Skeptoid 400: The fraud of "allergy" and the modern eugenics movement

Safe-Keeper · 9th October 2011, 04:49 PM

I want to talk about allergies today. "Allergies" are a modern invention by Big Pharma that has as its goal to decimate the morale of "sufferers" with a boosted immune system. By describing the elevated symptoms of certain people as a medical condition and degrading them with a label, Pharma and all its branches, from doctors to medical factories to psychologists, aim to make big money on a cash cow of its own making by "treating" this condition in various ways, as if it is a sickness to have a certain characteristis is now somehow a sickness and the immune system is not a natural part of your body ("allergic reactions" just being a million-years old system doing what it has done for millions of years, and human beings thinking they know better).

Individuals have a range of immune system reactions: hardly unexpected. To make victims from these normal distribution patterns a scientist or medic will arbitrarily declare certain reading ranges as a "condition", as if it has some defining property that distinguishes it from the rest. It does not, of course. Medics privilege the binary - one range is privileged over the other as being not a condition.

Their end goal, of course, is that everyone should be the same. No cancer, no asthma, no diabetes, no measles, no allergies. Extermination of differences. A Master Race of artificially "healthy" people, as defined by the synthetic cash machine that is Big Pharma. Can you hear the stomping of boots and the trains to the death camps? I can.

ehcks · 9th October 2011, 05:11 PM

I can not read this as anything but blatantly obvious satire. I find it impossible to believe anyone would actually hold these opinions seriously.

Please don't disappoint me.

dlorde · 9th October 2011, 05:26 PM

Jonesboy, is that you?

Estellea · 9th October 2011, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by ehcks

I can not read this as anything but blatantly obvious satire. I find it impossible to believe anyone would actually hold these opinions seriously.

Please don't disappoint me.

Oh but ~~they do~~ he does: http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=221294

Great parody Safe-Keeper.

Este

Drachasor · 9th October 2011, 05:32 PM

Edit: Ahh, a parody.

Nicely done. Not sure if it is good or bad that one can't tell the real thing from something fake.

Lowpro · 9th October 2011, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

I want to talk about allergies today....

Individuals have a range of immune system reactions: hardly unexpected. To make victims from these normal distribution patterns a scientist or medic will arbitrarily declare certain reading ranges as a "condition", as if it has some defining property that distinguishes it from the rest. It does not, of course. Medics privilege the binary - one range is privileged over the other as being not a condition.

That highlighted part is what makes the parody successful. Thanks for delving into the dangerous world of stupidity to give us this gem.

Molinaro · 9th October 2011, 09:02 PM

I have a friend who actually does not 'believe in allergies'. Yes those are his words. He thinks it's a question of belief.

He grew up in Czechoslovakia in the 60's and tells me that nobody over there has allergies and that it's just a made up western thing.

Lukraak_Sisser · 9th October 2011, 09:32 PM

Its sad when the parody is so much better written than the originals though.

Not the core idea, just the english. This is a coherent post, unlike the ones it parodies

Andrew Wiggin · 9th October 2011, 09:37 PM

Nice Poe. Too grammatical though. I suggest translating to finnish, then back to english, for the full pixie of key effect.

bruto · 9th October 2011, 09:38 PM

Originally Posted by ehcks

I can not read this as anything but blatantly obvious satire. I find it impossible to believe anyone would actually hold these opinions seriously.

Please don't disappoint me.

I think it's safe to say he's jonesing for laughs.

Robrob · 9th October 2011, 10:23 PM

But what if you spelled "allergies" differently?

Andrew Wiggin · 10th October 2011, 12:40 AM

This actually stayed halfway comprehensible with the pixie of key treatment. The punctuation and grammar though are more what I'd expect. I highly recommend messing up the grammar for an authentic Poe.

