PUBLISHER'S VIEW: The outrageous attack against Dr. Squier by the British Medical Council - and its decision to thrust her out of the UK's medical profession reminded me of bitter, uneducated, attacks on Elizabeth Loftus, another one of my heroes. Loftus, an American cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, was pilloried by some of her peers for research which concluded that human memory is fallible - and for her finding that some allegations of child sexual abuse were based on false “recovered repressed memories” of events that never happened. (This exposed her to unwarranted allegations that she denied the possibility of child sexual abuse and attacked its victims,) The comprehensive Wikipedia page on Loftus, who has been recognized throughout the world for her work, informs us that "Loftus’ work was used to oppose recovered memory evidence provided in court[11] and resulted in stricter requirements for the use of recovered memories being used in trials as well as a greater requirement for corroborating evidence. In addition, some states no longer allowed prosecution based on recovered memory testimony and insurance companies were more reluctant to insure therapists against malpractice suits relating to recovered memories. Not surprisingly, Loftus, like Squier, came under attack from vested interests who cared little about the consequences of myths disguised as science in the criminal courts. As the site notes, "In addition to opposition from fellow researchers, Loftus has been insulted by a prosecutor, attacked by an airplane passenger who recognized her,[8][11] received hate mail and death threats,[11][20] and has had to have protection by security guards while giving invited addresses.[8][10] After criticizing the theory of recovered memory and testifying about the nature of memory and false allegations of child sexual abuse as part of the day care sex abuse hysteria, Loftus was subject to on-line harassment by conspiracy theoristDiana Napolis, who believed Loftus was engaged in satanic ritual abuse or assisted in covering up these crimes as part of a larger conspiracy." Most importantly - and of direct relevance to the untenable situation in which Dr. Squier finds herself - the site points out that: "In her acceptance speech for the Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award, Loftus states that the word "freedom" is personally important to her, as when she began speaking out about repressed memory, she never imagined she would become "the target of organized, relentless vitriol and harassment". Loftus feels that today's world for science is a perilous one and if scientists want to preserve their freedoms they need to speak out "against even the most cherished beliefs that reflect unsubstantiated myths". Like Loftus, Dr. Squier has become the target of "organized, relentless vitriol and harrassment." And like Loftus she has fought to preserve scientific freedom by speaking out "against even the most cherished beliefs that reflect unsubstantiated myths" - in spite of the inevitable persecution (read 'witch hunt') which she would be, and was exposed to. The good news is that Elizabeth Loftus has beome recognized throughout the world for her work, as reflected in numerous awards and honorary degrees - while her ignorant neanderthal opponents now wallow in obscurity. I expect the same will happen to Dr. Waney Squier, and other courageous researchers who, like her, have exposed the myth of shaken baby syndrome - and can't happen soon enough.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Loftus
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.