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well here is what the fuss was about.
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Okay, so maybe Hoose could have left off the 'Hi Scrappy' so as to preserve identity but seriously .... what identity???
My opinion of Hoose and his behaviours are exactly that, no more or less than my opinion
And for the record, Hoose did apologise for his "sloppy" comments on the original thread.
I don't believe one can discuss things like this with Hoose,they become totally Hoose focused.
Expressing his opinions is fine, but notwith his counsellors hat on.
That is totally unprofessional and I'm sure in breach of any governing body he may be bound by.
If he wants to start daft threads about poo and grammar so be it,I do ignore them . I don't believe he should be proffering medical advice when he is clearly in no fit state to do so.
Actually, all of this puts me off posting at all.
The thing that really upsets me is that Hoose's intentions were honourable and good and not intended to hurt. I think he's genuinely devastated that it has caused anyone any upset - hence starting this thread.
Anyway, it seems we won't be hearing from Hoose again and so I'm sure a few people will be feeling quite pleased with themselves now.
I think you're crediting Hoose with being a bit more selfless than he is.
I think the true reason for him starting this thread was that he felt so bad for upsetting people and he wanted to make it clear that his original wording was not intended to be offensive.
I suffer from depression (off and on) and have had counselling in the past. I harbour a fear of anti Ds (rightly or wrongly) and have thus far avoided them.
I can truly understand the ongoing argument being upsetting but I truly believe the purpose of this thread was for clarification rather than ongoing hurt.
fed up with physical discomfort and being VERY slow
but then came accross this thread
thought about you all and decided to carry on why you may or may not ask?
realised how many peeps have been helped by running and how it can pull peeps together ie remember the race you never thought you'd complete then a complete stranger, a fellow runner offers a kind word, a sweet etc. Thought of you all and knew that despite some of your differences I knew you'd help each other.
The printed word can often cause so much trouble if only we could see the problems it can cause in advance I'm sure no-one in hindsight would really have wanted to hurt/offend anyone. Feel like I've intruded, apologies but again thankyou for giving me the desire to plod again.
See you all at the next race and mines a jelly baby....
Let's not lose sight of the fact that we do all help each other.
I think deep down we all know Hoose didn't mean to offend. That he did is yesterday's news.
Whatever happened to forgiveness?
<sigh>
Just wish he'd left it well alone.......
Hindsight's a wonderful thing isn't it?
Reading back on original thread, I don't think people were as upset as this thread has made it appear and perhaps Hoose took a bit too much on board.
Yes, a few people took exception but having their say was all the recompense they needed. One person requested a retraction and all but got it when Hoose reappeared and realised he'd offended.
I think you're right Kirrie. He should have left it there but as I said, hindsight is a wonderful thing and it's easy for me to sit and say all of that. Had I been in Hoose's shoes I'd have been worried sick about having offended and would then, possibly, have started this thread when it was obviously best left alone.
Lordy! I feel like blubbing! LOL
I hope you feel better Kirrie and realise that Hoose wasn't out to upset.
If in your opinion Hoose gives bad advice then say so - the fact remains that he is a qualified counsellor of some sort so why should he keep quiet about that any more than people like V'rap or Hipps should about being doctors.
I think the danger is not Hoose but that we'll get a situation where people dare not state an alternative position for fear of being jumped on - it's not as if there aren't lots of posters on the other thread disagreeing with him.
'Counsellors' aren't qualified to prescribe or advise on the use of antidepressants, but too few people realise that counsellors aren't necessarily qualified in anything.
Hoose apologised to me for confusing his personal opinions with his role as a counsellor, which is what I really objected to, and AFAIC that's that.
