Heisenberg
Well-Known Member
The quackery-related death of a 17-month-old girl has sent shock waves across Canada. No one aspect of the story is unusual. The scenario is a classic combination of cultural vulnerability, modern urban mythology and quackery.
The Victim:
Dead from malnutrition and pneumonia is Lorie Atikian. Eight months before her death on September 25, 1987, Lorie was a perfectly healthy baby. When she died she was nearly bald, covered with deep red rashes, and so emaciated that the paramedics thought they were being tricked by being given a doll to treat.
The Parents:
Lorie's parents Sonia, 38, and Khochadour, 54, are emigres from Lebanon and Syria. In addition to Lorie, the couple has two teenaged children. Like many people these days the Atikian's were concerned about modern food additives, pesticide residues, and drugs. Their cultural background may have made them a bit more vulnerable, but like most people they held positive attitudes toward "natural" food and medicine. Sonia became enamored with Gerhard Hanswille, an "herbologist."
The Promise:
Hanswille's compelling vision of natural health made a convert of Sonia. When she became pregnant with Lorie in 1985 Hanswille convinced her to remain "pure" for the sake of the child. She testified that Hanswille promised to make Lorie a super baby. "That baby is going to be very different. Its going to develop without chemicals. Its going to be strong and pure...it going to be very special." Hanswille convinced Sonia that vaccinations would "poison" her child, and that ultrasound examination would damage an unborn baby's brain.
The Regimen:
Hanswille advocated an organic, vegetarian diet. He sold the Atikians a special juicer for $400 alleging that their own juicer "burned the nutrition" out of fruits. Among the special products the Atikians purchased from Hanswille were a bottle of baby oil that cost $16, a bar of soap costing $7.40, and a 3 kg box of laundry detergent that cost $35.99.
When Lorie became ill she was treated with royal jelly, "cell salts" (homeopathy), and an herbal concoction brewed by Hanswille. He also treated Lorie with an electromagnetic "vitalizing" machine that "stimulates the blood" and has attachments such as an electrified comb that "livens up the hair." Sonia Atikian testified that they became very concerned about Lorie's condition but that Hanswille assured them that it was normal for clumps of her baby's hair to fall out and not to worry if Lorie didn't gain weight. Hanswille told Sonia that taking Lorie to a hospital would be like "holding a loaded gun to Lorie's head and pulling the trigger."
How Unusual Is This Case?
The sad story of the death of little Lorie Atikian received national coverage in Canada by the Toronto Star (5/10-6/13) and The Globe and Mail. It is the kind of story that elicits harsh blame of the parents for their gullibility. "How could they have been so foolish?" is the usual response. The reality is that most of the public is sympathetic to the underlying assumptions that condemn modern food, commercial agriculture and extol "natural" medicine. The herbal industry is trying to distance itself from Hanswille by saying that the case is "not typical." However, we believe that what Hanswille told the Atikians is not only widely believed by health food and natural (herbal) medicine ilk; it largely represents the philosophy that is used to justify the existence of "alternative" medicine and herbalism.
The above was taken from The National Center Against Health Fraud
This story represents faith in a man and faith in an ideology. The parents had every reason to doubt, yet proceeded anyway because of their faith. You may think that it is unfair to call this faith, or that the parents were victims of a con man. This is true faith without the window dressings of religion. Faith masquerades as many things, but this is what it looks like naked. Faith is wishful thinking. Con men use faith as a staple of their cons. It's used not only to exploit, but to defend. It's no coincidence that many of the con man's tricks have their counterparts in religion.
You may even agree with some of these ideas. Do you feel 'chemicals' are dangerous? Do you feel organic food is healthier? Are you concerned about pesticides and preservatives? Then I guess you agree with at least some of the ideology behind this, and your real problem with these parents was the extent of their faith.
Faith greases the wheels of pseudoscience and lends itself perfectly to deceit. Perfect faith is perfect delusion.
The Victim:
Dead from malnutrition and pneumonia is Lorie Atikian. Eight months before her death on September 25, 1987, Lorie was a perfectly healthy baby. When she died she was nearly bald, covered with deep red rashes, and so emaciated that the paramedics thought they were being tricked by being given a doll to treat.
The Parents:
Lorie's parents Sonia, 38, and Khochadour, 54, are emigres from Lebanon and Syria. In addition to Lorie, the couple has two teenaged children. Like many people these days the Atikian's were concerned about modern food additives, pesticide residues, and drugs. Their cultural background may have made them a bit more vulnerable, but like most people they held positive attitudes toward "natural" food and medicine. Sonia became enamored with Gerhard Hanswille, an "herbologist."
The Promise:
Hanswille's compelling vision of natural health made a convert of Sonia. When she became pregnant with Lorie in 1985 Hanswille convinced her to remain "pure" for the sake of the child. She testified that Hanswille promised to make Lorie a super baby. "That baby is going to be very different. Its going to develop without chemicals. Its going to be strong and pure...it going to be very special." Hanswille convinced Sonia that vaccinations would "poison" her child, and that ultrasound examination would damage an unborn baby's brain.
The Regimen:
Hanswille advocated an organic, vegetarian diet. He sold the Atikians a special juicer for $400 alleging that their own juicer "burned the nutrition" out of fruits. Among the special products the Atikians purchased from Hanswille were a bottle of baby oil that cost $16, a bar of soap costing $7.40, and a 3 kg box of laundry detergent that cost $35.99.
When Lorie became ill she was treated with royal jelly, "cell salts" (homeopathy), and an herbal concoction brewed by Hanswille. He also treated Lorie with an electromagnetic "vitalizing" machine that "stimulates the blood" and has attachments such as an electrified comb that "livens up the hair." Sonia Atikian testified that they became very concerned about Lorie's condition but that Hanswille assured them that it was normal for clumps of her baby's hair to fall out and not to worry if Lorie didn't gain weight. Hanswille told Sonia that taking Lorie to a hospital would be like "holding a loaded gun to Lorie's head and pulling the trigger."
How Unusual Is This Case?
The sad story of the death of little Lorie Atikian received national coverage in Canada by the Toronto Star (5/10-6/13) and The Globe and Mail. It is the kind of story that elicits harsh blame of the parents for their gullibility. "How could they have been so foolish?" is the usual response. The reality is that most of the public is sympathetic to the underlying assumptions that condemn modern food, commercial agriculture and extol "natural" medicine. The herbal industry is trying to distance itself from Hanswille by saying that the case is "not typical." However, we believe that what Hanswille told the Atikians is not only widely believed by health food and natural (herbal) medicine ilk; it largely represents the philosophy that is used to justify the existence of "alternative" medicine and herbalism.
The above was taken from The National Center Against Health Fraud
This story represents faith in a man and faith in an ideology. The parents had every reason to doubt, yet proceeded anyway because of their faith. You may think that it is unfair to call this faith, or that the parents were victims of a con man. This is true faith without the window dressings of religion. Faith masquerades as many things, but this is what it looks like naked. Faith is wishful thinking. Con men use faith as a staple of their cons. It's used not only to exploit, but to defend. It's no coincidence that many of the con man's tricks have their counterparts in religion.
You may even agree with some of these ideas. Do you feel 'chemicals' are dangerous? Do you feel organic food is healthier? Are you concerned about pesticides and preservatives? Then I guess you agree with at least some of the ideology behind this, and your real problem with these parents was the extent of their faith.
Faith greases the wheels of pseudoscience and lends itself perfectly to deceit. Perfect faith is perfect delusion.
