I resigned today, from the advisory board of an organization in Floriduh, which included two pro-chelation persons. I hope that all of my peers who are members of advisory or director boards will follow my example and publicly isolate people whose irresponsible and self-serving promotion of chelation as therapy led to the recent trajic death in Pennsylvania.
This is my letter to the Brevard Center....
To: Brevard Center
It is with regret that I resign from the advisory board to your
mentoring program for my collegiate peers. My decision has nothing to do
with your program. My decision is because I no longer wish to associate with
two members of your advisory board, Drs Bradstreet and Karnitzel.
Both of these people have led the irresponsible, nationwide
promotion of chelation, without any scientific research to back it,
resulting in the completely avoidable death of a five year old boy in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That boy will never grow up to benefit from your
mentoring program.
I wish you success and strongly advise my friends and former
colleagues on your board to ask themselves if they should remain. I believe
they should not until you make sure that all members of your advisory
board adhere to sound, scientific practices and avoid the disastrous and
unethical promotion of pseudoscience in the name of therapy for people with
autism.
Sincerely yours,
Gerald Newport
Tucson, AZ
Bravo!!!
I wish others had as much integrity.
The use of chelation for autism certainly isn't what most scientists would recommend, untill they do (and they probably never will) it should be classed as quackery because that is what it is.
I think you made a good decision Mr. Newport.
Jerry
My respect for you grows.
Thanks. The board I resigned from still includes Stephen Shore and Liane Holliday Willey. Liane is recovering from a nasty fall which broke her nose but said she is "looking into" my position. Stephen is coming back from China and I hope he will join me in my decision.
Jerry
Onya Jerry! (That's Australian for "Well done!")
It would be a wonderful thing if more high profile autistic people made a similar stand.
It would be nice to not feel surrounded by a bunch of moral midgets.
Jerry Newport
Well I think it is a case of being more an uncle tom than anything else.
Lets see what are the NTs are doing. they must be right cos they are not diseased like me. So I will follow. I think many aspies doubt themselves and this self doubt fills the books they write.
I think there is a lot of truth to that. I guess I was lucky since I never thought I was so different that I had to think that way.
Jerry
I resigned today, from the advisory board of an organization in Floriduh, which included two pro-chelation persons.
I'm probably missing the point here, but doesn't this just mean that these two people now have a 'louder' voice than you do now that you've left them in charge?
One of them is no longer there but you do miss the point completely. I would suppose that you would have found it acceptable for a jew to serve on the advisory board for the Third Reich? Perhaps to lobby for dreidels in the yards, chess sets and hug machines next to the gas chambers?
The point is that when people stoop to the lowest actions, it is better not to associate with them at all.
Jerry Newport
I think Jerry was only trying to make a point. It wasnt meant as personal. He was make an analogy. But it doesnt me he thinks you are anyway morally deficit as a person
I would suppose that you would have found it acceptable for a jew to serve on the advisory board for the Third Reich? Perhaps to lobby for dreidels in the yards, chess sets and hug machines next to the gas chambers?
Are you actually asking me these questions?
No. I am being facetious. I am showing how absurd it would have seemed for me to stay on that board by offering a ludicrous example.
Jerry
Had their of been any Jews on the advisory board for the Third Reich I can only imagine that the outlook for Jews might not have been so bleak.
yeah right as if it would have been allowed
please lets end this discussion before it looks like it was on AI
lol
Good going Jerry!
[quote="Brightman"]Had their of been any Jews on the advisory board for the Third Reich I can only imagine that the outlook for Jews might not have been so bleak.
I think there were Jews on the advisory board of the Third Reich though not officially. They were known as Quislings and collaborators. Not much good either way.
Jerry
Sometimes one needs to trade some power for more credibility.
or even for a good nights sleep
Thank you Lili, that makes some sense to me. I still think some good could have done, if it were at all possible, to have stayed on to argue an anti-cure viewpoint, but I guess that would be very difficult to do with 'chelaties'.
wow you are being nice now?
working hard to stay moderator?? ;p
wow you are being nice now?
I wasn't being unplesant before, I didn't understand something and wanted it explained, Lili did just that, unlike yourself who tried to halt the proccedings altogether, perhaps this is why you can't be trusted with a moderator status because you can't differentiate between (slightly heated) debate and puerile argument?
I cant be trusted. I was only being nice cos amy said go forth and be nice.
I know the difference quite fine. thank you. But the fact is jerry's point was obivous just not to the blind.
I wont make that mistake again.