. The raw feeling I have is 'do I want to open the next issue of balance to read more of this kind of negative, condemnatory vilification of me and my 'habits'?' I shouldn't be made to feel like this by a charity I have supported. The second letter was probably the straw that broke the camel's back for me, I doubt I'll feel differently tomorrow.

 

[Munjeeta]

I do however have an issue with the second letter as the offensive terminolgy used I feel went beyond simple debate and into a bitter attack on people who had disagreed with her. I don't feel the readers of Balance had anything to gain from a repition of her views and its a shame that DUK did nothing to mitigate what she said, either by not printing it (she'd already expressed her views) or by adding an editorial comment with DUK's 'opinion' which one would hope would offer suport to those needing to inject.

i would have shared those views in the past but not any more. duk had a good chance to issue a statement or appology but this has not been forthcoming hence i take it that the silence from duk means they are in agreement with this woman over public injections. as for them doing good work can you point out in the past 9 years any good thing duk has done??? they have not helpped a single person with diabetes get anything done at all. if you want to get something sorted do it yourself!!!! as for my money i would rather throw it down the sewer than give it to duk anymore.

This is me too - I am trying to calm down and consider my decision as to whether I withdraw my membership. The raw feeling I have is 'do I want to open the next issue of balance to read more of this kind of negative, condemnatory vilification of me and my 'habits'?' I shouldn't be made to feel like this by a charity I have supported. The second letter was probably the straw that broke the camel's back for me, I doubt I'll feel differently tomorrow.

I do agree. Her letter really did make me angry. But I guess I'm just happy in the knowledge she's safely in the minority, even if DUK have given her the space to make her opinions clear. And I do agree that her comments about heroin using was completely ridiculous, but I think that just makes me take it with a pinch of salt. Anyone who compares injecting insulin with heroin is just an idiot in my book.

 

[mikep1979]

I do agree. Her letter really did make me angry. But I guess I'm just happy in the knowledge she's safely in the minority, even if DUK have given her the space to make her opinions clear. And I do agree that her comments about heroin using was completely ridiculous, but I think that just makes me take it with a pinch of salt. Anyone who compares injecting insulin with heroin is just an idiot in my book.

and the folks who know nothing about insulin or diabetes are they idiots??? this nurse may have vented her views in other publications to and no it may be that we diabetics who have to inject are gonne be riddiculed or even worse more often. also i am happy to inject in public and will never go to a toilet to do so.

 

[Munjeeta]

and the folks who know nothing about insulin or diabetes are they idiots??? this nurse may have vented her views in other publications to and no it may be that we diabetics who have to inject are gonne be riddiculed or even worse more often. also i am happy to inject in public and will never go to a toilet to do so.

No. You're right there. I guess I'm just looking at it from the point of view of a diabetic who knows it's completely ridiculous. There are people there who would listen to the points of view of a nurse without question. But I do think that we need to give the general public a little more credit than that. I have also always been very open about injecting in public, I will not go to a toilet ot inject. I have had a few stares, some of them probably disapproving, but I have never had to argue my case because most people ask if they're interested. And yes, I know this is just my point of view, I would like to think other people have had the same positive experiences but they probably haven't, which is where it comes down to my opinion on this coming directly from my dealings with the public.

But I do want to be clear. I DO find her letters offensive. I possibly need to think from a little bit of a wider perspective on it.

 

[Northerner]

No. You're right there. I guess I'm just looking at it from the point of view of a diabetic who knows it's completely ridiculous. There are people there who would listen to the points of view of a nurse without question. But I do think that we need to give the general public a little more credit than that. I have also always been very open about injecting in public, I will not go to a toilet ot inject. I have had a few stares, some of them probably disapproving, but I have never had to argue my case because most people ask if they're interested. And yes, I know this is just my point of view, I would like to think other people have had the same positive experiences but they probably haven't, which is where it comes down to my opinion on this coming directly from my dealings with the public.

But I do want to be clear. I DO find her letters offensive. I possibly need to think from a little bit of a wider perspective on it.

I have little experience of injecting in public, I haven't been diagnosed that long, and I am a shy person on the whole. These things mean that I am upset when I hear of stuff that this nurse writes. I know, rationally, that she is a minority view and an idiot, but it still makes me feel upset that I am a diabetic and people can hold these opinions of me. I'm sure that, in some small way I'm experiencing for the first time in my (fit and healthy) life what it might feel like to be disabled or different, or less adequate. That's not a nice feeling to get from an organisation that should boost my confidence and make me feel empowered.

 

[mikep1979]

No. You're right there. I guess I'm just looking at it from the point of view of a diabetic who knows it's completely ridiculous. There are people there who would listen to the points of view of a nurse without question. But I do think that we need to give the general public a little more credit than that. I have also always been very open about injecting in public, I will not go to a toilet ot inject. I have had a few stares, some of them probably disapproving, but I have never had to argue my case because most people ask if they're interested. And yes, I know this is just my point of view, I would like to think other people have had the same positive experiences but they probably haven't, which is where it comes down to my opinion on this coming directly from my dealings with the public.

But I do want to be clear. I DO find her letters offensive. I possibly need to think from a little bit of a wider perspective on it.

please dont feel i am attacking you in any way munjeeta. i just feel that guk have lost a very very large amount of members over what they publish and should now be feeling foolish.

 

[Munjeeta]

I have little experience of injecting in public, I haven't been diagnosed that long, and I am a shy person on the whole. These things mean that I am upset when I hear of stuff that this nurse writes. I know, rationally, that she is a minority view and an idiot, but it still makes me feel upset that I am a diabetic and people can hold these opinions of me. I'm sure that, in some small way I'm experiencing for the first time in my (fit and healthy) life what it might feel like to be disabled or different, or less adequate. That's not a nice feeling to get from an organisation that should boost my confidence and make me feel empowered.

Shy? 😉 I guess being diabetic for so long I've sort of dealt with those feelings before and I should have had a little more empathy 😱 I seem to remember (back in the day!) a similar letter being published and possibly not being met by quite such a furor, possibly due to the lack of media like the internet... But I do remember being very upset about it at the time.

please dont feel i am attacking you in any way munjeeta. i just feel that guk have lost a very very large amount of members over what they publish and should now be feeling foolish.

Not at all... I'm glad you've given me your view of it. I really was just looking at it from a very narrow view point.

 

[Adrienne]

She attacked parents as well, how dare she. Someone say what has DUK done recently. They have done the 'measure up' which cause bullying of some children who are type 1 as they chose to just say diabetes and not type 2 diabetes and even then 'some' type 2 diabetes. They did the silent assassin which again just said diabetes and scared the heebee jeebies out of children and adults alike, my 65 year old switched on aunt got in a lift in the local shopping centre to be terrified with a full life size 'man' with the shadow behind him, lovely !!! We then had the Change4 life adverts and the c**p wording which DUK say was not their doing, ummm they are the diabetes advocates in this campaign and from their track record of not saying 'some type 2' I need to see more evidence that this one was 'not their fault'. They only said anything at all once us parents had got the government to alter the wording and lo and behold DUK try to take the credit, I think not. So what else have we got. Oh yes a big booklet for schools which includes diabetes, asthma, allergies etc etc and the schools get an email asking if they want it - how many schools are going to see one email let alone follow it up and when you read the diabetes bit, which I have, it is very very wishy washy and doesn't say anything about helping children test their fingers and maybe even doing it for them amongst other wishy washy stuff, once again they didn't ask the parents in the know.

Well that lot was off the top of my head.

 

[Sugarbum]

.....and you said it well Adrienne!!