Posted by Adam on September 1, 2001, at 14:19:52
In reply to Anti-Paxil lawsuit in U.S., posted by Daveman on September 1, 2001, at 12:47:27
I dunno. Someone sued McDonald's because they spilled coffee on themselves, and won. OJ was found not-guilty. Lorena cut her husband's thingy off (maybe he deserved it, maybe not), and was found "temporarily insane". Drug companies have been sued before, and they will be again, and again, and again. We need the ability to sue people and organizations, but the legal system is imperfect, so justice is not always served. Leave it to lawyers to expoit hysteria for profit. Leave it to other lawyers to behave in a responsible and ethical manner.
I, myself, have given up on the idea of "justice" per se. I don't trust other people, or myself, for that matter, to always do the right thing. I figure there's an evolutionary process at work here, Darwinian forces that bring out the worst in people so that something better rises above the mire. Of course, I don't think there's any purpose or intent behind this. It's just the larger social "organism" manifesting a pattern we see in other populations: more-or-less random behavior in an environment that tends to select for that which is most advantatious.
Who knows what this particular lawsuit means, or what it will bring in the future. I figure, if some people are so dense and inept at cost-benefit analysis that they would be willing to demonize and wreck an entire company because it A) does its best to maximize profits by minimizing the dissemination of bad news (all for-profit companies do this, because they have no choice), and B) made a product that is not perfectly perfect, well, sit back and let them deny themselves the benefit of better living through chemistry, if they are so intent on that goal. That's their prerogative in a free society.
The salient concern is, how does one sheild themselves from the maladaptiveness of others without being antisocial? Those who master this beneficial trait, I predict, will reap the greatest rewards the ecos has to offer. I'm still working that one out myself, being not entirely certain if I have any claim to the higher ground.
> Hi All:
>
> The anti-Paxil lawsuit in the US is up and running. I've spent the last week on an anti-panic web board discussing this issue. The anti-SSRI attitude reflected there is eerily similar to the anti-benzo hysteria which those very same people object to so strongly.
>
> Here is the website for the law firm handling the suit, with links to the complaint:
>
> http://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/
>
> I don't know about y'all, but I find this pretty sacry. Opinions?
>
> Dave
poster:Adam
thread:77287
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010828/msgs/77305.html