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April 26, 2007
Reckless and Irresponsible
One of my commenters suggested that I post something I wrote in response to a comment as a real entry, re: Kate Taylor's reckless, irresponsible and exploitative article.
Frankly, I doubt Miss Taylor's sincerity. If she had a sincere interest in the topic of CR, she would have quoted some of the many CR society posts in which people said, "Al Pater, eat more! Al is not doing CR, he's anorexic!" There have even been many calls to shun Al from the CR Society, as he is clearly not practicing CR. This is all quite easy to find in the CR Society archives, yet Miss Taylor has very carefully picked out the information she wants. Al is a very sad person with a tragic life story. She has exploited his pain for her own personal gain.
This from Mary Robinson's blog, quite awhile back, re: Al:
And, as you would expect for any group with 2000 members, there are people who have other complex personal issues. People like to point to Al Pater as a negative example. Anyone who knows Al's life story knows that CR is not responsible for his self-destructive behaviors. Many times people on the list have tried to help him and to intervene. To consider Al an example of CR is silly. He is a special case. Al does not pretend to be a spokesperson or example. Nor does anyone else think of him that way. It's cruel and unfair to single him out. I wish Al all the best and hope for him that his health improves.
To use Al Pater as an example of a person practicing CR is like using a priest who abuses children as an example of Catholic theology. Except that in Al's case, he has done nothing morally wrong, he is a person with an illness, and he doesn't deserve this negative media attention. He is a person who is suffering from profound illness in the wake of profound loss. You'd think that Miss Taylor, with all of her supposed sympathy for anorexics, would be a little less quick to exploit his story. I hate to think of what he must be feeling now, having put his trust in someone who treated him this way. I know how hurt I was when Julian Dibbell slammed my cooking in a national magazine... but at least he explained some of the science behind CR! Do these writers ever think of the damage they are inflicting on others? They must not believe in karma, because they sure are racking up a lot of bad. I mean, look at what happened to Rebecca Traister after she wrote an article slamming CR! She may have ruined my Thanksgiving holiday... largely spent reading nasty to threatening comments on my blog... but her next few months went much, much worse! I had to spend quite a bit of time in meditation sending her positive energy after I read that one, I felt so sorry for her. Hope she's doing better now.
In the end, we must all take responsibility for our decisions. One thing about CR people that is unusual is that we take a large amount of responsibility for our own health. We don't blame the environment, our work, our families, or our genetics for our health. We take advantage of the information available to us and make our decisions accordingly, in line with our own priorities. That's quite unusual, and a lot of people don't like it. But just like saving for retirement or buying a house with a 20 year mortgage instead of a 30 year one, it's a responsible decision that requires some planning ahead.
If you don't find CR appealing, then by all means, don't practice it! That's your choice, and you're responsible for your own health decisions. We don't want to change you... but for those who are interested in slowing their aging process, some of us want to provide information on how to do that, and support for what is (thanks to people like Miss Taylor) a hard journey. Most folks on CR will tell you that hunger is not a problem -- reactions of others are much more difficult to deal with. I am blessed that my circle of close friends and colleagues are totally comfortable with my CR practice, but I admit that I hang out with almost freakishly mature and successful people. Others have huge struggles, and I try to support them so they can make the decisions that they believe are right for their own health.
To each their own.
Posted by april at April 26, 2007 8:54 PM
Comments
April - my first comment was only a few days ago, admitting I was a lurker and telling you how much I enjoy your blog. However, I would like to reiterate that I sincerely enjoy your blog, and although I am not a CRON yet, I have no doubt that I will be there in the future. Your blog provides a lot of interesting information, and I enjoy it immensely. Keep up the good work, and don't be discouraged by those who don't understand or are closed minded...Marie
Posted by: Marie at April 26, 2007 5:20 PM
Hi Marie!
Thank you for all your kind words!
a
Posted by: april at April 26, 2007 6:43 PM
Great post, April.
I had no idea about Al. No journalist with an ounce of integrity would have exploited someone like him in this way. And holding him up as an example of CRON is dishonest to the point of fraud.
This woman should be ashamed of herself.
R
Posted by: Robin at April 26, 2007 7:37 PM
Nice post April! From what Kate Taylor wrote, I think her issues with CR are more with those who are fixated on a slavish daily calorie limit and those who link CR to a larger, bizzare, and frankly childish idea of living long enough to somehow (?!) make it to some Golden Age of imortal heaven on earth. These are the crazies who are giving CR a bad name, and their creepy iron-clad obsessions with specific calorie limits is just disturbing. April - you sound much more balanced and mature and thoughtful about CR than these obsessive CRONS - who have much bigger issues to deal with than calories! Love the blog!!!!
Posted by: Cindy at April 26, 2007 8:07 PM
Hi April, sorry that you are experiencing flak from people who are evidently too bored to have a life of their own, but please ignore them as many people, even those not CRONing, have learned a lot about nutrition and longevity from your blog.
That said, I downloaded your MegaBrownie recipe from the CNN website but wanted to know if the texture is more brownie-like than Sherm's Binging brownies? I made Sherm's recipe and they were fine, but the 'texture' was not quite what I expected. I need a healthy on-the-run snack so was going to try yours.
Thanks,
AG
Posted by: Ariel Glenn at April 26, 2007 8:41 PM
Great post Sweetie. You can delete this if you don't want to be called Sweetie in public. Proud Mom--PM
Posted by: Marti at April 27, 2007 6:24 AM
Thanks to all for your nice comments!
And Mom, I absolutely insist on being called Sweetie in public. In fact, from now on, if all could address me as "Sweetie," that would really be most appropriate.
a
Posted by: april at April 27, 2007 8:11 AM
Hi Sweetie,
I am new around and am writing just to say how much I enjoy your blog (ok, real reason I am writing is because I couldnt lose the chance to call you sweetie heheh but I really like the blog)
Keep up the good work and don't worry about the people.
Oh, and I belong to the group that after "watching" some of the your ppublic apperance, made (almost) extensive research and decided to join ;-). So, for that, thank you very much!
Posted by: Julia at April 27, 2007 8:25 AM
No, no, NO! It's "FireCat" or "CRONKitty", depending on whether you're defending the CR faith or dispensing kind wisdom & fantastic recipes. Jeez! MoMR ;-)
Posted by: Judith at April 27, 2007 10:23 AM
I stumbled across this post because of the dominance of posts by Al Pater on the CR Listserv. I don't know Al, nor, do I know his story, but I'm coming to the conclusion that for some CR is their life, and for others CR is means to enhance and extend their lives.
In reading about very long lived populations (Okinawans, for example), there is no mention of scales, nutritional software, obsessive debates about the merits of one type of sprout over another. Dietary nabits have evolved such that Okinawans eat CR naturally.
Perhaps to achieve the point where CR becomes natural, one has to go through a period of using scales, nutritional software, etc. But, I think (IMHO I should say) that that for me ..hopefully...will be a means, not an end.
Posted by: Bernadette at May 27, 2008 10:16 AM