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... ]
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