tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16774010.post5122519511208894144..comments2024-01-25T17:58:34.297-05:00Comments on Scott's Web Log: Team Type 1 To Bike Across U.S. Starting TomorrowScott Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03286529314567223617noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16774010.post-75402898147594412052007-06-12T19:34:00.000-04:002007-06-12T19:34:00.000-04:00I followed this story last year in the hometown ne...I followed this story last year in the hometown newspaper. JDRF, ADA or any other charity is always ready and eager to trot out the “stars” to plead for increased contributions for their supposed “cure portfolio.”<BR/><BR/> If myself and 7 of my older diabetic friends were to give these youngsters some advice (consider, that’s 408 years of Type 1 “anecdotal” experience), it would be “don’t let yourself be exploited by corporate charities in the name of a “cure. A CURE is tantamount to ‘corporate suicide,’ and if you believe the effort is urgent and sincere—you’re delusional.”<BR/><BR/> Participating in this sort of glitzy production in the name of a cure in reality dismisses all of the hardships being experienced in the diabetic community—with no true help for the diabetic UNLESS it benefits diabusiness (industry & charity). For example, the expressed goals of 6.3 A1c is more aligned with promoting all of today’s high technology—problematic pumps, inaccurate meters, “better” insulin protocols, “new” specialty foods. The corporate “sponsors” of these endeavors are only interested in increasing corporate profitability; if patients benefit along the way, to some small degree, it is merely a fortuitous coincidence.<BR/><BR/> Many long-term diabetics I know could tell you that until the late 1980s they could maintain EQUAL or BETTER control than now—with none of the high tech gadgetry and “better” insulin products. Understand, the underlying rule in corporate America is “give them less, tell them it’s ‘more,’ and keep counting the dollars.” The sooner ALL diabetics understand they are nothing more than diabusiness PAWNS, the sooner we will unite and demand a CURE—charities be damned.<BR/><BR/> The fact that these 8 young people achieved such a ‘lofty’ goal, a world record, is worthy of recognition. But the fact that JDRF exploits the achievement (and the disease) to inflate their coffers is despicable. In more than 35 years, the parents of diabetic children who founded JDRF to seek a cure, still see their diabetic children (now 35 years older) waiting for a cure that remains 5 years away.<BR/><BR/> Instead of allowing themselves to be exploited, these young diabetics have a (fleeting) bully pulpit from which to speak. They could express how difficult it is to live with this dreadful disease 24/7/365. They could let the (non-diabetic) public know that ‘treatment’ is more than “take a shot and stay away from sweets.” Instead, they seem to revel in their “15 minutes of fame.” As they perform their spokesperson duties, they seek to homogenize us—if we follow their example, if we keep our numbers good enough, we, too, can succeed. We’re INDIVIDUALS; we need advocates, not corporate or quasi-corporate propagandists, to speak for us. <BR/><BR/> Sorry, but my ADA contributions ceased many years ago. I fear JDRF contributions are also at an end. As I see the obscure avenues being explored by JDRF researchers—funded under the umbrella of “cure research”--I have become increasingly skeptical about how wisely my donations are being spent. <BR/><BR/>--BrentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com