Quote:

(machine translated to finnish, then back to english)I want to talk about allergies today. "Allergies" are a modern invention of Big Pharma, which is a target of thin morality "sufferers" with boosted immune system. Describing elevated symptoms in certain people's health and degrading them with the label, Pharma, and all of its branches, from the doctors of medical plants in psychology, the aim is to make the big money cash cow own decision-making, "management" of this condition in different ways, as if it is a disease have a certain characteristis now somehow a disease of the immune system is not a natural part of the body ("allergic reaction" just by being a one million-year-old system doing what it has done for millions of years, and people thinking they know better).

Individuals have different immune system reactions: hardly unexpected. To the victims of the normal spread of a scientist or medic will arbitrarily declare certain reading selections as "good" as if it has some defining feature that distinguishes it from others. It is of course not. Medics privilege binary - one of them is privileged over the other, which does not fit.

Their ultimate goal, of course, is that everyone should be the same. Not cancer, not asthma, not diabetes, not measles, no allergies. The destruction of the differences. The Master Race artificially "healthy" people, defined as a synthetic cash, which is a Big Pharma. Can you hear the stomping boots and trains to the death camps? I can not ..

Captain_Swoop · 10th October 2011, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Their end goal, of course, is that everyone should be the same. No cancer, no asthma, no diabetes, no measles, no allergies. Extermination of differences.

So it's good to have Cancer? it makes you 'different'?

Andrew Wiggin · 10th October 2011, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop

So it's good to have Cancer? it makes you 'different'?

"special" even...

Halfcentaur · 10th October 2011, 01:21 AM

There's something very inconsistent about my allergy attacks. As a child they were terrible, but sometimes I go a year without them acting up, and sometimes they hit me with a vengeance. I wonder if the body can fluctuate in this regard.

MRC_Hans · 10th October 2011, 01:35 AM

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

*sniiip* Can you hear the stomping of boots and the trains to the death camps? I can.

And a nice Godwin at the end.

I think everything is there; nicely done!

Hans

And now for something entirely different .....

MortFurd · 10th October 2011, 04:18 AM

Originally Posted by Molinaro

I have a friend who actually does not 'believe in allergies'. Yes those are his words. He thinks it's a question of belief.

He grew up in Czechoslovakia in the 60's and tells me that nobody over there has allergies and that it's just a made up western thing.

**Snork**

Drag his ass to the USA and chuck him in a patch of poison ivy. He'll change his mind pretty quick.

Dancing David · 10th October 2011, 04:30 AM

Originally Posted by Molinaro

I have a friend who actually does not 'believe in allergies'. Yes those are his words. He thinks it's a question of belief.

He grew up in Czechoslovakia in the 60's and tells me that nobody over there has allergies and that it's just a made up western thing.

Okay dokey. My mom kept too clean a house, where we lived in south CA there were few pollen producers, consequence allergies. I think I was also sensitized by living in a certain neighborhood.

Dave Rogers · 10th October 2011, 04:56 AM

I can hardly wait for Skeptoid 401(k), debunking the fraud of "saving for your retirement".

Dave

Mark6 · 10th October 2011, 06:09 AM

Originally Posted by MortFurd

**Snork**

Drag his ass to the USA and chuck him in a patch of poison ivy. He'll change his mind pretty quick.

That's not allergies. Poison ivy is poisonous -- no autoimmune reaction involved.

Or, "autoimmune reaction does not HAVE to be involved". Some people are allergic to poison ivy, but that's like being allergic to bee stings -- something that makes already painful experience much much worse.

Estellea · 10th October 2011, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by Mark6

That's not allergies. Poison ivy is poisonous -- no autoimmune reaction involved.

True, it's contact dermatitis, not a classical IgE response even though there is sensitisation involved.

Quote:

Or, "autoimmune reaction does not HAVE to be involved". Some people are allergic to poison ivy, but that's like being allergic to bee stings -- something that makes already painful experience much much worse.

I know we are getting off-topic here but bee sting allergies are actual allergies that involve hyper-sensitisation and a histamine response, hence the need for an epi-pen for severe allergy response.

