Let me address your diversions, so we can return to the main point.

First, in no way do I feel “threatened by the choices others are making.” I do, however, feel disappointed when someone makes an uninformed choice, then justifies it with superstition and magical thinking. And, I must confess, I feel downright irritated by those who use deception to prey on the uninformed and the gullible. So, my target is not the victim, but the perpetrator. This diversion is called “Poisoning the Wells”.

Second, I never said, or inferred, or imputed, that anyone was “severely thought-impaired”. Rather, I claim that many are misinformed, and thereby deceived. It is a bit of a stretch for you to assign motives and attitudes to me that I do not hold, then slam me for holding them. That’s a Straw Man Argument, and is called “Begging the Question (Petitio Principii)” on Kilgore’s page.

Returning to the point at hand, the purpose of the Antigo Fantasy Health Fair is to give Antigo’s health entertainment practitioners a venue to display their art and craft. To use your notion of implied motives, why do you, or any of the health entertainment practitioners, feel threatened by the notion of being subjected to public scrutiny? What do you have to hide? (This called a “Leading Question”, compounded by a “Fallacy of Composition” and “Begging the Question”.)

Your point, well-taken, is, apparently, that folks are entitled to pursue any treatment they believe will help them. I’ll agree with you, but only with these caveats: First, that any “Alternative Medicine” treatments must be complementary to evidence-based health care, and not adopted as primary care methods. Second, that users of alternative medicine be fully informed of both the purported basis (rationale) for the treatment AND evidence contradicting or disproving the treatment. How can you make an informed choice if you only have one side of the story?

Typically, they’re seeking relief from what they’re FEELING, not a cure for what ails them. Just one example…Western medicine offers few options (prescriptions, surgery &/or therapy) for those suffering from chronic pain. Chronic pain can stem from a multitude of conditions, most of which are NOT life-threatening, but rather, QUALITY OF LIFE threatening. Any alternative that offers relief (whether anecdotal, placebo, stress-reducing, etc.) should not be dismissed out-of-hand simply because it cannot be measured & quantified in a lab. A reduction in pain (physical OR emotional – both potentially debilitating) should not be marginalized, whether accomplished in a medical office or a witch-doctors bungalow.

Perhaps the bigger issue here is why Albus feels so incredibly threatened by the choices others are making. As he/she apparently sees most of us as severely thought-impaired, we really should be grateful that someone of such obvious superior intellect is trying to save us from ourselves.

I’m saying this stuff is supposed to be intended for entertainment only, like the disclaimers for horoscopes say in big-city newspapers, and is not to be taken seriously. It’s supposed to be COMPLEMENTARY treatment — an adjunct, add-on, or parallel experiment — and not a REPLACEMENT for real health care. That’s why I call it “health care entertainment”, because that’s what it is. And what could be more entertaining than a fair? Heck, we’ve got all the magic acts and mysteries and clowns we need, right at hand, before we even get started! It’s PERFECT for a fair!

Antigo can lead the fight against the waste of money and effort just for the pursuit of evidence by showing there are viable alternatives to rational thinking. Join us now, to create the Great Antigo Fantasy Health Fair!

Get over it…if someone FEELS better, more power to ‘em.