The Chinese Restaurant Syndrome debacle continues. I sent Carol H,
who'd suggested that my writeup be nuked because it "mis-represented" her
website, an email:
Dear Carol:
I am the writer of the node "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" on
Everything2.com. I invite you to reply to this email with a few paragraphs
(including sources) that you'd like me to add to that piece of writing, so as
to more fairly represent your point of view.
I posted the following underneath your Node Deletion Request:
Re: Nuke request for Chinese Restaurant Syndrome hereinabove.
I sincerely apologize to Carol H for not having perused her site more
thoroughly.
I deeply regret, however, that she glossed over my homenode in a similar
fashion. Four years of my thirty-five year business career were spent working
at Ford, in commercial fleet operations. I am not, and never have been a "car
salesman." I resent being called one, in fact. I only included my experience
at Ford (as well as IBM) to illustrate that I began my career in the corporate
world and then veered off to less conventional employment.
I am an owner of Asian themed restaurants. That's how I make my living. I
have fourteen years of experience in this specific business at this point, and
my unscientific observation is that Chinese Restaurant Syndrome is more often
caused by bad food served by unscrupulous or uneducated proprietors rather
than by MSG. Either way, Chinese Restaurant Syndrome is giving my industry a
bad name.
I did not and will never advocate giving MSG to any person who in any way
believes they have, or is diagnosed with, a sensitivity to that substance.
I am not a food scientist. I do, however, have current certification in
Food Safety from the states of New York and Connecticut (although
Connecticut's course is a one-day joke; New York's is a week of seminars and
tests).
Finally, let's talk about freedom of speech and censorship. Carol H would
have anything that presents a point of view about MSG other than hers removed
from E2. Now, I've read plenty of stuff on E2 that I disagree with. If I want
to discuss, I /msg the writer, with my email, and we agree to disagree. I
invite Carol H to learn how to node and then write one that expresses her
point of view.
Let's reverse positions for a moment. If Carol H could simply sign-up and
blast my node to node heaven or worse, why then can I not contact her
web-hosting company and tell them to remove her site from the internet,
because I happen to disagree with some of its content? Why then, can I not
contact her ISP and tell them that she's disseminating information that could
potentially impact the way I make money.
The manufacture of MSG and other amino acid products is the business of
Ajinomoto, the company from which I source the MSG for my restaurants (through
wholesalers). Ajinomoto makes its money selling MSG and one who would act in
such a way as to disseminate anti-MSG hysteria could potentially be liable for
damages in a U.S. Civil Court. My attorney at O'Melveney and Myers told me
that this morning when I called to chat about something else, and mentioned
this issue.
My email address is located in my homenode. I invite Carol H to email me
with additional data she'd like me to put in Chinese Restaurant Syndrome and
I'll gladly put it there.
Sincerely,
Paul Lewis
Carol responded:
Now that I have your attention, Paul, I would
like to discuss the issue with
you.
You don't need to delete the node, just don't
state that my only foundation
for my website are two studies. I would like you
to link to the Related
Research page on my website to see the scientific
data on my side of the
argument. I have PAGES of studies listed on my
website.
If it makes you feel any better, I grew up on
Chinese food and usually go
out to eat at Asian restaurants. I have an
entire page devoted to why I
don't call an MSG reaction "Chinese Restaurant
Syndrome" because it is NOT
fair to Chinese restaurant owners. I have
Chinese restaurant owners email
me to ask for advice on how to cater to MSG
sensitive patrons. I have a
section devoted to how to eat in an Asian
restaurant safely. My website has
been translated into Japanese and even websites
in China and Korea link to
my site for advice on how to avoid MSG in
restaurants.
I don't advocate avoiding Asian restaurants, just
the opposite. I want
people to go out to eat but they will not if they
are terrified of getting
sick. I spend most of my time trying to convince
Americans hooked on
Doritos, KFC and Diet Coke that THAT is the stuff
to avoid if you want to
eat MSG-free.
This is not about censorship, it is about being
honest. My point is this
-if you are going to mention my website in your
article - please be honest
about it. It appeared that you only looked at
ONE PAGE in the entire site.
That is hardly fair, especially since I do my
best to be fair to Chinese
Restaurant owners like yourself who actually
thank me for my advice.
Sincerely,
Carol Hoernlein
P.S. Sorry about the car salesman dig.
Some noders have wondered how Carol H found out about the writeup so soon
after it was published. I inquired of Carol about this in a later email.
Her response:
I tend to work on the computer all day and am constantly searching the web
for information about MSG, glutamate, neurodegenerative diseases and whatnot. I
occasionally do a google search of MSGtruth to see who else is linking to my
site. Lately it is mostly other countries and doctors concerned about autism and
ADHD. I was shocked this week to see a link to your article on the first page
out of 20 pages in the Google search. I was worried someone might see your link
and not even visit my site because they would be turned off even though it is
listed under Best of the Web this month. I am also very conscious of PR done by
the Glutamate Association since I had just done an hour radio show about MSG
last week. That is why I was looking. I am new to this whole Node thing. I
didn't mean to advocate taking down your whole node, or even the whole article,
but I just wanted to correct the perception of not having any backup for my
position. I have actually spent the last 14 years putting that backup together.
I agreed that if Carol H sends me an abstract that illustrates the most
important points she's making with her website, I'd gladly node it for her and
add it below my writeup.