The Amway "housewarming" party (FauxPasofYear1114-06)

[Midnight Kitty]

I like your sig line, Scritzy.  It reminds me of one of DH's favorite lines:  If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

[Scritzy]

I like your sig line, Scritzy.  It reminds me of one of DH's favorite lines:  If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room!

Bwahahahahaha! I love it!

[blue2000]

I LOVE Quackwatch.org.  http://www.quackwatch.org/ It gives the truth on all that nonsense. The owner and author of the site is a really nice guy, too, I've written to him before. That site also maintains a number of other sites on various related subjects relating to quackery and scams and MLMs, too.

I've looked at that one before, and I don't find it any more accurate than the sites and nutritional experts it campaigns against. I find it much more helpful to look at the research myself, when I want to know about a medical claim, than take anyone's word for it. There is a lot of legitimate research going on with alternative medicine, as well as mainstream western medicine.

The last time I looked something up (a variety of mushroom, and supplements made from them), there was twenty or thirty published research articles to choose from just on my first search (on a research site, not google). I was able to find out from the research results whether this was tested on people my age/body type/medical problem, and what the percentages were for that research trial. It turned out the results were very good for some people, but my age group sucked. They almost never mention that kind of thing on the commercial sites, no matter how legit they are. It's usually just a blanket "yes it will work" or "no it won't" kind of statement.

[retreadbride]

I don't like quackwatch because, to them, ANY alternative treatment other than conventional Doc-In-A-White-Coat is innately evil. They have tons of stories posted by relatives of patients who died using alternative therapies rather than conventional ones.   I'm sorry for their grief, but their relatives were adults, and that's what they chose. Should they have been forcibly hospitalized and medicated against their will? I don't want to see that either.

[Sirius]

I think a lot of us have had encounters with "Bob"s.  They're pretty thick on the ground in some places, unfortunately.

     - saphie

Fortunately, a friend who started selling Amway woke up and smelled the coffee, to quote Ann Landers, and got out.  I think what really woke him up was how much a mutual friend changed after starting to sell Amway, even to the point of joining a larger church so he'd have more possible customers.  This "friend" also stopped associating with me because I refused to buy from him or sign up, and stopped associating with my friend because he got out of it.

[Twik]

I don't like quackwatch because, to them, ANY alternative treatment other than conventional Doc-In-A-White-Coat is innately evil. They have tons of stories posted by relatives of patients who died using alternative therapies rather than conventional ones.   I'm sorry for their grief, but their relatives were adults, and that's what they chose. Should they have been forcibly hospitalized and medicated against their will? I don't want to see that either.

No, but maybe the people who, you know, LIED TO THEM FOR PROFIT should be stopped.

Not to mention the children who are harmed. A family in my city was prosecuted some years ago because they starved their infant daughter to death. All on the advice of a "nutritionalist/herbal expert", who quickly picked up his considerable wealth and skipped the country.

While there may be "legitimate research" going on in alternative medicine, remember that these people also campaign VERY heavily that their product should NOT be held to the same standards of proof, and even safety, as "conventional medicine".

[Jaywalker]

I don't like quackwatch because, to them, ANY alternative treatment other than conventional Doc-In-A-White-Coat is innately evil. They have tons of stories posted by relatives of patients who died using alternative therapies rather than conventional ones.   I'm sorry for their grief, but their relatives were adults, and that's what they chose. Should they have been forcibly hospitalized and medicated against their will? I don't want to see that eithe--

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no one suggests they be forcibly medicated -- the whole point of information is to provide data so people can make better decisions. -- and people who lie and scam and kill people for money as these quacks do, should certainly be held accountable.

[Midnight Kitty]

Don't get me going about my mother & "medicated against [her] will."  She believes every CAM* fad & disbelieves everything the AMA approves.  When she had hip replacement surgery, she refused the post-surgery medication.  She wanted her special nutrient drops in water.  The surgery did not go well.  The pain must have been horrendous.

They made her sign upteen forms for not following doctor's orders.  They told her she was a "bad patient."  When we heard that, we thought, "No kidding!  You people just met her.  You have no idea what a bad Medicare patient she really is!"  She told me later that she felt like asking them if they were going to write that in her permanent record 


*Complimentary Alternative Medicine

[blue2000]

I don't like quackwatch because, to them, ANY alternative treatment other than conventional Doc-In-A-White-Coat is innately evil. They have tons of stories posted by relatives of patients who died using alternative therapies rather than conventional ones.   I'm sorry for their grief, but their relatives were adults, and that's what they chose. Should they have been forcibly hospitalized and medicated against their will? I don't want to see that either.

No, but maybe the people who, you know, LIED TO THEM FOR PROFIT should be stopped.

Not to mention the children who are harmed. A family in my city was prosecuted some years ago because they starved their infant daughter to death. All on the advice of a "nutritionalist/herbal expert", who quickly picked up his considerable wealth and skipped the country.

While there may be "legitimate research" going on in alternative medicine, remember that these people also campaign VERY heavily that their product should NOT be held to the same standards of proof, and even safety, as "conventional medicine".

After researching my own medical problems for many years now, I have encountered some of the most idiotic people, and cures, that I have ever seen in my life.

I have heard of, and been treated by, people in both 'alternative' and 'conventional' medicine who will lie and manipulate people for profit, and people on both sides who will lie and say they follow high standards when they do not, or complain when someone questions their level of standards.

This has made me rather paranoid , so I check up on even the most innocent medications if I am going to use them or recommend them.

If I was to pick the group that I found the MOST helpful and honest, it would have to be alternative medicine. But I believe that neither side is better or worse, nor is any treatment automatically better or worse. It depends on whether sufficient research has been done to prove or disprove the claims that have been made.

[afbluebelle]

Zombie thread....

 Just a question, any military people/spouses on this board notice the rampant infection of MLM's on Military bases.  Ergh, it seems like ALL the spousesin my shop are in one form or another (jewelry, candles, dishes, knives, makeup, you name it).  Try telling a guy with 5 more ranks than you that his wife can forget her party...

[Amy Rose]

It's a big thing on my campus and when I was in HS to sell Mary Kay. One girl asked me if I wanted to join, and I do like the Mary Kay Velocity line (I bought some from a former dance instructor of mine, who btw, wasn't trying to get people to sell, she just really likes makeup and gets a commission through catalogue orders. I asked her about it, and she said "Well, primarily I sell makeup, but the REAL money's from getting other people to become sellers. I ask you to sell, you sell, and then you ask all your friends, and get paid!" And my response was "Isn't that a pyramid scheme? I mean, if everybody sold, there wouldn't be anyone left to recruit." She stopped talking to me.

Pity. I was going to buy some expensive blue eyeshadow off of her.

[SweetTinkerbelle]

I read the entire thread, but I must have missed it...what does MLM stand for???

[Ticia]

Multi-Level Marketing

[SweetTinkerbelle]

Multi-Level Marketing

Thanks...that makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking (major league money)...

[Midnight Kitty]

Multi-Level Marketing

Thanks...that makes a lot more sense than what I was thinking (major league money)...

The MLM promoters would disagree.  For the guys at the top, they make MLM (major league money)!