Hi, list-folks....ummm...we seem to have had a little spurt of uproar
again, to say the least.  I must admit that I haven't been reading the
religious war as closely as I perhaps should have.  My thoughts about
what I had read was along the lines of "certainly is making folks think &
write their opinions".  You know, the first support group meeting I went
to just a few weeks after being diagnosed scared the daylights out of
me.  Those pwp's were elderly, expressionless & obviously ill.  Now, I
realize that behind that facade that pd puts up between us, there are
still very wise people with very strong feelings on many topics...people
who are not hesitant to express their feelings very clearly...which makes
this journey with pd not quite as scary.

I hope that we all feel that this is a safe place to ask/answer questions
and to be open and honest about ourselves without fear of harassment or
embarassment.  If there is anything that makes this impossible, let's work
together towards a solution.  We are battling pd...that's war enough and
work enough...we don't need to battle each other even with words.  We can
agree to disagree but defend each other's right to express his/her
opinions.

Many members only feel comfortable as 'list-lurkers' which is a totally
acceptable use of the list.  Unfortunately, there really are the other
type of lurkers out there who seem to have no purpose in their lives other
than to cause trouble & hurt feelings.  I don't pretend to know why they
do what they do...that's up to people with much more education and
specialized training than I have.  The best suggestion I have about
dealing with them is to not give them the reaction they are asking for.
Charlie, perhaps you can give us better advice about this.  I hope so.

Anyway, folks....about the 'list-rules' 'list-purpose'...as I've said
before, there are over 1800 of us so there are at least 1800 opinions
about the purpose of the list.  The list rules are about as flexible as
rules can get...in fact, maybe 'list-suggestions' would be a better
description.  The firmest one would be:  Thou shalt not interfere with a
fellow listmember's right to feel safe and welcome to post to the list
(and thou shalt not use the list for monetary gain).

So....can we take aim again at our mutual enemy, pd?  Has everyone who
possible can written to their political representatives asking
(demanding) funding for pd research?  Does anyone have any suggestions
about the effects of quitting smoking on pwp's (This is my eigth day
without smoking...after 30 years of smoking)?

Barb


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Barbara Patterson                               [log in to unmask]
HSC 2J22                                        905-525-9140, ext. 22403
                        School of Nursing
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