Gerwyn,
It costs nothing to be polite to people. Particularly ill people whose symptoms can be worsened by ill-judged comments posted in forums such as these. It should be possible to debate with people without treating them like idiots - this seems to be a skill which you have yet to develop. I would have been more polite about this but there are a trail of obnoxious messages left by you in which you give no such consideration to others.
Can you make an effort in future to refrain from belittling people. I find it very distasteful and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I never belittle anyone things are not quite what they seem especially in the current climate >
if you can find an obnoxious message then please forward one.
i am well aware of what it is like to be ill having had no cognitive function for almost five years.
It is actually the danger of people being harmed by ill judged comments that worries me
iIl judged comments in my view are dogmatic opinions masquerading as scientific facts or propaganda posing as truth.
Many vulnerable people lack the ability,scientific training or cognitive awareness to distinguish the difference
There is a difference between debate and presenting the same argument time after time regardless of what has been said to counter that argument.
This is the tactic I,ve been repeatedly faced with.That is a tactic that I find obnoxious as it has the potential to cause unnecessary distress to so many people
If someone purports to report something as scientific fact when it is not and continues to repeat it ad nausiem despite being presented with contrary evidence then that is not a debate.
I am acutely aware of the vulnerability and level of desperation of people with ME who read these posts.This is why I find the repetition of inaccurate dogma to be obnoxious.
If people persist in repetition of these mantras what would you suggest as an alternative to my reaction when my responses are otherwise ignored.
Would you prefer that many people become stressed,despairing and anxious as a result of being continually exposed to groundless propaganda or a few who persist in repeating unfounded mantras as if they had some objective validity
Finally I would say that many people stick rigidly to their beliefs which though contrary to scientific evidence are sincerely held.
Others put forward "beliefs" for other quite different reasons.
We have had many examples of the latter in recent days and weeks.
I completely agree, Gerwyn, that there is something unsavory and cruel in the repeated badgering and repeated misinformation and disinformation that you have responded to so well.
To make the "let's make nice because the disinformation posters are SO polite"-folks happy, I would like to suggest a phrase that you and others might use when these distraction oriented posts come up: "THERE YOU GO AGAIN". Or maybe "THERE THEY GO AGAIN", to avoid making it too "personal".
Or maybe we need a 'disinformation/propaganda' icon that we could just add to those posts that are so full of it....
Anyway, I would like to thank you, Gerwyn, for helping us understand the science. And I would like you to try to make the "politeness is more important than the truth"-folks happy, too, so please be kind even to those you/we suspect have ulterior motives here. As you have conceded, it is possible some of them have sincerely held beliefs, so please give them the benefit of the doubt, while keeping the rest of us well informed.
Also, congratulations on overcoming your dyslexia to such a degree. Your writing has improved a lot lately and I hope that means you are improving in health. Please don't waste too much energy to the point that you get sicker. We need you here.