Este

bruto · 10th October 2011, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by Mark6

That's not allergies. Poison ivy is poisonous -- no autoimmune reaction involved.

Or, "autoimmune reaction does not HAVE to be involved". Some people are allergic to poison ivy, but that's like being allergic to bee stings -- something that makes already painful experience much much worse.

I was under the impression that poison ivy is specifically an allergic contact dermatitis.

9th October 2011, 04:49 PM	#1
Safe-Keeper Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sogndal, Norway Posts: 7,112	Skeptoid 400: The fraud of "allergy" and the modern eugenics movement I want to talk about allergies today. "Allergies" are a modern invention by Big Pharma that has as its goal to decimate the morale of "sufferers" with a boosted immune system. By describing the elevated symptoms of certain people as a medical condition and degrading them with a label, Pharma and all its branches, from doctors to medical factories to psychologists, aim to make big money on a cash cow of its own making by "treating" this condition in various ways, as if it is a sickness to have a certain characteristis is now somehow a sickness and the immune system is not a natural part of your body ("allergic reactions" just being a million-years old system doing what it has done for millions of years, and human beings thinking they know better). Individuals have a range of immune system reactions: hardly unexpected. To make victims from these normal distribution patterns a scientist or medic will arbitrarily declare certain reading ranges as a "condition", as if it has some defining property that distinguishes it from the rest. It does not, of course. Medics privilege the binary - one range is privileged over the other as being not a condition. Their end goal, of course, is that everyone should be the same. No cancer, no asthma, no diabetes, no measles, no allergies. Extermination of differences. A Master Race of artificially "healthy" people, as defined by the synthetic cash machine that is Big Pharma. Can you hear the stomping of boots and the trains to the death camps? I can.

9th October 2011, 05:11 PM	#2
ehcks Graduate Poster Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,693	I can not read this as anything but blatantly obvious satire. I find it impossible to believe anyone would actually hold these opinions seriously. Please don't disappoint me.
ehcks Graduate Poster Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 1,693

9th October 2011, 05:26 PM	#3
dlorde Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,646	Jonesboy, is that you?
dlorde Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,646	__________________ Simple probability tells us that we should expect coincidences, and simple psychology tells us that we'll remember the ones we notice...

9th October 2011, 05:32 PM	#5
Drachasor Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,718	Edit: Ahh, a parody. Nicely done. Not sure if it is good or bad that one can't tell the real thing from something fake.
	Last edited by Drachasor; 9th October 2011 at 05:34 PM.

9th October 2011, 07:10 PM	#6
Lowpro Illuminator Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Birmingham, AL Posts: 4,520	Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper I want to talk about allergies today.... Individuals have a range of immune system reactions: hardly unexpected. To make victims from these normal distribution patterns a scientist or medic will arbitrarily declare certain reading ranges as a "condition", as if it has some defining property that distinguishes it from the rest. It does not, of course. Medics privilege the binary - one range is privileged over the other as being not a condition. That highlighted part is what makes the parody successful. Thanks for delving into the dangerous world of stupidity to give us this gem.
	__________________ "If I actually believed that Jesus was coming to end the world in 2050, I'd be preparing by stocking up on timber and nails" - PZ Myers

9th October 2011, 05:31 PM	#4
Estellea Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,118	Originally Posted by ehcks I can not read this as anything but blatantly obvious satire. I find it impossible to believe anyone would actually hold these opinions seriously. Please don't disappoint me. Oh but ~~they do~~ he does: http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=221294 Great parody Safe-Keeper. Este

9th October 2011, 09:02 PM	#7
Molinaro Illuminator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,031	I have a friend who actually does not 'believe in allergies'. Yes those are his words. He thinks it's a question of belief. He grew up in Czechoslovakia in the 60's and tells me that nobody over there has allergies and that it's just a made up western thing.
	__________________ 100% Cannuck!

