Above all do no harm - Baclofen, Curing our Alcoholism

A visitor to both Baclofen 4 Alcoholism.com and MWO e-mailed me today. He / she (I will continue as he) was concerned that my intentions / motives with the site might not be quite as honourable as I would hope you to think. The concern was that, whilst he was pretty sure that I was 'bona fide', the "commercial gain" thread on MWO had given him real cause for doubt.

He raised extremely legitimate concerns about anything to do with the internet; especially when we are dealing with such emotive, sensitive and personal issues. I hope that I dealt with his concerns, and that we enjoy his company here on a regular basis. From what little I know already, his presence would be a great bonus for our modest group.

The point I want to make today is as follows.

I am an enormous believer in free speech. Voltaire famously wrote "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." I couldn't agree more. I abhor censorship. The free press is what keeps the head of democracy and freedom above water. Even in the UK, where they say democracy was born, there are elements of our political elite who would like to have their foot on the head of democracy and much of our freedoms. They would push it back under the water to drown.

So, that is where I stand on that.

But, I feel that the internet brings just the merest smidgen of a tad of a morsel of a caveat to that freedom.

It has taken a huge amount of my time, effort, and money to build this site. I have had to consider every element. Every word. Every intention. Every message. It has been a labour of love. Not for myself, but for what I hope, and believe, this place can be for people like us. And I have done it without any anonymity.

I have never made, laid down, posted or threaded a "thread" in my life. But what I do konw is that it is very easy to do, "anonymously", and gives a voice to something that might not have taken up very much of the "threaders" time at all. Perhaps (and you will doubtless tell me if I am wrong), it might not taken weeks of thought, consideration or preparation. It might not have even been such a good idea in the cold light of day. But once it gets its own momentum ...........

Now, I wish to make it very clear that I have no problem whatsoever with the "commercial gain" thread. After all, I have responded to it, and even direct people to it from this site. I couldn't care less about it. Again, with one caveat.

The point of this TFTD is this.

I have been on both the good and the bad ends of the free press. Very good luck to them. But in absolutely every case, even they have the common sense and decency to tell you what they are going to write, so that you might comment before it goes to print. They have a code of conduct for 'proper' journalists.

My code of conduct is my professional ethics, considerable experience, and wish to help people just like me.

To a degree, some web sites have rules about what you say (offence, sex, religion etc). Few have a professional 'code of conduct'.

People like us, visiting sites such as ours, are often very scared, very lonely, very ill, very sensitive, very suspicious.

That thoroughly decent person who wrote to me today received a reply from me as soon as I saw it. I hope he keeps in touch. Because of the "commercial gain" thread, he might not.

If I hadn't replied so quickly, or at all, he might not return to the site ever gain.

Most importantly, because of the "commercial gain" thread, he might not have had the nerve to contact me at all.

Nobody contacted me about the "commercial gain" thread before it was threaded. If they had, I would've very happy to deal with them professionally. After that, they could've threaded whatever they liked. But anybody who proposes to talk to an unseen public has some degree of responsibility. When they do so anonymously, they must think very carefully indeed.

Sometimes, even when you act with the very best of intentions, you can sometimes hurt the ones you are trying to help the most.

I take my own approach from Pope John XXIII, who sagely said "See everything; overlook a great deal; correct a little."

To which I would most humbly add "And, above all do no harm". That is how I have tried to practice my surgery. And it is how I am trying to run this site.

That writer today really made me think about the harm we can do in all innocence. I hope it makes us all think about that.

When you thread your threads have your eye on what is through the eye of your needle. Like the wardrobe to Narnia, it might just surprise you. It constantly surprises, excites and inspires me.

Hope that made sense.

Take care
Pip
xx