I'm sorry too Horsey.
I feel like I've let you down.
I always link to the main board when I find something good..but yeah, sorry
To make up for it, I'm going to attach another (i think it's worthwhile) article that I just send off to drey from IN The Mix, hopefully it'll get published soon
It's basically like a semi-extended extension of the whole media/E debate thing..I don't go into specifics on the 60 Minutes show because I didn't see it (i kind of refused, I *was* going to still watch it..but then I forgot anyway) so yeah..this is my way of 'giving back' to Bluelight after my bout of irresponsible posting...
Knowledge is Power - Just Say Know
As a new generation of recreational drugs emerge, we're struck with a notable dichotomy between 2 distinct types of users. Those who swallow before they think, and those who choose to educate themselves before pumping chemicals into their bloodstreams. I belong to the latter group, although whilst I believe that education is the key to harm minimisation, getting these ideas across to mainstream society (and even to those involved in our party culture) can be more difficult than one might think.
The use of the media in such projects as harm minimisation, could be an extremely powerful tool, unfortunately in today's society it's relatively pointless. We're subjected to hearing so-called substantiated myths and rumours on the 6 o'clock news bulletin. These producers think nothing of using scare tactics as a reasonable way of informing the general public of the 'dangers' of drug use and abuse, while irresponsibly neglecting to give voice to the people within 'our' community. It's called agenda setting, and it's an active part of our news media.
There have been arguments put forth that the sort of unbiased information and drug education that these news programs do NOT contain, could lead to the curious natures of the next generation of recreational drug users being aroused, leading them into a downward spiral of drug use and abuse. I concur. In my opinion, the majority of kids are going to be curious anyway, and there's no amount of research that could prove otherwise. It's basically a no win situation. You tell these kids NO, and they want to rebel. You tell them how they can do it SAFELY and they're going to try and push their limits. The beauty of the second option is that at least they have a choice. They have a choice between responsible and irresponsible use.
From my experience, being involved in Internet drug education forums and witnessing the patterns that take place, most kids are proud of knowing as much as they do about these drugs. When they feel informed, they feel in control, and when you're in control of your usage, you're in control of your body. If you're looking after yourself and doing everything you can to lead a healthy lifestyle then there's a lot less chance of feeling 'guilty' for doing something that is perceived as wrong by the general public.
As the media continues to pump out stories about neurotoxicity in lab animals (who incidentally have been force fed so many more chemicals than one recreational user could ingest in a lifetime), mum's and dad's across the world worry that little Johnny's brain is going explode. They seem to forget that little Johnny could very well be sitting on the Internet learning about HOW he can lessen any effects of neurotoxicity with the use of particular vitamin supplements, healthy eating and just plain sensible usage.
Unfortunately we can't force others to educate themselves, nor can we indoctrinate people with what WE 'think' is right, because there will always be an answer back. Someone will always have something else to say... and when it comes down to it, we can't do an absolute thing. Ultimately WE (the users) are the baddies here, not the media, and anytime we try and justify our position in society we're going to be looked down upon and scorned for what we believe in.
So maybe this was a little melodramatic. I guess I just wanted to point out that when push comes to shove WE are responsible for US. That's all. When we start believing that we can change what the majority thinks is when we become the media.
News stories like the one shown recently on 60 Minutes will never cease to be produced, they're embedded in the structure of our news medium, because it's what people want to see. I personally have never seen 60 Minutes in Australia as more than a tabloid news magazine show that insists on presenting stories that have been highly sensationalised for the direct intent of sucking in the unlikely viewer. The people who watch 60 Minutes week in and week out are going to believe what 60 minutes say when they state that ecstasy has caused so and so numbers of OD's.. I mean why shouldn't they? It's the news right? The news is meant to consist of cold hard facts right? WRONG. The news is nothing but a stage show dedicated to good visuals and accompanying 'scripts'.
Packer and Murdoch don't care what kind of drivel we get spun at 6pm every night, so long as we remain a marketable commodity, they'll continue to throw us all the crap they so desire.
This is what the masses want. The news is merely a reaction to what the masses want to see. It's tailor made every day to appeal to at least 4 of our senses and most of the time we fall for it. In the instant that WE don't, there are at least another 3 million who did.
People don't want to learn the facts, they want to pity the poor girl who died, they want to scorn the community hat lead to that young junkie's demise...why not? It's easier right? It easier to just swallow it all without a second thought rather than question what's been presented. The people who accept these fallacies as cold hard acts, in my opinion, aren't worth the energy I may spend trying to educate them otherwise. To them, I'm (we're) always going to be just a druggie who is advocating the use of something that gets me high on the weekends.
It's sad, but I've come to realise that some people just don't want to learn, and the more we try and educate, the worse we end up looking, and with each generation of 'responsible' users comes a generation of (excuse the lack of scientific terms) sheep.
Educate yourself, educate the people who are willing to learn, because if you start trying to stuff everything you believe is right down the throat of that person who'll never learn...then ultimately you're just as bad as the media.
Indoctrination is a word the media in Australia doesn't take lightly (and I'm sure the US doesn't look too fondly upon it either) but it's a word that sadly springs to mind when matters such as these surface in our community.
Everyone believes what they know is right, it just comes down to who has the widest reachable target audience and the largest revenue dedicated to 'spreading the word'.
So here are just a few links that anyone interested in really educating themselves about everything related to ecstasy and other drugs should peruse… each of these sites has it's own Links page, so once you get started, you'll be there for days.
http://www.erowid.org/ http://www.lycaeum.org http://www.dancesafe.org/ http://www.ecstasy.org/ http://www.adf.org.au/drughit/laws.html http://www.drugsense.org/ http://www.pcb.co.za/users/ravesafe/home.htm http://www.crew2000.freeserve.co.uk/druginfo.htm http://members.tripod.com/~parvati/waterdrugs.html http://www.bluelight.ru http://pillreports.com http://www.cannabis.com http://www.maps.org/research/mdma/index.html http://www.isdd.co.uk/drugsearch/index.html http://www.ecstasy.cz
