my editor's response

[Guest guest]

Dear ers,

It's been a great discussion this week on " affliction "

and " suffering " . And I would certainly not wish to be " labeled " with

either, or even worse adjectives.

I received a response from my new editor (we've only been working

together for one month). I responded in a nice way, meaning no

disrespect, but at this point I'm questioning my future with her as

editor. Anyway, thought I'd share her response on the issue.

~ Gretchen

" While I am sensitive to many of these issues regarding proper

terminology for persons with disabilities, I am also wary of

sidestepping the realities of living with CMT. For instance, I do

purposely say, " sufferer " from time to time when the situation calls

for it, because suffering is the harsh reality for some living with

CMT, and to sugarcoat it doesn't do anyone any favors. Too many

people either don't know what CMT is or don't know just how

debilitating it can be for individuals with more than mild cases. We

want to paint the disease in its true light, and if that means not

being 100-percent " politically correct " or wholly upbeat from

time to time in order to illustrate the truly debilitating nature of

the disease, then so be it; we trust that our members can handle it. "