Posted by kate9999 on April 21, 2001, at 21:37:49
In reply to Re: provocateur » kate9999, posted by Cam W. on April 21, 2001, at 19:07:39
It could be. That's a wonderful description of constructive debate. And it's mostly lacking that I can see on the open forums of the Internet.
And your posts, Cam, are the most useful here. I meant to thank you for a response you sent about the Wellbutrin side effects my mother was having.
But STILL. Emotions aren't evil. They aren't even detrimental to debate and discussion. Neither is anger. Neither is passion. It just isn't so. In fact if you have strong feelings, and you post with the pretense that you're not passionate you just create the illusion of objectivity of detachment. As if it's the voice of pure reason alone guiding you to your conclusions.
I'm not talking about insults or ad hominem attacks. I know I personally went too far when I called that Truehope guy a con artist and a liar (even though I think it's true).
But any good debate - really good debate - is infused with passion and emotion from top to bottom. Good debate is direct. It doesn't avoid or ignore or walk with trepidation.
This isn't just a matter of the objectivity of science. I grew up among scientists. Half my family are scientists - and they are opinionated and passionate and they will argue that way. They will not think twice about saying what they mean. And if you call them provocateurs they would laugh.
This is your board though. It's yours to mold. Even if it molders.
For the record, I was not a provocateur (at least before dr-bob called me one). I have never advocated prescribing meds here, or whined, or nitpicked or been an anarchist or launched a political agenda, or rehashed complaints. But who cares.
> Kate - Could it be that we like to share honest research and clinical insights into mental illness with each other without having "a provocateur stir things up". Many of us on this site would rather learn what is going on in the world of research into mental illness without the whining and nit-picking that has become so prevalent of late.
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> This site used to have far more intellectual debates and true sharing of insight into the latest research. Instead of furthering our knowledge of, say how nitric oxide works both in the placebo effect and relaxation therapy and possibly coming up with a working consensus of how to harness this latest research into prolonging placebo effect and make it a viable treatment option; we now see the same complaints over and over, rehashed without mercy.
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> I agree that new people do come and need assistance, but the help they have been getting recently is not balanced and too emotional for it to be of any true medicinal effectiveness. The help that use to be given here was compassionate, not inflammatory nor emotionally charged. The facts were given as best they could. Potential mistakes were pointed out and acknowledged or debated.
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> Since this board has found a larger audience, we now have gone through our share of anarchists, neo-nazis, and people who posted just to hurt the fragile feelings of other frequent posters. We have had people who have tried to mold this site into their own image and people who have tried to use this site to make political statements.
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> I believe the intention of this site is to help those in need and to share the latest discoveries from the mental health research centers around the world. This information can be disseminated in a nonemotional format with the facts laid out for all to debate or integrate into each of our current understandings of mental illness. A good example of this is Scott's and my debate over the nature/nurture aspects of the causes of depression. We have had a running debate on this for over a year and we both agree on several points in each other's arguments, but I doubt that we will ever see eye to eye on the overall picture. We debate in a civil manner using the latest research to back our opinions. We encourage others to join in the debates to give us fresh views and new angles to explore. I believe that our differences have made us each more knowledgeable in our understanding of mental illness.
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> This is how I would like to see the site continue. Help those in immediate need, without interferring with a person's patient/doctor relationship. To give the real explanations behind drug effects and side effects. To teach others about their medications and disease states so that they can be empowered to have a real say in their treatment plans.
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> It is not within our capability to prescribe or deny treatments to any individual in which we do not have a full medical and psychiatric history. We should not be encouraging self-medication. All we can do is to tell them how their drugs are working and suggest optional treatments that they can ask their doctors about.
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> Just my opinion - Cam
poster:kate9999
thread:1025
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20010315/msgs/1076.html