anthony
Founder
Got my first piece of hate mail today because of this forum, and I must say, I'm impressed. I say that because I have been in the online marketing industry for nearly 10 years now on and off, and run other sites, and hav received plenty of hate mail before, but this is the first for this forum, so here it is for your viewing pleasure.
Ok... I can tell you have PTSD, because you insult me whilst you ask me a question. No probs. I actually had to send this to Kerrie-Ann this morning, asking what to do with it, because I wasn't really in the frame of mind this morning to deal with people nicely, to say the least.
So, this afternoon, when I felt better, I responded, as tactfully as I get.
So I then get back...
So, offcourse I must respond with some sarcasm!!!
I personally think I was quite restrained... so does Kerrie. I actually took note of this ladies writing style, and immediately recognised it... because this is how I used to write or speak with people when I had PTSD in full flight. I was really a very cranky, grumpy bear, and very unapproachable, though I think I have gotten much better over time...
I think this person has the wrong idea about me, and this forum, in that its not the forum that necessarily needs her, but instead her that needs the forum. She confused the issue with me as the owner / creator of the forum vs. the actual purpose of the forum. This board belongs to all registered members and readers in a way, because instead of me seeing it as mine, I view this forum as a community that I am lucky enough to be part off. I actually don't see it any other way.
Its purpose is not about one person being dictative to everyone else, ie. a leader, it is about each and every person shareing their experience, trauma and feelings to one another, and gaining some sort of respite from the blank look, little understanding physician. Its about each and every person being able to find someone/s that they can relate too and fall upon for advice and just a lending ear when needed for support.
I guess what I am trying to say is, that this board is more like a therapeudic way to get better, being that each one of us deal with our daily PTSD problems together, with support and actual true understanding of each others symptoms.
The only negative aspect that I personally see from this persons spite from me not blatantly plastering my phone number all over here so she has 24hr access to me personally, is that she has let herself down to get better, because at present, I honestly believe she is one very angry person, because of PTSD. She wants to be a better person, but is still lost within the clouds of PTSD to achieve what is best for her, not what is best for me.
Sorry if this is going to the wrong place. I am trying to get this message to whomever runs the PTSD forum. He runs it but he doesn't want anyone with PTSD contacting him. Strange isn't it? Anyway, if you could pass it along to the correct person for : [DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/[/DLMURL] I would greatly appreciate it. Before I signed up for the forum I wanted to make a comment and get a response to it.
I have PTSD and I do understand your logo but I am not a combat veteran. My PTSD comes from spending most of my childhood being tortured by an abusive, alcoholic, bi-polar, PTSD riddled, father pointing a gun at myself and my brother and threatening to kill us on an almost nightly basis. Looking down the barrel of a cartoon gun makes me feel sick. There are many non-combat PTSD people who do have the same anger and rage symptoms represented by your logo but in the case of female rape victims, and childhood abuse victims, those up-close hand guns represent the means of intimidation that started their symptoms in the first place.
Recent studies show that women are much more likely to develop PTSD than men in similar situations. I think you should consider a logo that the full range of people dealing with this difficult condition can identify with. My father would have loved the logo. He had PTSD too. (fought in WWII and Korea and saw and had to do some horrible things. His condition is what led to the torture he inflicted on our family.)
Just an opinion,
MW
Ok... I can tell you have PTSD, because you insult me whilst you ask me a question. No probs. I actually had to send this to Kerrie-Ann this morning, asking what to do with it, because I wasn't really in the frame of mind this morning to deal with people nicely, to say the least.
So, this afternoon, when I felt better, I responded, as tactfully as I get.
Hi Martha,
First off all, your rubbing me up the wrong way with broad statements that you made within your opening paragraph, "He runs it but he doesn't want anyone with PTSD contacting him. Strange isn't it?" Actually, last time I looked, I was entitled to my privacy as much as you are yours. I am quite readily available for contact "upon" the forum through posting, private messaging, or you can even email myself from the forum direct.
