I have tried to keep my mouth shut! I really have! But, I, like most people, can only eat so much crap before my breath starts to stink! And it is not too peachy right now!
A short time back a group of our members made a choice to leave our site! They took a vast storehouse of knowledge with them! We will miss them! Fortunately, they created a place where those who believe that theirs is the only way to have a successful quit, can go and join them! Those who believe that their approach, combined with the approach of those of us who still live here is the most effective, can visit both places! We continue to welcome ALL opinions and comments here, and are willing to discuss them!
There is still a vast storehouse of knowledge here! Remember that those who left honed their own quits here! I am not on facebook, and I do not care to be! But I do hear a lot! So, let me first say that if someone here feels a need to go over there and stir up crap, I beg you not to do that! By the same token if you feel a need to come into my living and stir up crap, well, you were welcome when you came in, and you are just as welcome to get out!
If anyone has the guts to come here and say that the people who still call this site home, have not helped them, then let them say it! But let them also have the guts to listen to our responses! You do not have to agree with everything we say and do. We can discuss it! But, I am not going to sit idle while you make light of the efforts of Giulia, Sheryl, Sootie, Thomas, Aztec, Bonnie, Shawn, Maggie, LindaN, Marcie, Cyn, Teresa, and I can go on, and on! The Freedom Train is a daily celebration of the success that this site has produced! And we will continue to share "Collateral Kindness"!
I am also tired of reading statistic that are pulled out of thin air! I read that we once had a 10% success rate! Really?? I want to know where those numbers came from! Since I joined this site 01/08/10 we have almost 500,000 new members! That is 383 per day! 38 successful new quits a day would be 10%. Really???? Let's be honest here!
Tough love vs. coddlers? That will never be solved! Most people need some of both! Personally I try to offer that! I know that more than one of the people who are reading this can attest to the sharp edge of my tongue! But, every person that received tough love from me, knew first that I loved them, and was trying to help them! Otherwise it is just being tough! That does not work! It is easy to have a higher success rate if you run off everyone who does not worship the ground you walk on, and do everythig you tell them to do! I am not here to amass a personal following, or to train lemmings! I just want to help people quit smoking! As long as the owners of this site allow me a voice, I will offer the support that I think people need! That is a mix of all kinds of support! I will try my best to respect people, and let them maintain their dignity! That has made this site successful for a long time!
Now, let's put all the garbage behind us, and go do what we are supposed to do!
Tommy
