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Just a little warning about whackos...
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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 91983" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I copped this last Speech Day at the local school. Speech day is like the end of year graduation ceremony. As an 'honoured guest' I was invited to lunch afterwards with other 'honoured guests', most of them volunteers or local politicians. Plus the school staff and the usual gatecrashers. I found a spot with some good friends and THEIR friends to take my little paper plate. We were having a lovely chat when one of the women began to sound off about people who medicate their children. Not wanting to get caught up in a tirade I said something like, "It is important to make sure the child is properly assessed and the family fully informed." However, she seemed to take this as agreement with her extremism and turned to me and said, "Isn't it awful how so many parents just drug their kids into oblivion, turn them into compliant zombies and steal their childhood?"</p><p>OK, an emotive statement if ever there was one. Again, I didn't want to pick a fight but I DID want her to back down or at least drop the subject, so I said, "Well, I AM one of those dreadful parents. I agree that it is sometimes too readily dispensed, but in t he case of our family, it is very much needed."</p><p></p><p>She didn't back off, but neither did she get hostile. We had a friendly discussion, but she WAS using every emotional blackmail argument in the book as well as making some really STUPID statements (and she is otherwise an intelligent person - or so I had thought until this). She also told me that caffeine works well for her. I pointed out that CAFFEINE is also a drug, and compared to dex it is a blunt instrument. It also is disastrous for my boys.</p><p></p><p>I remembered afterwards that she makes a bit of pocket money selling alternative remedies to vulnerable parents at the school and in the neighbourhood - her persuasive powers will bludgeon many parents into not medicating the kids who desperately need it, and buy her goji berry stuff instead (or whatever other fad she is selling at exorbitant prices this week). In Australia, this sort of marketing is considered highly unethical and borderline-illegal. it is ridiculously expensive and people like her become major zealots in order to justify the high price in their own heads.</p><p></p><p>Delete the message from your mind, but keep a copy stashed somewhere for a while, just in case. If she IS targetting you, the more evidence you can present to your moderator, the better. I've had a couple of stalkers and was VERY glad I kept copies of stuff. I had to use those copies to get action taken. If I'd deleted it completely, I'd have had no ammunition.</p><p></p><p>If you want some fun, see if part of the message reads like something she's lifted from somewhere else. Find a representative passage and copy/paste it into Google between double quote marks. It's a good way to find other places where the same text has been used. I use this to track hoaxes & scams as well. When you realise that someone like this has probably sent the same letter to a hundred other people you won't feel so personally slighted.</p><p></p><p>Chances are she's tracked you somehow (we have to be really careful to cover our tracks) and probably tracked others, targeting those who have other 'leads' to them. She can only contact you here, by registering. But anyone can lurk here and copy information.</p><p></p><p>This is yet another reminder to us to protect our personal details from this sort of abuse.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 91983, member: 1991"] I copped this last Speech Day at the local school. Speech day is like the end of year graduation ceremony. As an 'honoured guest' I was invited to lunch afterwards with other 'honoured guests', most of them volunteers or local politicians. Plus the school staff and the usual gatecrashers. I found a spot with some good friends and THEIR friends to take my little paper plate. We were having a lovely chat when one of the women began to sound off about people who medicate their children. Not wanting to get caught up in a tirade I said something like, "It is important to make sure the child is properly assessed and the family fully informed." However, she seemed to take this as agreement with her extremism and turned to me and said, "Isn't it awful how so many parents just drug their kids into oblivion, turn them into compliant zombies and steal their childhood?" OK, an emotive statement if ever there was one. Again, I didn't want to pick a fight but I DID want her to back down or at least drop the subject, so I said, "Well, I AM one of those dreadful parents. I agree that it is sometimes too readily dispensed, but in t he case of our family, it is very much needed." She didn't back off, but neither did she get hostile. We had a friendly discussion, but she WAS using every emotional blackmail argument in the book as well as making some really STUPID statements (and she is otherwise an intelligent person - or so I had thought until this). She also told me that caffeine works well for her. I pointed out that CAFFEINE is also a drug, and compared to dex it is a blunt instrument. It also is disastrous for my boys. I remembered afterwards that she makes a bit of pocket money selling alternative remedies to vulnerable parents at the school and in the neighbourhood - her persuasive powers will bludgeon many parents into not medicating the kids who desperately need it, and buy her goji berry stuff instead (or whatever other fad she is selling at exorbitant prices this week). In Australia, this sort of marketing is considered highly unethical and borderline-illegal. it is ridiculously expensive and people like her become major zealots in order to justify the high price in their own heads. Delete the message from your mind, but keep a copy stashed somewhere for a while, just in case. If she IS targetting you, the more evidence you can present to your moderator, the better. I've had a couple of stalkers and was VERY glad I kept copies of stuff. I had to use those copies to get action taken. If I'd deleted it completely, I'd have had no ammunition. If you want some fun, see if part of the message reads like something she's lifted from somewhere else. Find a representative passage and copy/paste it into Google between double quote marks. It's a good way to find other places where the same text has been used. I use this to track hoaxes & scams as well. When you realise that someone like this has probably sent the same letter to a hundred other people you won't feel so personally slighted. Chances are she's tracked you somehow (we have to be really careful to cover our tracks) and probably tracked others, targeting those who have other 'leads' to them. She can only contact you here, by registering. But anyone can lurk here and copy information. This is yet another reminder to us to protect our personal details from this sort of abuse. Marg [/QUOTE]
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