Peter Bowditch-Running Scared
The Bowditch non-debate saga continues. by Meryl Dorey
For those who haven't yet read about this issue, you can do so on the following blog posts: The Great Vaccination Non-Debate and Are You Brave Enough to Follow Through, Peter Bowditch?
Apparently, Mr Bowditch is well aware of his lack of knowledge on the issue of vaccination because he is using every tactic at his disposal to try and worm out of fulfilling his promise to debate me. One can only assume that his two letters of acceptance - one made to the organisers of the You Can Heal Yourself Expo and the other to me personally via this blog - were made under the incorrect assumption that I would not accept his offer.
Unfortunately for him, however, I threw a spanner in the works by stating that I would accept his challenge and debate him at the Expo at the end of May. The deadline for him to confirm with the organisers is just 2 days away - on Friday, the 9th of May.
So far, he has used every possible excuse for why he would be unable to follow through on his promise to attend and debate me.
He suddenly realised that he needs to be back in Sydney by 11 am on Sunday and for some reason, airplanes aren't working on Saturday night to allow him to do that.
Debating me would legitimise my arguments and this is something he was unaware of when he made his challenge in early April and repeated it again at the end of the month.
The You Can Heal Yourself Expo is a "Festival of Batshittery" (eg one where both sides of this debate are welcome and wanted) - something he didn't realise until just now.
And now, he is twisting his offer to debate by trying to turn it into something completely different - an essay competition where he will have the assistance of his friends at Stop the AVN to do his research and write his 'homework', showing the internet world how brave and knowledgeable he is about vaccination.
Yesterday, I received the following letter from Mr Bowditch and wrote back to him (below) immediately. I haven't yet heard back from him. Neither have the Expo organisers.
One has to wonder how far he is prepared to take this charade of having been genuinely willing to expose his knowledge of vaccination (or lack of thereof) to public scrutiny. It is telling, however, that he is so brave in front of the SAVN hordes yet turns tail and runs when faced with the prospect of having to support his vitriolic opposition to informed choice in a public venue. As have ALL of the other SAVNers, not one of whom had the courage of their convictions to honestly present the pro-vaccine-safety and effectiveness point of view at this expo.
My response to Peter Bowditch's 'challenge':
Dear Mr Bowditch,
You accepted the public debate at the You Can Heal Yourself Expo. Neither I nor anyone else forced you to accept this. And you accepted it twice - once via the organiser’s website - once via the AVN’s website.
To quote you directly:
“Please notify the organisers of the Healthy Lifestyles Expo that I was serious when I offered to debate you. Now that you are aware of this you can no longer claim that nobody from the sanity side of the non-debate is prepared to step up to the plate.”
So, are you “prepared to step up to the plate” and debate me at this forum or not? An answer would be appreciated.
If you are not going to attend this debate after stating quite clearly that you would do so, could you please have the courtesy to inform both myself and the organisers of that fact?
I will not enter into any other discussion with you.
Kind regards, Meryl Dorey
Peter Bowditch's letter to me:
Dear Ms Dorey,
The following challenge has been posted on various Facebook pages and my personal blog. I would appreciate an acceptance by Thursday.
Thank you.
================================
Challenge to Meryl Dorey.
Here are the three questions to be "debated" at the Expo in Caloundra on May 24:
1) Does herd Immunity apply to the use of vaccinations
2) The ingredients in Vaccines are Toxic and Small Babies cannot tolerate even small amounts
3) Can it really be proven that it is vaccination that is controlling disease rates or do diseases die out naturally and recur in cycles.
And here are the rules:
1) No discussion of the AVN or Meryl Dorey at all, as this is about Vaccination not personalities
2) All information and debate to be kept on topic
3) All discussion and debate is to be kept informative, educational and scientifically grounded
4) At all times a civil and respectful attitude is to be kept in tone, word and deed
These questions and rules have been set by the event organisers. With one change (that Rule 1 also prohibit discussion of Australian Skeptics, SAVN, or me) I propose a written debate.
At or before 9pm on Sunday, May 11, I will produce three essays, each approximately 1000 words, addressing the three questions. Ms Dorey is invited to do the same. To avoid either of us gaining an advantage neither will get to see the other's submissions before they are published. Both of us will email our submissions to nominated administrators of both the SAVN and AVsN Facebook pages, and all six will be published simultaneously (as closely as possible) on both sites.
Ms Dorey says that I am afraid to debate her. I am giving her the opportunity to make her arguments in front of audiences which are divided on their opinions on vaccines and I am prepared to do the same.
Bring it on.
The saga continues...the clock is counting down. Peter Bowditch has 48 hours to prove that he is brave enough and honest enough to follow through on his offer to debate me. Only time will tell.
Please note: Blog posts are opinion pieces which represent the views of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the AVN National Committee. The AVN is a forum, support and information organisation and outlet for discussion about the relative benefits and risks of vaccinations in particular - and medical procedures in general. We do not provide medical advice but believe that everyone has the opportunity and the obligation to do their own research before making decisions for their families. The information we provide (including your personal review of the references we cite) should be taken in conjunction with a range of other data, including that obtained from government, your health care provider and/or other medical source material to assist you in developing the knowledge required to make informed health choices.