Education Week Embraces Scientology?
There's a rather startling ad in the September 19th issue of Education Week on page 19, basically a broadside against psychiatric drugs and the whole practice of psychiatry in general. I didn't think much of it until I was reading David Hoff's blog off of the Education Week website and saw an odd, odd banner ad linking psychiatry and drug addiction with a strong "Your Children Could Be Next!" vibe to it.
That seemed awfully out there for EdWeek, "American Education's Newspaper of Record," and the attack on psychiatry was also strikingly reminiscent of a recent moment from the pop culture zeitgeist:
So I went looking for information about the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, the group that sponsored the ads, and it looks like they're a branch of Scientology.
I've no beef with the Scientologists--they're welcome to their beliefs. What I do have to question is Education Week taking their money for print and on-line ads calling psychiatry "An industry of death" that wants to get kids hooked on drugs. Is this really the kind of content Education Week wants to stand behind?
UPDATE: I used to have a link to the banner ad in question, but it's since been moved. I'll have to see if I can find it again.
That seemed awfully out there for EdWeek, "American Education's Newspaper of Record," and the attack on psychiatry was also strikingly reminiscent of a recent moment from the pop culture zeitgeist:
So I went looking for information about the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, the group that sponsored the ads, and it looks like they're a branch of Scientology.
I've no beef with the Scientologists--they're welcome to their beliefs. What I do have to question is Education Week taking their money for print and on-line ads calling psychiatry "An industry of death" that wants to get kids hooked on drugs. Is this really the kind of content Education Week wants to stand behind?
UPDATE: I used to have a link to the banner ad in question, but it's since been moved. I'll have to see if I can find it again.
Labels: advertizing, Education Week, scientology
posted by Ryan at 8:57 PM
4 Comments:
Excellent pickup - I'm with you 100% on this one. I'm not a big fan of partisan, religious or identity-politics ads on education sites when they don't relate to the content on the site [ie, I read several Christian homeschool blogs - their Christian ads are quite appropriate].
I doubt EdWeek knew of the ad. Many times sites with offensive or inappropriate ads subscribe to ad networks that control the flow.
EdWeek can, however, give a call to that advertiser and tell them to block certain ads from displaying. You can even exercise that much control in Google AdSense!
I'd have to say that this isn't EdWeek's fault, but now the responsibility is theirs regarding how they choose to deal with it. We'll see, I suppose.
There is a psychiatric / pharmaceutical plan to "suicide screen" every child in the United States before they graduate from high school. Evidence exists that shows massive pharmaceutical backing that will result in even more overdrugging of kids with psychiatric drugs .
Can you take a moment to view this very short video? Click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfU9puZQKBY
And then sign and forward this petition http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html to your associates and everyone you know? It already has over 23,000 signatures.
It's simply a race to inform enough parents so something can be done about this.
Federal bill to ban funding for TeenScreen: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc110/h2387_ih.xml
Totally creepy dude.
The Scientologists saw your post and did a drive by on you.
Word of advice, don't call them a cult unless you want frivolous lawsuits to start showing up as well.
Yup - another Scientologist happened to see your post too. Don't know if you'd classify me as a 'drive-by', but whatever.
Personally, I think the filthiest sort of commercializing is the fact that you have drug companies marketing to children at the age of 9, pushing drugs at them and their parents, and threatening (and actually going through with) taking their kids away if they don't medicate them.
It's one of these things that is just too horrible to be believed when you step back and look at it, but if one's stuck in the system, listening to all their marketing, it sounds almost plausible.
So, if anyone is a proper audience to find out about what psychiatry and drug companies are doing to children, I'd have to say that the readers of Education Week have a right to know such things.
And, unfortunately, I can't find the banner ad either.
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