[ RadSafe ] Psychiatry for Anti-Nukes

[Clayton J Bradt]

Although I can easily believe that some of the more virulent anti-nuclear 
campaigners are suffering from paranoia, the vast majority of the rank and 
file surely are not. One needn't be paranoid to mistrust government and 
large corporations. (I intend no disjunction here. In the US at least 
there is little distinction between government and large corporations.) 
There have been innumerable examples of this pair of powers blatantly 
lying to the public.
Now to the uninitiated, radiation is very scary stuff.  We know it can do 
terrible things to people in large enough doses. It is not irrational to 
suppose that even small doses could be harmful as well. This, by the way 
is still the official position of all the relevant US government agencies 
that I am aware of. Why shouldn't most people believe it? Then when the 
government says that there is no safe level of radiation and 
simultaneously assures us that the radiation from nuclear power plants is 
so low that people shouldn't worry about it - lay people hear an abrupt 
disconnect and want to know what the hell is going on. It is entirely 
reasonable for people to suppose that the government is lying about the 
real dangers of nuclear power in order to protect corporate interests. 
That's what they usually do, after all.
The tragedy of the anti-nukes is that the one time the government is being 
relatively truthful, the anti-nukes can't bring themselves to believe it!


>Roger, It might be a few weeks ago, that I put the question on 
>RADSAFE, whether not most of those militant "antis" simply suffer 
>from mental problems, in some severe cases are simply mentally ill 
>and suffer from severe paranoia. Interestingly I did not receive any 
>comment on my statements! They seem to apply to the anonymous person 
>you refer to. So what? No psychiatrist on the list? Nobody who knows 
>someone who could comment? What about our family doctor with his 
>thoriated welding rods - a family doctor should also have some 
>knowledge about psyc hiatry. Somehow I am tired about all that 
>self-serving nonsense distributed in mass media - some of the very 
>worst in Austrian papers. Sorry, I am not a "patriot". Hoping again 
>for some reaction from RADSAFE.

>Franz



Clayton J. Bradt
Principal Radiophysicist
NYS Dept. of Health
Biggs Laboratory, Room D486A
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12201-0509

518-474-1993

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