Now, the forum logo. Martha, the forum logo has nothing to do with veterans. If that is what you think, then your perception of the logo is incorrect. That one logo, as they rotate through various types, depicts the characterists of a person with PTSD, being that whilst something may upset a person, its not wise to upset a person with PTSD. That is what the logo depicts, which has nothing to do with veterans or war.
I understand your concerns, but the logo has purpose and meaning, and you are the first person to ever say if offended you, considering that logo, and the site, has already been praised and awarded for its design characteristics in relation to PTSD and the mental illness itself. Such things as the black and white design, depicting how we with PTSD think, mixing in the grey, being how we need to think, and then a splash of colour, being how people without PTSD process thoughts.
Honestly, if you have a fear of a cartoon gun on a logo, which illustrates a characteristic within a particular set of persons, then you have a long way to go with your PTSD. The forum contains people of all walks of life, and who have obtained PTSD from a wide sphere of realms, including those with guns. Those very people applaud that logo for what it stands for, and the reasoning behind it. If you read about the forum first ( [DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/forum11.html[/DLMURL] ) you would have realized this.
I understand that you have had a significantly poor life in relation to abuse, but so do many people. Your not alone with this. If the forum is not for you, then that is your choice, as it helps many people already, so its achieving its ongoing aim. I never said it is for everybody, nor could help everybody. It is about providing a support mechanism, so people can chat with others in a common place who know and understand what they are feeling, suffered, suffering and so forth. I have been through the worst of PTSD, and I have come out the other side, by pushing my fears aside and fighting my trauma head on. It is the only way you can make yourself better.
I would love to have you push yourself past the logo, to be quite honest, and talk with others who have suffered similar to yourself, providing you an escape from yourself at times, which we all need. I'm sorry the logo makes you feel that way, but the overall importance of that logo stems further than one person, and actually provides substance to an illness we endure each day. It helps provide some purpose to those who doubt our every action, those who don't have PTSD, being those who could never truly understand what we suffer on a daily basis, regardless how you got it, all symptoms are the same.
Regards,
Anthony Parsons.
So I then get back...
Most web sites have a "contact the web administrator" button on them. That is not an unreasonable request. Nor is it unreasonable to listen to feedback on your website. I can sure tell you have PTSD and possibly some other disorder that makes you act like an insensitive asshole so take your web site and shove it. I'll look for support elsewhere.
You are an idiot.
So, offcourse I must respond with some sarcasm!!!
Hi Martha,
Your welcome. Funny you say that you could see I have PTSD, when I thought the same thing actually from your initial spiteful email and comments.
Thanks,
Anthony Parsons.
I personally think I was quite restrained... so does Kerrie. I actually took note of this ladies writing style, and immediately recognised it... because this is how I used to write or speak with people when I had PTSD in full flight. I was really a very cranky, grumpy bear, and very unapproachable, though I think I have gotten much better over time...
I think this person has the wrong idea about me, and this forum, in that its not the forum that necessarily needs her, but instead her that needs the forum. She confused the issue with me as the owner / creator of the forum vs. the actual purpose of the forum. This board belongs to all registered members and readers in a way, because instead of me seeing it as mine, I view this forum as a community that I am lucky enough to be part off. I actually don't see it any other way.
Its purpose is not about one person being dictative to everyone else, ie. a leader, it is about each and every person shareing their experience, trauma and feelings to one another, and gaining some sort of respite from the blank look, little understanding physician. Its about each and every person being able to find someone/s that they can relate too and fall upon for advice and just a lending ear when needed for support.
I guess what I am trying to say is, that this board is more like a therapeudic way to get better, being that each one of us deal with our daily PTSD problems together, with support and actual true understanding of each others symptoms.
The only negative aspect that I personally see from this persons spite from me not blatantly plastering my phone number all over here so she has 24hr access to me personally, is that she has let herself down to get better, because at present, I honestly believe she is one very angry person, because of PTSD. She wants to be a better person, but is still lost within the clouds of PTSD to achieve what is best for her, not what is best for me.
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