9th October 2011, 09:32 PM	#8
Lukraak_Sisser Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1,619	Its sad when the parody is so much better written than the originals though. Not the core idea, just the english. This is a coherent post, unlike the ones it parodies

9th October 2011, 09:37 PM	#9
Andrew Wiggin Master Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: A small planet named for its dirt. You'll find it filed under 'mostly harmless' Posts: 2,914	Nice Poe. Too grammatical though. I suggest translating to finnish, then back to english, for the full pixie of key effect.
	__________________ "Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world." - Arthur Schopenhauer "New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled, the humiliating question arises, 'Why then are you not taking part in them?' " - H. G. Wells

9th October 2011, 09:38 PM	#10
bruto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: way way north of Diddy Wah Diddy Posts: 11,187	Originally Posted by ehcks I can not read this as anything but blatantly obvious satire. I find it impossible to believe anyone would actually hold these opinions seriously. Please don't disappoint me. I think it's safe to say he's jonesing for laughs.
	__________________ "Sir, I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding.(Samuel Johnson) The gods are less for their love of praise....(Wendell Berry)

9th October 2011, 10:23 PM	#11
Robrob Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 3,660	But what if you spelled "allergies" differently?
Robrob Illuminator Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 3,660

10th October 2011, 12:40 AM	#12
Andrew Wiggin Master Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: A small planet named for its dirt. You'll find it filed under 'mostly harmless' Posts: 2,914	This actually stayed halfway comprehensible with the pixie of key treatment. The punctuation and grammar though are more what I'd expect. I highly recommend messing up the grammar for an authentic Poe. Quote: (machine translated to finnish, then back to english)I want to talk about allergies today. "Allergies" are a modern invention of Big Pharma, which is a target of thin morality "sufferers" with boosted immune system. Describing elevated symptoms in certain people's health and degrading them with the label, Pharma, and all of its branches, from the doctors of medical plants in psychology, the aim is to make the big money cash cow own decision-making, "management" of this condition in different ways, as if it is a disease have a certain characteristis now somehow a disease of the immune system is not a natural part of the body ("allergic reaction" just by being a one million-year-old system doing what it has done for millions of years, and people thinking they know better). Individuals have different immune system reactions: hardly unexpected. To the victims of the normal spread of a scientist or medic will arbitrarily declare certain reading selections as "good" as if it has some defining feature that distinguishes it from others. It is of course not. Medics privilege binary - one of them is privileged over the other, which does not fit. Their ultimate goal, of course, is that everyone should be the same. Not cancer, not asthma, not diabetes, not measles, no allergies. The destruction of the differences. The Master Race artificially "healthy" people, defined as a synthetic cash, which is a Big Pharma. Can you hear the stomping boots and trains to the death camps? I can not ..
	__________________ "Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world." - Arthur Schopenhauer "New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled, the humiliating question arises, 'Why then are you not taking part in them?' " - H. G. Wells

10th October 2011, 01:19 AM	#13
Captain_Swoop Illuminator Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 3,917	Quote: Their end goal, of course, is that everyone should be the same. No cancer, no asthma, no diabetes, no measles, no allergies. Extermination of differences. So it's good to have Cancer? it makes you 'different'?

10th October 2011, 01:20 AM	#14
Andrew Wiggin Master Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: A small planet named for its dirt. You'll find it filed under 'mostly harmless' Posts: 2,914	Originally Posted by Captain_Swoop So it's good to have Cancer? it makes you 'different'? "special" even...
	__________________ "Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world." - Arthur Schopenhauer "New and stirring things are belittled because if they are not belittled, the humiliating question arises, 'Why then are you not taking part in them?' " - H. G. Wells

10th October 2011, 01:21 AM	#15
Halfcentaur Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 5,951	There's something very inconsistent about my allergy attacks. As a child they were terrible, but sometimes I go a year without them acting up, and sometimes they hit me with a vengeance. I wonder if the body can fluctuate in this regard.
Halfcentaur Philosopher Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 5,951

10th October 2011, 01:35 AM	#16
MRC_Hans Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whithin earshot of the North Sea Posts: 16,602	Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper sniiip Can you hear the stomping of boots and the trains to the death camps? I can. And a nice Godwin at the end. I think everything is there; nicely done! Hans And now for something entirely different .....
	__________________ Don't. Just don't.

