Oh Boy...

[Aeva]

I know there was a post in this vein somewhere, but I can't find it. Anyhow, I was surfing yahoo answers, and came across this, and I just thought I'd share it with you all:

This was the question posted:

Whats the difference between gluten and sugar?

When a particular food is ''gluten free'', does that mean it is sugar free?? Is it suitable for diabetics? What does ''gluten free'' actually mean?

*slaps forehead* I dearly hope they don't work with food...

[Takala]

There is no such thing as a dumb question.

Only dumb answers.

[WheatChef]

There is no such thing as a dumb question.

Only dumb answers.

And dumb questioners. However we're all ignorant to more subjects than we're experts. Everyone's gotta start somewhere, but you probably shouldn't expect amazing insight from anyone on Yahoo answers.

[Marz]

It constantly amazes and amuses me how people can find the "Yahoo answers" website to ask a question, but can't use Google to just figure it out themselves! A simple search on gluten would have told the person what it is.

Stupid question indeed!

[Aeva]

I agree that it is somewhat understandable to not know what gluten means. But this poster was diabetic (double-checked several of her other questions), meaning this failure to google could have had serious ramifications. If you have an issue with a certain type of food, you usually know what you can and can't have.

[jester]

Could she have been confusing gluten and glucose? Could English not have been her first language?

When I became vegetarian I jumped on anything that looked remotely ignorant but I've learned not to be so uptight about it. If someone had ANSWERED her like that, okay, but just asking the question? At least she recognizes she doesn't know.

[missy'smom]

I was recently challenged with another allergy, non-food and have found myself feeling like such a newbie and asking questions that I'm sure clearly conveyed my lack of understanding to those who are familiar with the subject. I've had my eyes opened to a whole other world that I had no idea existed. It was a bit of a shock I must say, even with all I've experienced with celiac disease, diabetes and food allergies.

Honest questions, looking for understanding and to be educated are welcome. Let's not criticize them. What bothers me is when people close their minds out of negativity and don't want to try to understand or have empathy or compassion. I had a VERY difficult conversation with someone who has a need to have some understanding about this new allergy, in order to take safe precautions and despite multiple attempts, both verbal and written to educate that person they refused out of self interest. Lots of questions, but aimed at their own self interest and not wanting to hear the answers.

Sometimes people just have a limited ability to understand or have limited experiences and come to it without the skills to understand. We can't fault them for that, even though it can be frustrating when we want to be understood. The situation I was in above is a whole other thing though. But knowing what I just said in the last sentence helped me navigate that difficult conversation and not get emotionally involved and get those protective measures in place in the end.