EV: There are many reasons why I wouldn't care to share openly in this forum.

Larry isn't one of those reasons. I have a lot of respect for him, and I feel comfortable because he's here. I've never known him to treat anyone abusively or unkindly. I've never known him to distort what a person says, to gain some unfair advantage. I've never known him to try to demean a person to make himself or his argument look better. And he seems quite happy to let us exercise our right of expression and right to the treatment of our own choice. He doesn't seem in the least threatened by our widely differing opinions and experiences. I've never heard him insult anyone by insinuating that person wasn't telling the truth, either. Last, but not least, I most sincerely wish everyone here would follow his good example.

The advice I already gave you, EV, is all I'm willing to say.

TRIAL BY EXISTENCE:
Not everyone at this forum will allow both sides of the story to be told about a drug. In fact, it's a little like a WWF smackdown when the FDA types and the Pharmacology types descend on some poor, deluded poster who reports the truth he heard on last night's news --- clear as crystal --- only to get jumped in this forum by those who consider that truth to be unwelcome.

Lots of watchdogs here, just not necessarily those who have much clarity of vision about what the consumer's best interests might be. So if one wants to come to this forum at all, one has to understand and accept this type of bias. By acceptance I mean a healthy recognition that the bias does exist --- just as algae exists in standing pools of water --- which is not at all to agree that it is a desirable or appropriate state of affairs. It simply is what it is.

TRIAL BY JURY:
And now to decide a suitable fate for those who rocked the boat by coming to this place expecting fair treatment. (1) If you find them guilty of believing that all rational opinions and relevant information are welcome here, shame on them! (2) If you find them guilty of believing that some civilized rules of debate or logic or sportmanlike conduct apply here, shame on them! (3) If you find them guilty of failing to respect the use of the tools of demagoguery in this place, shame on them! (4) So fine them 10 cents each and tell them to watch their step from now on.

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING:
No, the Pills-Are-Us folks are not exactly David Koresh or Charles Manson. However, there is a thread of similarity here. None of them would tolerate any deviation from the messianic party line. So let us examine the roles of those who cluster about this forum -- to see if we can discover their functions and see if we can see them through their own eyes.

Are the FDA and Pharmaceutical Companies and Pharmacologists indeed saviors of the mentally ill via better living through chemistry, as they self-style themselves?

Are the ACLU and the Consumer Advocates and the Families and the Ombudsmen and the Conservators and the Guardians ad Litem --- protectors of the mentally ill, similar to watchdogs that stand between us and potential predators?

And who on earth is this creature called Patient X, an adult, with an IQ of yours or mine, daring to make its own treatment decisions? Is Patient X truly the bungling, incompetent and not to be trusted drooling infant that its saviors claim it to be, needing protection and preventive pills, to save it from itself? Is Patient X actually in need of a growing crew of protectors such as those who claim to tenderly care for and look out for it, who see it as otherwise doomed to fall into the jaws of predators? Finally, how does Patient X see itself? Does anyone here beside Patient X see that as a relevant question?

I suggest that it is the ONLY relevant question. This is not a locked ward. This is not a guardianship situation. This is not a master and servant relationship. And this is not a parental function.

We have all lost sight of what matters to the patient. Dare I suggest what that may be? How about freedom? How about no more censorship (by vilification) of the patient's information and options? And how about a little respect for the patient's person and intellect too, if that wouldn't be too much trouble?

I sometimes wonder what on earth we imagine we can offer the people who come to this forum seeking information anyway, when we habitually deny each other fairness, civility, good will, and respect. So here's a "razzberry" to those of us who are treating each other so badly. Just my observation.

Adieu