Linda wrote:
> Personally, I have no problem with get rich schemes being
> discussed here or in classes related to the topics mentioned.
> I was responding to the tenor of a post that insinuated that
> such topics as ethnopolitical conflict were totally irrelevant
> to psychology (again see the thread history) and equated such
> discussions with an instructor using a get rich scheme to get
> money from students. It would be absurd to argue that "get
> rich schemes" are not something one could study within the
> context of specific domains of psychology. It is not however
> an entire area/division at this point unless I missed something
> recently.
Rather than responding to all the areas involved in this message, I will
limit my response to just the points raised in this one paragraph:
1. No one ever stated that ethnopolical conflicts were irrelevant to
psychology. Rather it was stated that a plea to encourage students to
support a specific response to such a conflict was inappropriate to this
list. See my response to Nancy in this thread for an explanation as to why
at least some of us have seen it in that way.
2. Linda has argued that "get rich quick" schemes do not occupy an entire
area/division of the APA and therefore are not equivalent to the original
post. But the original post was NOT about "ethnopolitical issues" it was
about a very specific issue, current events in East Timor. Get rich quick
schemes can just as validly be viewed as a legitimate subset of topics of
interest to the psychologist interested in the areas I specified in the
message Linda is responding to as East Timor itself may be viewed as a
subset of topics of interest to a psychologist interested in
ethnopolitical issues. If Linda insists that a division specifically
addressing "Get Rich Quick" schemes must exist for equality, it is equally
reasonable to insist that a division specifically addressing "Conflict in
East Timor" exist as well. Since, obviously, no such divisions exist, it
would seem that neither topic is, in and of itself, "more relevant" to
this list than the other.
Having made this clarification, I will attempt to withdraw from this
absurdist debate over the relative importance of different issues to the
list and whether APA divisions exist to study these specific areas at this
point, providing Linda does not choose to pursue the discussion further
herself.
Rick
--
Rick Adams
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College, Jackson, MI
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds
will be the love you leave behind when you're gone."
Fred Small, J.D., "Everything Possible"
