A community is :“a social group sharing common characteristics or interests or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists”.
A forum is: “a meeting place for the discussion of questions of public interest”.
Yes, by definition. this is a diabetic community but first and foremost it is a forum. One of the fundamental points, in my opinion, of a forum is that it’s an area where people can discuss very different points of view. It is from doing this that humans have evolved so wonderfully and that people can learn other points of view and perhaps alter their opinions.
You cannot, again, in my opinion, as a moderator say that you do not want “divisions between the community” because we are not living in North Korea and don’t all have to sport the same haircut. You can ask for respect and the forum does this already and has procedures in place for dealing with anyone who crosses the various lines. However, if someone, like myself, has the opinion that a large number of T2 diabetics are largely responsible for their condition and a larger number of obese people are largely responsible for their condition then I have the right to express that, as I have done many times before, without feeling that I am creating any division. I like to think that when expressing this opinion I always state that I do not believe it is everyone’s fault and that I articulate my opinion well.
Many people over the years have on this very forum expressed the belief that their lifestyle led to developing T2 diabetes and that it empowered them to take control and they have subsequently become healthier than ever. Sometimes, the “blame game” can actually result in positivity and the word “blame” immediately has connotations of nastiness and finger pointing but I think it’s more to do with responsibility. That responsibility comes from many people and centres around the Government, parents and, most importantly, the individual.
I don’t know if many people share my views and are just afraid to say it. This forum, like society in general, seems to be heading the way of popularity contests and damning those who think that, yeah, hang on, maybe it is someone’s fault. Take the example below from bluejeans98 post. Someone who works in the pharma industry looking into cures for diseases. From this I think we can assume that it is a well-educated, intelligent person who probably has a much better understanding than we do. What happens though? He’s an idiot. Ignorant fool. People like him are the problem.
I have said it before and I will repeat it: it is just as dangerous to believe that no one is to blame as it is to tar everyone with the same brush. I am not saying it is acceptable, ever, to point the finger at one individual person as you do not know their personal circumstances. However, as a society, we can’t just say “it’s in the genes” or “It’s insulin resistance” or x, y or z, without also acknowledging that it could be down to personal responsibility.
If the hierarchy of this forum want to create a community without division then what is the point? This forum has, for as long as I’ve been a member, offered tremendous support to people who really need it, education, information and, shall we say, lively debate. As long as people are respectful and keep it above the belt then leave it as open as possible.