FYI, there isn't a required entry qualification for counselling - the nearest thing to a governing body is the BACP, but that's voluntary - you can get chucked out and still call yourself a counsellor with no legal come-back whatsoever, unlike being a medical doctor or psychologist - it's not a title protected in law. All you need to do to call yourself a counsellor is have paper, pen, and a bit of sellotape to stick the sign to your front door. (not written to 'have a go' - I believe Hoose is BACP-registered which is a Very Good Thing - but I think it's an appalling state of affairs which too few people are aware of, leaving people open to exploitation and incompetence when they are most vulnerable).
I also think that anyone who takes 'professional' advice from Internet forums too seriously is very unwise - but it's good practice to make it clear that that's not what you are doing.
There were all sorts of personalities that the person behind this had created, with all sorts of things going on in their lives (one died of cancer, then turned out to have been in a concentration camp in former Yugoslavia and to have had AIDS, there was a whole supporting cast to this, including a gay Rabbi, a computer-illiterate American husband, and many others, each of whom had detailed 'blogs', backstory, mailing lists, whole other forums, fake corroborationg details sneaked onto legit sites, etc etc; the psychologists' husband became paralysed by a car accident and was seriously ill; another identity had Asperger's syndrome and alcoholism, then got breast cancer, and had set up a whole website/support organisation/online forum for people with Asperger's...). People got very involved in all these things, and gave all sorts of time & support - at one point I offered to adopt the dead person's cat, whereupon it swiftly turned out to have found another home.
It was a deeply weird experience, and it was finally confirmed that these were all the same person because two 'identities' posted pictures of the same cat, which caused more technological digging (it's a heavily-trafficked site with upward of 12000 members) which eventually proved it - then the responsible person emailed the site admin to admit to it.
Another site was definitely involved, and a third unrelated site had similar problems which may or may not have been the same person (there are reasons to think it was).
I'd heard of Munchausen's by Internet before, but this was unbeliavably complicated, technologically sophisticated, and the amount of work which must've gone into creating the detailed backstory was just staggering. The details personal, professional, and medical managed to completely fool everyone, even those with professional knowledge & experience of the various illnesses etc claimed.
Anyway, the whole thing made me a lot more reluctant to take advice offered by internet. If I don't 'know' someone online fairly well, then I wouldn't take advice beyond '[link] is helpful' or 'go and see someone IRL!'
[No, I'm not trying to say that anyone on here is involved in anything like that. Just that the internet can be a much weirder and scarier place than I ever really considered - being told a bunch of stuff about being careful online is not the same as having it hit you round the head like that].
No offence is intended by this, but these are just my honest feelings on the matter…
He stated that he would post again as someone else. This sounded like a veiled threat because if you saw Hoose name now you were aware that some comments were made just to stir up trouble and to get reactions. Now with a different name he might cause more trouble because he might be taken seriously by more people...
I know Hoose upset people but the very thought that it might have been intentional and that he might want to disguise himself just to do it over again is incomprehensible to me.
I know we're all virtual friends but I have always valued being able to post on here. I feel so down now that I don't know whether I want to any more.
thanks.
AFAIK the cat still belongs to whoever was behind the multiple identities (definitely female, probably not living that far from my parents by co-incidence). If I ever see it, I will give it some cat biscuits.
I actually started posting on the site mentioned above after a friend (who was a regular poster) was in a very serious car crash and was at serious risk of death or brain damage. Although I didn't 'know' anyone on there, lots of people were concerned about my friend and offered much-appreciated support, wrote letters to him in hospital from all round the world, travelled a long way to visit, and were generally rather wonderful (this was before the 'MBI' events).
Whatever - I'd rather help lots of people who don't need it than miss out on the one who does, and I'd rather trust people and be wrong sometimes than miss out on friendships and support. But - it was an important lesson that the Internet is never quite the same thing as real life.
I'm sure most people on here would be astonished if they learned of my true identity as a retired stockbroker who divides his time between weeks in Surrey working for the Conservative party, and weekedns flying my private jet to my estate in Scotland to hunt peasants (having wiped out the local peasantry, we are now importing funny-coloured ones to keep the shooting moors in good condition).