(Axel of Argentina wondered)
[ why are so many of you SO fascinated with the plagiarism thing? i am
not
[ too wise, but the well-known psychological and new agey theory has
it that
[ whatever you react strongly to or whatever particularly touches you
is
[ merely a reflection of something inside of you. i mean that whoever
reacts
[ to plagiarism and to theft, etc, has some unresolved emotional issue
with
[ it.

(Jo of Japan sez)
Not fascinated, but I think NFL's plagiarism is one aspect of a
larger picture. The issue flares up periodically because the
infraction itself continues; and then when something else shady comes
up, the reference to the plagiarism is usually not too distant. In
this case, I believe the discussion centered on the ethical
implications of endorsing plagiarists by leaders in the raw vegan
community.

For me, as a writer, I really can't say that there's an emotional
issue attached to it. Honesty is the preferred mode of doing things,
and that's pretty much the consensus in the publishing industry as
well as the alternative health field. I'm not saying it's there all
the time, but being consistently straight with your readership (the
raw community) is something worth serious consideration.

But I guess it's also cumulative. Along with the plagiarism, there's
the hate-mongering, threats, and the possible long-term harm to
subscribers in vulnerable circumstances (adopting and identifying
with dietary dogma and thereby sacrificing health in the process).
Anyway, a variety of issues and events, positive and negative, affect
the raw community. Unfortunately, with NFL, not all of their efforts
have been uplifting.

Also, I've had a very unpleasant experience with one of these
self-proclaimed diet gurus, one in which my integrity was tested
severely. I went through much pain to realize this, but I feel that
an over-dependency on authority figures and their "one system fits
all" mentality is largely counter-productive in that their motivation
may not be one of fostering individual truth-seeking, but rather to
acquire converts to bolster their own positions, dietary, religious,
or otherwise.

So if I start obsessing about false gurus, let me know and I'll cut it
short!

PS: anyone know just who IS the legitimate copyright holder of Raw
Eating? Please reply privately so we don't drag out this evil thread.