Dear Sasha, I'm terribly sorry that what I wrote was so upsetting to you. Let's see if I can explain what I said and help you understand the context I'm working from ...
I wrote: > To an extent they are correct, in that alternative medicine, as it's > practiced on the internet, is a chaotic zoo of conflicting claims, > belligerant hucksterism, fanatical debunking, and utter lunacy. If you > are looking for an excuse to dismiss the whole thing, you *will* be able > to find all the justification that you need. You responded: > I'm sorry, I had to read the specific paragraph of your post several > times to allow the shock that YOU actually wrote that sink in, and > take time to let the sting of your opinion wear off. I found your one > particular paragraph astonishing, embarrasing, and ill-stated. I am > wondering what an intelligent person such as yourself is thinking. If > you are going to slam an industry with hundreds of thousands of > dedicated and competent people devoting their lives to it, it would be > most appreciated that you state "TO WHAT EXTENT" you actually do mean. I think the quickest way to get us on the same page is to ask you: How many people do you know who refuse to touch anything from alternative medicine? No matter how clear and obvious it is? No matter how qualified and experienced you are? How hard have you had to work to overcome their resistance, if you even could? And where does that resistance come from? More than anything else, I'd say it comes from the near-total blackout on coverage of alternative medicine in the corporate dominated media. Add to that the persistent efforts of the government to suppress other options, and most people who are not already interested in the subject will not *believe* that there are good alternatives available. They would tell you, "If any of that stuff worked my doctor would have told me about it!" So I consider it imperative to warn them that they're going to have to dig deeply enough to get past their first impressions and *find* the good information, the professional sounding sites, and the fair and detailed comparisions of their options. Notice now that I go on to write this: > What they [quackwatch] don't want you to notice, is that beneath all > the confusion, there are communities of people, just like this one, > where people gather, exchange information and reports, and communicate > what works and what doesn't. They gather around a particular treatment, > or a specific disease or condition, or sometimes just a general > interest in health and longevity. > > When you've settled in and made a few friends, and you've seen enough > reports from people just like you, who are *not* trying to sell you > anything, that something seems to work... Well, then it's time to look > a bit deeper. However ineptly it may be written, I'm trying to sketch out a strategy that will help them find the experts and support groups, and the honest companies, vendors, and therapists, that they will need in order to discern their best options and resist the tactics of the professional debunkers trying to seduce them back into the conventional fold. Imagine the poor soul just home from the Doctor's office, with their diagnosis in one hand and their mouse in the other. This is the first time they've ever tried to find health related information on the 'net. They type the name of their condition into Google... They *might* encounter their best option within the first 10 minutes, but they will end up spending days and weeks learning enough to be able to recognize it! And if the first dozen things they stumble across are patently fraudulent, or totally wacky sounding, or so poorly presented that they throw their hands up in disgust... they just might decide that there is no choice but to give up and do whatever their doctor says. So, do you think I'm underestimating the average person's motivation, powers of discernment, and research skills? Maybe so, but I sure have met a lot of people who won't listen to a word about all of this wonderful information we share out here in the alternative health community. Too many of them have chosen to die horrible and ugly deaths, rather than question their conditioning. > I come from 30 years of education, training, and experience working in > this field of alternative and holistic health And that's probably why you're hearing what I wrote so differently than what I intended to say. I'm only about 8 years into my journey from an ignorant and thoroughly conventional background to a good understanding of alternative health. I still remember what it was like to start out from scratch, not believing a word of it. People have it easier today, I'm sure. There are a lot more good sites to be found and better search technology to find them with. But I know from the new voices we hear all the time that it is still confusing and difficult to know what to believe and what to reject. > and my experience is that like anything else, there are those who are > quacks, hucksters, and people simply out to make a buck anyway they > can. Yep, we've both seen them. > ... But to say, that alternative medicine as it is practiced on the > internet is ". . . . "; I find very shallow, opinionated, and simply > creating much more harm than good. In context, all that that particular paragraph does is point out to the skeptical newcomer that, if they *want* to *not* believe what we tell them, they can easily find the justification to do so, as long as they don't look any further. > It does a dis-service to those who are not in the above category No, I'd say it does a well-deserved dis-service to those who *are* in that category. > ... and provides an even greater loss to those who might have just > tried alternative means to save their lives ... Well, if a newcomer can be misled by what I wrote, then I may need to refine my writing skills some more. Perhaps it isn't plain enough. > ... But, because you are held in high regard, some people, not all, > will take your word for it. If I'm "held in high regard" it's only because of the contributions to this list of the many people who've shared so much knowledge and given so much of their time and energy to helping other people. > CS is not the only possibility for health and wellness. And you will never hear me say anything of the kind. Sasha, I hope you'll find it in yourself to forgive me for the insult you feel I've given you. It was never my intent. Be well, Mike Devour silver-list owner [Mike Devour, Citizen, Patriot, Libertarian] [[email protected] ] [Speaking only for myself... ] -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver List archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] OT Archive: http://escribe.com/health/silverofftopiclist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
