Well, Peter, I gotta say you nailed me pretty good with your last post.
=:-O :-) Rereading what I said about psychological sabotage of diet, it
probably *was* too judgmental and harsh, with too many black-and-white
generalizations. Even though I stand by the basic points of most of what I
said--perhaps with some modification after hearing your points (though we
can continue that discussion in private email if you like, particularly our
views on the role of past traumas)--they certainly could have been
expressed more gently and with a lot more empathy. Thank you for pointing
that out and calling me to my senses. I appreciate your sensitivity and
forthrightness about such issues, because they're very important to me, and
it is somewhat embarrassing to fall into such traps. (Unfortunately in my
observations and experience they never seem to diminish either--a challenge
always requiring alertness.) It certainly doesn't do any good to make
observations if they just turn people off due to those kinds of overtones.

The stuff you point out here I am being judgmental about (people's
game-playing about food) are things I've only more recently come to notice
and observe. I guess that explains one of the reasons for the "fervor" you
mention--I have lived through and experienced some of the game-playing I
have talked about here myself in the not-too-distant past. (Much of what I
write about comes from such first-hand personal experience, in fact, so
somebody PLEEZ be sure and remind me of that fact the next time I appear to
be pointing the finger too much in the other direction! :O ) Since these
experiences are still relatively fresh in my mind, your observation rings
true that it puts me in somewhat the same position as an ex-smoker or
drinker in terms of the overenthusiastic skewering. It's still a "big deal"
to me right now, and obviously that shows through in my posts in the
emotional content. (I have to say: You pinpointed things very
accurately--man, could I see them crystal clear! =:-o Take me to your
leader. :-) )

Anyway, thank you Peter, and my apologies to any I have offended with the
harshness of my last post, especially if I trivialized problems that you
may be dealing with and feel hurt by my rendition of. It's not my
intention, but sometimes I get so carried away by the fun of debate that I
make jabs here and there for effect that (with others' help) I see were
uncalled for. Don't be shy about calling me on the red carpet if I step on
your toes. I will certainly admit to making mistakes like these, and even
if it is somewhat uncomfortable having to acknowledge them, I don't want to
shrink from that since it's how we learn, and so it's helpful being told by
others directly like Peter did. Don't worry fellow argonauts, I won't snap
at you if you do! I'll probably be taken aback that I could have been a
jerk again, and I'll tell you thanks and then mebbe we'll make beautiful
music together till I hit yet another wrong note trumpeting my views out of
the orchestra pit here. :-\ :-)

--Ward Nicholson <[log in to unmask]> Wichita, KS