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The media has been kvetching about the price of insulin, and how Republicans are against price controls for a while now, and I guess it's time to give a real (schizo) opinion on the subject.

For those who are unaware, insulin is used to treat diabetes, which is an illness broken down into two types: Type 1 and Type 2 (scientists are not known for their naming skills). Type 1 diabetes occurs when someone has a genetic condition or other abnormality causing them to produce less insulin than would otherwise be necessary. It's a condition that commonly develops in childhood, regardless of the patient's actions. Type 2 diabetes occurs when someone produces so much insulin, by eating copious amounts of food and generally being overweight, that their body develops a resistance to it. In other words, Type 1 is genetic while Type 2 comes from being a fat fuck.

What's shocking to me about the subject is that the vast majority of diabetics in the United States, and 8.5% of the total US population, have type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes only occurs in .5% of US adults. In other words, this entire insulin debate is really the product of a nation that's constantly stuffing itself with garbage food. We have reached a truly dystopian point in society, wherein almost a tenth of the population would die without daily injections, simply because of their need to consoom.

Now, while it certainly could be said that Type 2 diabetics are at fault here, I don't think that sort of thinking is useful. You can blame one individual, or even a hundred, but if 25 million people are fucking up this badly then something in society itself must be at fault. I'd personally pin the blame on fast food advertising, mostly because I hate fast food and advertising, but there are a million possible factors.

But now the debate turns from the Huxleyan to the Kafkaesque, as nobody actually gives a shit about what I just said. The entire debate surrounding insulin is about the price. A tenth of our nation is gorging itself to the point of needing constant medical attention just to survive, and the political debate around this issue solely focuses on how much that medical attention should cost.