10th October 2011, 04:18 AM	#17
MortFurd Graduate Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: An American in Germany Posts: 1,975	Originally Posted by Molinaro I have a friend who actually does not 'believe in allergies'. Yes those are his words. He thinks it's a question of belief. He grew up in Czechoslovakia in the 60's and tells me that nobody over there has allergies and that it's just a made up western thing. Snork Drag his ass to the USA and chuck him in a patch of poison ivy. He'll change his mind pretty quick.
	__________________ Ace Baker gets pwned by Shrinker, and I get an Avatar.

10th October 2011, 04:30 AM	#18
Dancing David Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 34,710	Originally Posted by Molinaro I have a friend who actually does not 'believe in allergies'. Yes those are his words. He thinks it's a question of belief. He grew up in Czechoslovakia in the 60's and tells me that nobody over there has allergies and that it's just a made up western thing. Okay dokey. My mom kept too clean a house, where we lived in south CA there were few pollen producers, consequence allergies. I think I was also sensitized by living in a certain neighborhood.
	__________________ Hell, dynamiting fish in a barrel is more challenging. - Ladewig I suspect you are a sandwich, metaphorically speaking. -Donn And a shot rang out. Now Space is doing time... -Ben Burch You built the toilet - don't complain when people crap in it. _Kid Eager

10th October 2011, 04:56 AM	#19
Dave Rogers Bandaged ice that stampedes inexpensively through a scribbled morning waving necessary ankles Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: In a world lit only by fire. Posts: 17,894	I can hardly wait for Skeptoid 401(k), debunking the fraud of "saving for your retirement". Dave
	__________________ "We will punish the murderer together. Our punishment will be more generosity, more tolerance and more democracy." - Fabian Stang, Mayor of Oslo SSKCAS, covert member

10th October 2011, 06:09 AM	#20
Mark6 Illuminator Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4,176	Originally Posted by MortFurd Snork Drag his ass to the USA and chuck him in a patch of poison ivy. He'll change his mind pretty quick. That's not allergies. Poison ivy is poisonous -- no autoimmune reaction involved. Or, "autoimmune reaction does not HAVE to be involved". Some people are allergic to poison ivy, but that's like being allergic to bee stings -- something that makes already painful experience much much worse.
Mark6 Illuminator Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 4,176	__________________ Gamemaster: "A horde of rotting zombies is shambling toward you. The sign over the door says 'Accounting'"

10th October 2011, 06:19 AM	#21
Estellea Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,118	Originally Posted by Mark6 That's not allergies. Poison ivy is poisonous -- no autoimmune reaction involved. True, it's contact dermatitis, not a classical IgE response even though there is sensitisation involved. Quote: Or, "autoimmune reaction does not HAVE to be involved". Some people are allergic to poison ivy, but that's like being allergic to bee stings -- something that makes already painful experience much much worse. I know we are getting off-topic here but bee sting allergies are actual allergies that involve hyper-sensitisation and a histamine response, hence the need for an epi-pen for severe allergy response. Este

10th October 2011, 06:43 AM	#22
bruto Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: way way north of Diddy Wah Diddy Posts: 11,187	Originally Posted by Mark6 That's not allergies. Poison ivy is poisonous -- no autoimmune reaction involved. Or, "autoimmune reaction does not HAVE to be involved". Some people are allergic to poison ivy, but that's like being allergic to bee stings -- something that makes already painful experience much much worse. I was under the impression that poison ivy is specifically an allergic contact dermatitis.
	__________________ "Sir, I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding.(Samuel Johnson) The gods are less for their love of praise....(Wendell Berry)