Protest Poster

The poster that I made is a protest against the CDC(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and their handling of Lyme disease. Lyme disease is contracted from Ticks and enters the blood stream. It is a terrible, debilitating disease that thousands and thousands of people suffer from because they often are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with something completely different. This reason for this is the fact that the CDC does not even acknowledge Lyme disease as chronic. They claim it is something acute that can easily be treated with antibiotics – no matter when it is discovered. This is simply not true. If detected early and treated, then it certainly can be cured quickly as well. However, for those individuals who go years without a diagnosis, the suffering can be tremendous. Treatment is extremely difficult and the road to recovery is long and frustrating.  Because the CDC doesn’t acknowledge it as a chronic disease, most physicians are not familiar with it at all and would have no idea what to look for to diagnose it, and what’s worse is that insurance companies do not cover treatment for Lyme beyond simple antibiotics, and not even those sometimes.

So I took found a picture of Lyme disease at the microscopic level in the blood cells(the little guy shaped like a corkscrew is the actual Lyme spirochete). Next, I found a picture of the official seal of the CDC, cropped it and placed on to each of the blood cells in the photo. Next, I changed the opacity level so that the two would blend together, giving the appearance that the seal was actually inside the cell. This gives the appearance that the true infection – the real reason behind chronic Lyme disease – is the CDC and their refusal to recognize it for what it really is and help people. The only reason Lyme becomes chronic is because the CDC doesn’t help spread awareness.

Next, I placed black borders on the top and bottom of the picture because I wanted to make it look like a meme. Memes are very commonplace and viewed frequently. I think most memes are designed to be humorous so seeing a serious one might catch people’s attention. On the borders I placed the words, “Chronic Lyme Disease. Take a closer look.”  I was doing two things here: referencing the fact that my photo is at the microscopic level of someone with this disease and the second is that if they look and see that seal, they’re realize is that that is out of place and then my hope is that they will do some research on the matter and looking closer will help to reveal the truth to them.

I put my poster up on my Facebook page and it was well received, even in a short time. It seemed to be easily understood and a few people even looked up Lyme and the CDC. Seemed to work.

For this project I took inspiration from our viewing of “The danger of a single story.” I think that’s what the CDC does. They only see Lyme as one way – simple and not dangerous. In reality, it a chameleon amongst diseases, often referred to as “The great pretender” due to its ability to mimic the symptoms of other diseases. In reality it extremely complex and highly dangerous. That’s what ultimately made me choose do this – their inability to look at it in any other way.

As far as the design of my poster I was inspired by some microscopic pictures in the documentary Under Our Skin, which focuses on the fight against the CDC and the stories of several who have suffered from Lyme for years. If you want to watch it you can do so for free right at the bottom of the page.

I would highly recommend it. Educate yourself and you could help save someone or, who knows, maybe even yourself from this horrible disease.