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Brave Sir Prof Wessely discusses death threats 29th March 2017

Cinders66

Senior Member
Messages
494
It is.
http://maartens.home.xs4all.nl/log/2010/NL100411a.htm - perhaps mistyped?

I do not hope he dies.
I hope he is scientifically executed, his papers hung by the neck as the platform under them is retracted, and his influence gone.
I hope the entire field of psych research learns that subjective patient reports need to be treated with extreme care, and that for many conditions of physical origin, the very best they can do is a sympathetic ear, and treating the depression or other mental problems that go along with the illness, without purporting to cure it.


That's a great find. Much to read. Obviously all expressed with strong language. It seems the man is Dutch and has used Phoenix rising and someone then copied the last bit I nto an email?
In the context of the blog, a lot about Wesselys war work, the lyric was not likely intended as a death threat originally , although I suppose the email senders intentions were not clear.
 

user9876

Senior Member
Messages
4,556
I don't think and have never thought it unrealistic that someone with ME - if it was someone with ME - could be so distressed at life (or having a mental Heath episode ) and at the Wesselyites behaviour, that sending a nasty email, maybe late at night in a time of crisis happened. We can all suspect why SW has chosen to make use of these unpleasant events in such a vocal and repeated way.

If the person had a mental illness such as schizophrenia then Wessely's actions would probably be frowned upon. Equally labeling a whole group of patients due to one or two people is wrong and just shows a huge level of prejudice that would be unacceptable with any other group.
 

user9876

Senior Member
Messages
4,556
I think it's entirely possible that it was not sent as an e-mail, and the BMJ just claimed that it was.

I wonder if it is worth reflecting on why this example was chosen. Quoting Dylan is not a death threat but an expression of great dislike and a suggestion that Wessely should be accountable for his actions. When Dylan wrote the song he wasn't accused of threatening to kill those involved in the military and the arms industry.
 

me/cfs 27931

Guest
Messages
1,294
Someone should contact Zimmerman and let him know how an entire patient population has been painted as dangerous simply because someone quoted his lyrics. Wonder what he'd say?
 

Chrisb

Senior Member
Messages
1,051
We are starting to get into interesting territory.

We are apparently not allowed to criticise Sharpe for his "undeserving sick" comment on the basis of its literary allusion, which went unnoticed at the time.

Meanwhile, Wessely et al. are permitted, perhaps encouraged, to continue to use this apparently no more obscure quotation against a group of hundreds of thousands of people. Consistency does not seem to be a strength of the BPS crowd.
 
Messages
13,774
Also though, lets not forget the weird stuff like: "an evident dr. Mengele in human motivation. You're the born personal physician of Heydrich, Goebbels or Hitler."

It's not particularly surprising that there'd be an attempt to use stuff like against us, even if trying to use one patient's bizarre blog in this way would be seen as unacceptable for most medical conditions.
 

Daisymay

Senior Member
Messages
754
Also though, lets not forget the weird stuff like: "an evident dr. Mengele in human motivation. You're the born personal physician of Heydrich, Goebbels or Hitler."

It's not particularly surprising that there'd be an attempt to use stuff like against us, even if trying to use one patient's bizarre blog in this way would be seen as unacceptable for most medical conditions.

Of course it's unacceptable but that's not the point. The point is Wessely's use of the blog, to in effect vilify everyone with ME and boost his own reputation.

I reckon Wessely is in breach of several of the GMC Good Medical Practice Duties of a Doctor:

http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice/duties_of_a_doctor.asp

But I don't suppose it's of any consequence, he, and his colleagues, act with impunity.
 

Cinders66

Senior Member
Messages
494
I don't think it's beyond credible that Wessely and Esther and white have received a few nasty emails over the years, there's great distress and hostility to them in this community. The fact they chose to make this the defining way CFS is viewed in uk as an unpleasant, dangerous field with militant and ungrateful patients and say stuff like loads of researchers been forced to leave the field really annoys me though. If only they had frankly, we still have the Kings lot, the Esther type as top dogs and just a tiny few very quiet, low funded, low key biomedical researchers. If you're worried some patient behaviour deters researchers (they aren't really) then going to the press big time about it is surely the last thing you'd do? That Wessely can continue to spin himself as a victim and a learned success at the top of his career rather than a failed, manipulating maligning medic still baffles me but probably reflects how much the medical profession are fundamentally unsympathetic to MUS & fatigue illness.

When is this all going to end I say...
 

lilpink

Senior Member
Messages
988
Location
UK

I'm glad Twitterland is responding to this but it's not strictly true is it? It *was* a case we knew PACE was fundamentally flawed years ago because the data they were perversely happy for us to see in their published papers didn't add up in and of itself. That's why people such as yourself, not to mention the monster-tome by Hooper and Williams, were able to dissect PACE to elucidate its faults years before the ICO demanded QMUL to release the specific data Matthees et al had requested. That data is equivalent to the 'belt and braces' to support the contention that the PACE Trial was seriously flawed, (and almost certainly fraud (imo) ) but had anyone outside the ME community listened and believed what they were being told they would have agreed that the alarm signs were there right at its inception. Thankfully some people outside the 'Community' did listen (Tuller and Goldin amongst them) but it's been an uphill struggle for even those individuals with their excellent connections to push through the carapace the PACE PI's built around this Trial.
 
Messages
15,786
That data is equivalent to the 'belt and braces' to support the contention that the PACE Trial was seriously flawed, (and almost certainly fraud (imo) ) but had anyone outside the ME community listened and believed what they were being told they would have agreed that the alarm signs were there right at its inception
Yes, but it's more polite and productive to pretend that our new supporters had an excuse to not listen to us before :p