Hi Mike: I think what you've stated stands very well on its own.
I've been a "hobbyist" independent researcher since I was very young. When I began studying alternative and natural medicine, I was eventually shocked to discover the state of affairs. MOST of the alternative & natural medicine field is nearly attrocious. ALL the time, I run into people marking up products and services between 500% - 2000%, charging outrageous consulting fees, acting in a single-minded and quite unethical manner, and then patting themselves on the back as "servants of humanity".... Charging outrageous fortunes ( 10k - 100+k ) for therapies that don't work, and then blaming the individual for some sort of "non-compliance", or simply shrugging and moving on to the next case of desperation. I think that slowly things are changing, but if you have any doubt about what is said, try going to a natural/alt health convention one of these days... or research how much it actually costs to produce some of these products. OF COURSE there is a WORLD of good out there as well. One day, we'll have a natural highly efficient economy, and humanity will look back at these times as times of true barbarism. - Jason ----- Original Message ----- From: "M. G. Devour" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2005 11:32 PM Subject: Re: CS>Colloidal silver > 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]> > >
