If You Have a Faint Heart, Don't Look

Hi readers. In yesterdays posts on facebook I included a fact about teratology, the study of abnormalities of physiological development, along with a disturbing image. Mathieu, the recipient, wouldn't mind if I shared this to the world. So this is exactly how it went, including responses:

Anthony Baker

Hey, I didn’t make this stuff up and personally I don’t like it either but it is, never the less, an effective warning that coincides with pregnancies. Ergo, alcohol is a terratogen (a word deriving from the Greek roots “Terrato” and “genes,” literally – to make monsters), the scientific expression for a chemical agent that in certain doses can cause birth defects. Refer to my April 7th blog, “The... Very Beginning of FASD & The Suicide of Michael Dorris.”

http://fetuswinning.blogspot.com/2011/04/very-beginning-of-fasd.html

Hé, je n'ai pas fait ce genre de choses et, personnellement, je n'aime pas ça non plus mais il est, jamais moins, une alerte efficace qui coïncide avec les grossesses. Ergo, l'alcool est une terratogen (un mot dérivant de la racine grecque "Terrato» et «gènes», littéralement - de faire des monstres), l'expression scientifique pour un agent chimique que dans certaines doses peuvent provoquer des malformations congénitales. Reportez-vous à mon blogue le 7 avril, "le début de l'ETCAF et le suicide de Michael Dorris."

http://fetuswinning.blogspot.com/2011/04/very-beginning-of-fasd.html

(In case you can't read the above image script, here it is: For pregnant women and for thousands of years, alcohol has been coined a "teratogen," literally, "to make monsters." Teratology still exists today and the definition has not changed .)

Mathieu Boisvert, on my friend list, stated: "I'm fairly confident that's a doctored photo, I doubt alcohol could make a baby be born with teeth, let alone the eyes. I don't doubt that FASD does cause birth defects though, and that's something we need to take seriously."

My response: "Yes Matthew. The photo was doctored although I did not do that. I assure you that I do take FASD seriously since I have ARND. However, if MADD ads can use blood and if government ads (that all children see) on cigarette packs with grotesque images are still OK, than I am merely following suit.

The greatest method of getting attention is the "shake'em up" method. Clearly, I am no different than MADD or the government itself. Will I continue? No. Oh, maybe one or two in the future if I feel it necessary, but really, it's not my goal to undermine the FAS disorders.

We live in a somewhat desensitized world - I think that's why WE (not you) use these tactics from time to time. So rest assured this will definitely not be common practice for me. I really appreciate your rational response to my post. I actually expected to lose friends over this. But I will gain more like you. Thank you, sir."

Well there it is. It is true about our desensitized world and advertisers, companies, organizations, etc, are almost forced to do their best at times to shake up the eyes of the world to get a point across or to be noticed. Get used to it. So again, a person out there in cyberspace gave a photo to Exporer and I snatched it up.