Misty!! You did respond to this post of mine after all!! :D For a while there, I didn't think you would and that you would actually be disappointed in me for attending the workshop. Thank you for giving me support instead :)

I can understand the pessimism that many in our community feel regarding MHP's, and as I noted in my post two of the MHP's present at the workshop made it very clear that they are concerned over the fact that the majority of MHP's out there have no real understanding of MAA's and are not knowledgeable enough to counsel them. This made it clear to me that there are at least SOME MHP's who are willing to gain a genuine understanding of us and not to be influenced by their personal politics or the popular cultural beliefs of our society. Though I am not a mind reader I do not think that any of the MHP's who attended scoffed at us behind our backs after they left. They were clinical psychologists, therapists, and social workers who were risking their professional reputations by attending these workshops and talking to us as human beings rather than as dangerous criminals that need to be "cured" of some horrible mental disorder. None of them preached mainstream propaganda (even though one of them admitted that she was concerned about the validity of some of the cruel lies spread about online MAA activists, and I had the opportunity to respond to this and allay her understandable fears). This org is truly a remarkable and commendable accomplishment for our community by Mike Melsheimer and Richard Kramer.

Things for us are not going to change overnight, but I see this as at least the early stages of change and I was never more enthusiastic about the possibility of people in our society changing their attitudes against us in time than I was after the conference. I'm sorry you are too scared to attend a future workshop, as I would love to meet you in person some day. Maybe one day you will change your mind :)