Re: Re[6]: Contaminated Residential Waste from I-131 Patient

[Franz Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 12:18 11.02.2000 -0600, you wrote:
>     
>     Don,
>     
>     I must respectfully disagree with you. If we ever get to the point
that, as 
>     a profession, we stoop to the level of the anti's and start public name 
>     calling, berating, personally attacking, etc. an entire agency or 
>     individuals in them to try to influence public opinion and policy,
that's 
>     the point when I'll find a new profession to associate myself with.
>     
>     Steve
>
---------------------------------

Hopefully my support does not have negative effects on your reputation. I
have just a few minutes ago commented to RADSAFE on the role of us
competent scientists within the framework of economics and especially
politics and stated, that we certainly play a marginal role in most
decisions. Having unfortunately extensive experience with bureaucracy in my
country, with massmedia distorting every word in an interview, with anti's,
and everything which is obviously a kind of an "enemy" to Carol, I can only
conclude, that the worst thing one can do, is to copy the behaviour of
militant anti's and to attack persons and institutions in the same way as
the militant ones (there are others as well!) attack the nuclear industry
and health physicists - which is not the same. At least in my country
bureaucrats cannot obstruct decisions of legislation. Of course they could
delay everything, but to reverse legislation is not possible. I cannot
believe that this could happen in the USA. 

I am also surprised that such attacks find supporters, considering that not
so long ago some people were of the totally wrong opinion that I was
attacking some US authorities and I received flames going to far as to
announce that I was put on a kill file......

This has nothing to do with fear of negative effects on a carreer or
similar. Using methods which we disdain with other people is not a correct
answer and I myself would be ashamed to do so.

I use to say, that I want to act in such a way, whatever happens, that I am
able to look at myself in a mirror without spitting to it. 

Franz


Franz Schoenhofer
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
Austria
Tel.: +43-1-495 53 08
Fax.: same number
mobile phone: +43-664-338 0 333
e-mail: schoenho@via.at

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