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My name is Kieran. I was totally disgusted at the use of words in the following article which was written by Jasper Hamill, published on the 19 Jan 2010. The title of this article is Doctors Criticise ‘Reckless’ Drug Abuse Guidance.
I have cut and pasted the email I have sent to Herald Scotland about this, and I was wondering if any of you agree with what I am saying and, if so, what is the best way to put pressure on about the use of words in this article. The end result I am seeking here is that Herald Scotland should retract this article and apologies should be given for their use of words.
The e-mail I sent to them:
I am referring to the following article: Doctors criticise ‘reckless’ drug abuse guidance.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/doctors-criticise-reckless-drug-abuse-guidance-1.999737
The word I am talking about is in the first sentence of the third paragraph.
“It claimed Health Protection Scotland was wrong to suggest abusers give up the drug and that further deaths were inevitable unless they could get access to substitutes such as methadone.”
The word I am referring to is ‘abusers’ when talking about people who are affected by substance misuse. I am also going to be contacting the Alliance, NTA and various Substance Misuse Advocacy Teams about this issue.
I expect full apologies for the use of this word and a retraction of this article. The apology should be on your site heraldscotland.com and should have a link to this apology from the Daily Dose site. The reason I am asking for a link to be on the Daily Dose site is because it was through Daily Dose that I got to this article in the first place. I am also going to be contacting Daily Dose about this too.
I have to say I agree with you on this one Kieran. The connotations are wrong on so many levels. Let us know how things progress.
Excellent Kieran. Let me know what happens. I’ll put this blog on Daily Dose tomorrow and wait top see what happens.
Well spoken out!
Pucker to point out, feels like being labelled again or maybe it was just a editor who has no idea of addiction? Give us feed back please.
Well done for raising the issue and voicing it! Keep us posted.
I’m not sure where the ‘discrimination’ occurs in the article and I would be astonished if the Herald retract the story or apologise. Do you really expect the editor or the journalist to be experts in whatever terminology is fashionable at any given time?
All the Herald have done here is report news in a form that their readership will understand, in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that.
Hi Kieran,
I really understand where you are coming from over this.
A large number in the press are very discriminatory towards
drug users.
The Comment that really upset me recently was on the front page of the Sun and it was.
The second is they made it sound as Injecting Anthrax was the new craze
I don’t want to be pedantic but ‘Junkie’ is not a discriminatory term either, it may be pejorative, and I can understand why some people might find it offensive.
Having said that many service users that I meet refer to themselves and others as ‘Junkies’.
But the real question, for me anyway, is should we be surprised that drug users/misusers are portrayed in a negative way by the media? It is a fact that heroin users don’t usually make very good neighbours and tend to be unpopular members of the community as a result of their behaviour.
I am not excusing ‘The Sun’ it is a waste of paper like most of the tabloids are but sadly I suspect it reflects the values/opinions that a huge chunk of the population hold.
Personally, I am not sure what Kieran is trying to achieve. Do we want the media to portray drug users in a positive light? It will never happen and I don’t think it should. Injecting heroin is not a good lifestyle choice (and let’s not forget, it is a choice) perhaps if the media took a less ambivalent approach to drugs/drug problems we might actually see more people eventually moving towards recovery.
I’m Andrea, a recovering alcoholic, and worker in the field till recently. I think Kieran is absolutely right to highlight this issue – the word “abuser” conjures up all sorts of images, none of them good – and I do feel that the sort of language that’s often used to describe people with addictive illness is judgemental and demonstrates sheer ignorance on the part of those who use it. It’s all a matter of education – the press has a responsibility to inform as well as entertain – and some newspapers actively encourage their readers to despise certain groups in society. I do feel we can get a bit carried away with political correctness, but some previously vilified, eg. black or gay people, have fought long and hard to stop the use of terms likely to cause offence or perpetuate myth, and it’s high time people like me didn’t have to feel belittled by language designed to encourage discrimination. I have yet to meet a single person whose previous or current hazardous use of drugs or alcohol would call it a choice, particularly at the height of their addiction; it’s not a matter of expecting the media to portray addiction in a positive way, but to at least attempt to get facts and terminology right. Well done, Kieran
Thanks for your comments on this Blog, just to update people who may be following the posts on this blog.
I have not heard anything from Herold Scotland yet but i suppose i expected as much. I did receive an email from the NTA which is good. If anyone knows of any sort of literature which supports the view i have put forward please post it on hear so i can view it, also if there is any which goes against my view post that also thanks again.
Had nothing back what eva but i will keep going!! It is actualy more possitive that no conact was made because now i am more driven to show this for what it is PLAIN WRONG!!
I have to disagree with you, Andrea, you get choices all the way through life and whether you use or continue to use drugs or alcohol is something that is entirely within your control.
On the other hand you do not get to choose whether you are black or gay so your comparison is entirely fatuous.
I’m sure that Kieran is well intentioned, as you are, but why waste your energy fighting something that you cannot change when there is so much that is achievable?
