[LEPS-L:7870] Misinformation?

Ron Gatrelle gatrelle at tils-ttr.org
Tue Nov 14 13:54:39 EST 2000


Roger Kuhlman wrote:
    I am personally sick of those people who continually take quotations out of  context and seek other ways to advance their agenda that the chemical and insecticide industries have always or nearly always had no major negative impacts on the environment and instead are invariably very beneficial to the  American public.

Ron's comment.
    Two comments on the above. First, In specifying only "those people" on the pro-insecticide side of the debate, the statement infers that it is OK for "those people" on the other side of the debate to make out of context quotes etc. -- which in fact they are as equally adapt at (or guilty of). IF this is so, it is a double standard. It also assumes that the pro-pesticide people are ALL dishonest and manipulative while the other side are ALL honest good guys. Political and philosophical double standards are far too common in today's America. Thus, nothing "they" say should be trusted (in or out of context, long or short), and everything "we" say (in or out of context, long or short) should never be questioned. 
    I do not presume that this is what Roger was saying at all. I assume, because I am not on a witch hunt, that Roger's statement is not an accurate and full conveyance of his gripe. I assume his statement to be directed at the out of context use of statements BY ANYONE on any side of a position. If not, he will eventually find himself being hit with the same rock he has thrown. What goes around does come around.
    Second, in the Leps-l format, there is not room for full debate. So it is not necessarily the intent of ANYONE who posts here in brevity to manipulate others or skew data. Paul, and several others, are very good at getting a lot of info in a small space. I am not so gifted. Thus, what I see, is simply format mandated brevity not premeditated misinformation. A brevity which can, and does, occasionally lead both the writer and the reader (US) to frustration and emotional venting. 
    I will make a third comment. Our house is treated with the most potent termite killer I could find. We do not use any chemicals in our garden. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/private/leps-l/attachments/20001114/310287f2/attachment.html 


More information about the Leps-l mailing list