Skeptiker står verkligen inte högt i kurs. Frånvaron av
bekräftelse på twitter kan tydligen orsaka posttraumatisk stress (PTSD), något
som Melody Hensley (Center for Inquiry) fick erfara. PTSD är ett tillstånd som
vi normalt kopplar till våldtäkt, misshandel, krigsveteraner som genomgått
traumatiska upplevelser som att vara nära att mista sitt liv, eller varit tvungen
att ta någon annans liv. Skeptiker är inte immuna från den skada som skepticism
orsakar - Hensleys karriär är byggd på skepticism. Jag vill absolut inte kasta
någon skugga över Hensley. Min poäng är att inte heller skeptiker uppskattar
skeptiker. Jag ifrågasätter inte hennes diagnos - den har hon fått av riktiga
läkare - men jag har svårt att bortse ifrån den negativa inverkan skepticism
har på människor - skeptiker eller ej. Faktum är att Hensley har tilldelats
diagnosen PTSD, så det som påstås är korrekt - skepticism kan ger PTSD - men hur ska man förhålla sig när en professionell
skeptiker blir drabbad? I skrivande stund, detta är Hensleys sista
utlåtande i denna fråga:
"I didn't self-diagnose or decide to have PTSD. I was
diagnosed by a very good psychiatrist. I'm not looking for armchair
psychiatrists. I respect military and would call commanders and other
authorities only to defend myself against threats. I don't discount
military vets' PTSD. I care about everyone with PTSD. I want people to realize that it is not a
military-only condition." Låt mig bjuda på lite bakgrund.
"Travis Roy is the co-founder and organizer for the Granite State Skeptics. He is also, under his Twitter handle of @Sc00ter, listed in Level 3 (“annoying”) of The Block Bot. I think the behavior shown in my prior post is plenty to have him be classed as annoying, but there was a conversation that happened earlier today on Facebook that demonstrated why anyone might be wary of interacting with Roy.
For background, you’ll want to know that Melody Hensley, director of Center for Inquiry’s Washington D.C. branch, was recently diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She had previously been diagnosed in December with Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) after being harassed online in various places including YouTube and Twitter. When her symptoms didn’t resolve in a brief period of time with medication and therapy, the diagnosis was changed to reflect that.
Melody continues to deal with the disorder with medication and therapy, and she continues to work after a brief leave to deal with the start of treatment (some of these medications have rough adjustment periods) and to allow her to avoid the source of the stress completely for a time. She coordinated this year’s Women in Secularism in the middle of a medication change, and none of the issues at the conference were issues of organization.
Following the lead of several people in the secular movement, Melody’s been open about having a mental illness and treating it. What she hasn’t said to more than friends (and yes, I’m saying this with her express permission) is that she has a history of traumatic events in her life. She came through physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in some of her closest relationships with a resilience that surprised mental health professionals. She came through foster care to become executive director of a CFI branch. She was not just surviving, but thriving. Then she was targeted personally and professionally online. Now she has a mental illness that she is actively coping with."
Med detta sagt, kom ihåg att ifrågasättande kan orsaka att
du blir avskedad. De som trånar efter bekräftelse kan kontakta din chef,
oavsett om de betitlar sig skeptiker eller inte. Skepticism kan kosta dig din
karriär, din inkomst och din sociala ställning, och skeptiker kan inte åtnjuta
det skyddsnät som religiösa erhåller - det skulle kränka civilminister Stefan
Attefall i sin föreställning om vidskepliga människors överlägsna värde. Jag
erkänner att Melody Hensley har blivit trakasserad, men vill samtidigt påminna
om att yttrandefrihet passar bäst för den som inte har några avvikande åsikter.
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