For Sherrine

Good morning!

I am horrified that my questioning caused such a stir! It was never my intention to insult the work you have done here or the help you have offered to the many people who find support from you. This illness can be a long and lonely road and it is clear that you care about the people you are helping. To me, that was never in question. I was merely trying to state that because there is so much information out there, it is important to be careful offering opinions. I think it is clear that we all agree that, although some things may help many people, everything does not help all.

I truly felt as though we were sharing information and inviting each other to accept other opinions and material and did not perceive our conversation as bickering. I had even thought last night that I would have loved to have had the chance to talk with you. Apparently it did not come across that way. I do apologize if the wording I chose was disrespectful. It is obvious that there are many of us that are passionate about these topics and I had hoped to just share my experience since it was a challenging. yet positive one. I actually found the thread because I was trying to explain the FDA issue to my husband and searched the letter online.

I too, apologize if my attempts to clear up some issues appeared in any way attacking to this forum. I do pray that everyone here who is struggling and elsewhere finds what brings THEM some relief and peace. Thank you for listening.

Hi Auntie Dee Dee:  I am not Sherrine, but I hope I can comment on what you said here, as I think you make some very good points for all of us to remember.

I'm not posting to "take sides," here at all.  But it is so true that when we are online, we can sometimes post things which can be take very differently than how we are intending it.  I have joined many forums, but I must tell you I'm at the point where I have decided to stop posting at most of them.  While there are great ideas and encouragement to be shared, too often misunderstandings arise, and it takes much time to set the record straight.  I don't know about anyone else, but I just don't have that time in my busy day.

There is something else to consider, too.  Some people trust some sources; some people trust other sources.  From what I have seen on any forum, very often if an "expert" or a source is a household name, a celebrity, is on a major media network, or is a government agency, many people think those sources can be fully trusted. Some people believe 'Snopes' on every subject; others disregard Snopes on some subjects.

 On the other side of that are those people who don't agree with the source just BECAUSE those sources are so well known! I think I am more like that. I have found that the 'authorities' on TV and elsewhere often aren't fully considering everything; they often leave out pertinent information. So those like myself instead choose alternative sources for information. 

 Sometimes those major sources people trust (media outlets, celebrities, the news, etc.) are actually pushing an agenda, because they have the microphone, are very familiar to others, and know they can easily influence people.  So, if they are against an alternative source of information, or a person or organization which doesn't follow their agenda, they often try to show those people (or ideas or information) in an unfair negative light.  They fully know:  "Who's going to disagree with us 'experts'?" so they can get away with saying some things which actually might not be true at all.  I see this often, especially in the media.  We are so conditioned to believe what the TV commercials or doctors, government agencies or other 'authorities' say, that we don't question it, or question it too little. I've learned there's almost always more to the story--and they're not telling us.

And sure, this can happen with alternative sources, too.  There are indeed some wacky quacks out there. Some just want to make money.  What I think we have to do is carefully read through material, think outside the 'box,' study the background issues carefully, gather more information, ignore others' opinions (yay or nay), and do our own research.

I guess I'm saying that we will always have varying opinions on subjects, and that's okay--I think it's good. But I also think we have to take the info we have been fed very carefully.

And I want to add that I'm not necessarily thinking of anything that has been said on this forum.  Another forum I belong to (related to a school I won't name) just had a big online 'war' that got very ugly.  One poster who is known for being VERY intelligent and informed decided to no longer post because some extremely negative comments were made about her.  While I didn't necessarily agree with all she said (I did feel she was somewhat arrogant to the moderators), I do think it's sad that the person doesn't feel comfortable commenting anymore.  She had made some good points, I felt, and other posters there said the same.

So, that's just my opinion on this.  I guess the negative of forum posting is that sometimes what is said can be misinterpreted.   Sometimes what we 'think' someone is saying online is not what they're saying at all. And sometimes when we think we have all the facts on an issue, there may still be more to the story.

I likely won't be posting anymore here, or on any other forum, and it's (mainly) because of the issues I've mentioned here, about opinions being misunderstood (I'm also just too busy on some other ventures here at home.). 

 Disagreement can be good, or it can be a problem, and if I happen to post something someone else disagrees with, doesn't fully understand or whatever, I just don't have the time in my day to answer others' posts until some clarity or understanding is reached. Personally, I like to really deeply study issues from many angles, but I don't have the time to post everything I've found.

 I do wish everyone on this forum the very best!

Post Edited (Luvzminis) : 11/18/2012 9:54:06 AM (GMT-7)

Good points, almost medfree, and thanks. Good food for thought!

I will consider what you said. Time is a factor, also. I have some new projects I'm working on. Will see how things go.

Thanks again and have a great day! :)

Edited to add:  I forgot to mention that when I'm pressed for time and only have a few minutes to 'pop' into this forum, I always look for your posts first, almost medfree!  I like the way you post unconventional health articles. Good job of "thinking outside the box."   

Also, regarding aspartame, one of my cousins used to regularly drink diet soda, and started having seizures.  The seizures were traced to the diet soda.  That's scary enough to me to steer clear of anything "diet."

Post Edited (Luvzminis) : 11/18/2012 12:14:37 PM (GMT-7)