Skeptic trolls bullying patients and doctors

Skeptic trolls bullying patients and doctors

The internet sadly is full of trolls. A small minority, but omnipresent. I don't mean "troll" in the facile sense that is often used, which is simply a label for anyone who disagrees with one. I mean people with serious personal issues who have to bully, insult or harass for their own entertainment. Any number of pretexts will do, including the apparently honourable and reasonable one of "fighting quackery". 

There are a number of skeptic trolls, who like all trolls are nobodies, who are extremely vocal on the subject of alternative medicine etc. Their activities in some cases amount to plain bullying of people who have different views from their own. I think most alternative medicine is complete bunkum, but it is a matter of personal freedom that people can seek whatever treatment they wish, no matter how bizarre. What's even stranger is that most of these skeptic troll have no proper scientific credentials at all. Truly the Dunning-Kruger effect personified. Like most trolls, they are willing to resort to lies and other tricks to try and "win" an argument. One skeptic troll was getting very exciting because someone alleged that Pfizer was funding the Saatchi Bill. Palpable nonsense, but the truth matters little to trolls. Another skeptic troll wrote that the consultation on the Saatchi Bill was conducted by the campaign. Again, a failure of the most basic research.

I won't name the individuals. They are nobodies, trying to be somebodies. They pretend to be "rationalists", but instead they are just bullies and trolls. 

Another example is the campaigns against alternative medicine providers. Again, I have no problem with combating false claims about treatments where necessary. However, the orchestrated campaign against certain alternative medicine providers has been accused of racism through the focus on one particular individual. It is easy to see why these accusations have arisen. Even registered medical practitioners have been the focus of disciplinary proceedings, despite their unorthodox practices meeting the needs of their patients and having the full support of those patients. Should the GMC be acting when no patients have complained? Arguably not.