Nielk
Senior Member
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James Coyne is a quandary for ME patients. On the one hand he has helped to expose the scandal that is PACE and his continued advocacy has value. However, he does seem to be an egotist who on occasion behaves appallingly. I've received his DMs before, instructing me as to what I should and shouldn't be saying and doing and didn't appreciate his intervention. He's a mixed bag, although i do feel that the positives of his involvement just about outweigh the negatives. Just.
However, on the other side we have the supposedly defamed and abused advocates. Someone lists a few of them above. Now, I've never had personal contact with Jeanette and thus I can't comment on her advocacy, but I have had contact with two others named earlier in this thread and it wasn't a positive experience. Frankly, between them they could take offence in an empty room and revel in the attention that public victimhood brings. Personally I believe that spats like this should be between those directly involved and the rest of us should butt out. If one of those on both sides of this disagreement enter our sphere of existence, as Coyne and the two advocates did with me, then that is between me and them and it helps no one if I then cry 'victim ' and post on a forum trying to drum up support for my cause and sympathy for my predicament.
I also believe that someone in this thread is posting from two accounts, which is frankly weird.
PR, whilst not immune from conflict, has always been a place I come to be informed and read some sensible debates on a wide variety of aspects of ME/CFS. Stuff rarely gets personal or vindictive and the forum tends to be free from the hot air, conspiracy theorist tub thumpers on other forms of social media. I see no benefit to this thread other than to turn people against each other. It's not the place for it. I made that mistake a few months back, was rightly bollocked for it, regretted it and realised that this is not the arena to vent about personal conflicts.
This place is about informing, aiding and educating. I also think that there is no good or evil in this debate. Both sides have acted questionably on occasion. Turning this into a war can only damage our community.
Edit: I'm also not sure what the OP would have us do about Coyne? Attack him in the way he is being accused of attacking others? Aren't we then as bad as him?
You are basing you judgement on you own personal experience with Coyne and a couple of advocates who were victimized by Coyne. You say because you had problems with each one - therefore they are all equally guilty.
Coyne singled out his victims not because they did anything wrong to him. Coyne picked them because he didn't like one tweet that wasn't directed to him. It was directed to Collins at HHS.
Because of that one tweet he went on a week long rampage using vile language. He terrorized the entire patient community. He threatened us - if we didn't all apologize to him because of one tweet an advocate sent to Collins, he will stop championing for us.
He is a psychologist, so he knew very well the controlling tactics he was using.
Coyne's victims did NOTHING to instigate Coyne's hatred and mad ranting.
So - what I hear some onhere saying is that because they don't like the advocates who were victimized or don't like the advocacy tactics of these advocates, they deserved this aggression, abuse and ostrecizing.