As of late, I’ve noticed a disturbing and invasive problem in our community. I’m not going to use the names of the examples I’ve seen, because I don’t want to give them any more unneeded attention. No, the point of this plea is much simpler.
Don’t get me wrong, and don’t forget, there a lot of people in the community who make me so proud every day to be considered a part of it. People like the Stanley brothers with Realm of Caring are the most obvious examples that come to mind. These are the people we SHOULD be talking about, but all I see is drama.
The horrifying behavior, the attention seeking, the greed, these are the things can wound our fragile community more than anything, and yet, for the past month or so straight, that’s all I hear about anymore…
Thieves, histrionic displays of juvenile self-centeredness, back room dealings, and in some cases, bold faced lies uttered only to serve the mouths that speak them. Have we all forgotten the point of this movement? When did it stop being about helping the ill, and how did it become so self serving?
Again, before I get ahead of myself, I don’t want to discount the people this DOESN’T apply to. I hesitate to name anyone other than the Stanley brothers for being the best example of what we should all be doing, because like all of you, I too looked up to the fallen angels for a while.
So my plea is this…
To the quiet ones, secretly making and delivering medicine to the sick, and who AREN’T being talked about publicly. Thank you. You literally save lives, and give sick people their lives back. Please don’t ever give up despite the tarnish that’s being cast upon our community by people who don’t belong.
To those who are already ill, and fighting to keep your medicine safe and legal, I feel your pain (literally,) we have a long battle ahead of us sorting through who is genuine and who is greedy. Don’t give up just because some people don’t know how to play nicely with others.
We’ve already been fighting for so long now the image that we are ‘snake oil peddlers,’ just ‘dumb stoners looking to get high legally,’ and so many other superficial, uninformed things, that it just kills me to see the people in the spotlight right now doing us nothing but more disservice.
All I ask, for those who read this, is to remember that not all of us are looking for profit or fame, the majority of us just genuinely enjoy seeing children get to learn their own personalities, and see those struck with pain or cancer put down the canes and chemotherapy and get their lives back.
Nudge's... 