User talk:Neil Brick/Sandbox/Hell Minus One

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Template as per talk below: I am the author of most of the text at the wikipedia article (there have been edits made by others).Neil Brick 21:32, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Serious neutrality problem

Until there is some community-agreed neutral article about the existence of satanic ritual abuse, I have a serious problem with articles talking about how individuals recounted it, reported it to uncontrolled surveys, etc. The existence of the phenomenon is certainly not generally accepted.

This took place in the United States. While a police detective may say he confirmed it, the U.S. legal system operates on the assumption of "innocent until proved guilty in a court of law." None of the citations refer to a court determination, only police statements and reports from news organizations.

The statement "Kimberly Perkins: “The lack of prosecution of such reports does not mean that the reports are fictitious.”[4]" is, in the legal system, does not mean anything.

There are statements that there is physical evidence, but no details from a neutral physician.

Presumably living people are the subject of these allegations. I'm really concerned about CZ's position here, both as a home for non-neutral statements, and, in the case of living people, liability. Howard C. Berkowitz 21:10, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

IMO, her story is presented neutrally in the article. There were confessions that were discussed in the print and television media. The article simply reports the data available about the book and her story. I don't see where there is a liability issue, since no one is named and there were written confessions with excerpts published in media outlets. Neil Brick 21:21, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Neil, I don't accept that satanic ritual itself is a neutral concept. Also, the article promotes her book. The article assumes satanic ritual abuse exists.

The lead, saying s "Anne’s story has been confirmed by physical evidence and by the written and verbal confessions of her mother and stepfather" is not neutral. It does not produce the physical evidence, either in details that could be interpreted by neutral medical personnel, or in the form of a report by a clearly neutral medical authority.

Again, in the American legal systems, confessions prove nothing unless they are stipulated in a court of law. Media are not a court of law, but recognized news media have a certain leeway that general publications do not.

Sorry, I can't support this article at all, especially if it is the harbinger of a series on allegations of satanic conspiracies, which don't even make sense in Church of Satan theology, silly as I find it.

It further disturbs me to find this is being propagated at Wikipedia as well, which gives me the impression of advocacy rather than contributing to a neutral body of knowledge. Howard C. Berkowitz 21:27, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

With all due respect, I don't see how this article does anything more than simply discuss her story. All statements are documented and back by sources. I am willing to compromise on certain statements in the article, but I do believe the article has a place in Citizendium. Neil Brick 21:37, 8 February 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia issue -- please take the necessary steps

Hi, Neil, I see that this article is 100% the same as a recently created one at Wikipedia, and yet you have not said that it is a copy of a Wikipedia article. This raises a whole separate issue. You can check off the Wikipedia box at the bottom of the article, and then put a template on the talk page saying that you yourself are the 100% author of the Wikipedia article. If you do those things, I'll bow out and let others discuss. Otherwise, acting as a Constable, I will delete the article. Hayford Peirce 21:25, 8 February 2009 (UTC)