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The View Comments on Massage
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Oh, the flap on The View. I’m sure this will carry on for days and weeks.
Here's a YouTube link: The View - Al Gore's massage and other poorly chosen comments
Yea, our profession was ‘wronged.’
Here’s my advice: Use it.
I’m sure no one here as ever called a doctor a quack, or an attorney/lawyer an ambulance chaser, or a computer expert a nerd.
Sure, most of us are not on national TV, but I've seen a ton of 'foot in mouth disease' from all kinds of industries.
Please note that I’m not defending anything that was said.
Here’s my point:
What are each and every one of us going to do (other than complain) to improve our own massage business/practice? Can you take what was said and use it to stoke that internal fire? Go and find a mirror and take a long hard look at yourself. Talk to yourself (or others) and figure out how to use this to improve your own business. Do you have a burning desire to be respected as a professional massage therapist or bodyworker? Then put this to use!
Is it just me, or can anyone else see an opportunity here? To break away from the pack? Leave the weak behind and step up to the plate!
What can you use from that TV show to really turn internally and improve upon? Are we always as professional as we can be with our clients? How about customer service? What about all that time and energy wasted in internal dialogue complaining about how we were ‘dissed’ and put it to good use in creating a new massage marketing campaign?
Action speaks louder than words. Lead by example.
Who/what can we change? Ourselves.
What is demanding an apology from The View going to do? The damage has already been done.
Are we, each and every one of us, doing all that we can? Being the best that we can be?
I know that's what I'm focusing on.
Kris
Views: 1069
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on
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This crops up about every six months. The Associations, we belong to, should do more than just start a verbal attack that is only seen by massage therapists. I saw the same thing happen a few months back as David Letterman had fun at a therapist's expense and ALL of ours.
Education of the public is going to be a long and arduous process, but if those before us had done a better job, maybe we would not be facing as tough an aspect now. Are we going to do the same to the future? Leaving "action" to others... usually allows the status quo to exist.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Cohen on
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Well stated Kris. Pointing fingers doesn't make us look better. The increased use of massage for all types of physical and emotional problems does improve how people refer to us.
How about Pheobe on Friends, I thought that was one of the best parts on TV portraying a Massage Therapist. Anybody thank the producers for that?
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Permalink Reply by Rajam K Roose on
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To be honest, as I wrote on The View's site, I really didn't see anything upsetting about what they had done. Actually the woman who got the massage for her husband was probably jealous that SHE wasn't getting one! It was funny but the only issue is what we are already trying to change the public's perception. Surprisingly, I haven't felt that until I moved to San Diego from Alabama. That's right, in Alabama I had no problems with folks wondering if I was legitimate or not, but here in San Diego? I get so many questions from folks I meet here and one woman who owned an expensive restaurant downtown! The question is "I want to try massage, but how do I find a legitimate therapist?"
In reality, that's just setting the stage for me to get it together to educate the folks here in San Diego about massage and how to find a professional therapist. Really, don't you think that most of those folks on The View already have massage therapist? I do.
I don't think the folks on The View realize there are still pockets of areas in the U.S. where people still wonder of the legitimacy of massage, like here in CA.
P.S. I don't need any more emails from people in CA wondering why I hate CA, I don't hate CA. I love it here (the sun, the dry heat, no bugs....), my husband and I practically have a second home on the Central Coast. Just wanted to add that in b/c I DO get emails from native CA's about my posts. No offense, but I have had it easier in other states with respect to my field as a massage therapist, namely Tennessee and Alabama!!
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Permalink Reply by Travis Alligood on
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Kris,
Thanks for the clip especially for those of us who did miss that show, I do not really watch that much TV so anyhow, I do have my favorites and my weather forcasters and so on. Wow interesting ! As a new therapist I feel inclined to allow myself to be a subject on this show to protect my profession, however as a Therapist who has only just barely gotten my feet wet, (1 1/2 yr.), I would be more inclined to be less aggresive about putting myself in that position, however I love my profession and do feel the need to educate the importance of Massage and Bodywork especially the effects of Client Confidentiality!!! (In this paticular Show) How this got to the public may have had something to do with something that we all share in common is recieving funds, my guess is someone has a larger checking account now because of this story. No one has to step up to the plate to take responsibilty because in there heart they know that they have gone against "The Code of Ethics" and somewhere along the line they will have to pay the Piper for their wrong doing. So with that "The Code of Ethics" should always be part of the discussion, not just the benefits, because it is a benefit for the client, and it is OUR job to make sure they understand this. SO Is there a Veteran Therapist out there that wants to take along a New Therapist to Put ourselves in a real setting to help try and clear at least a portion of the air in a respectable manner, without complaining, and whining.No matter what the producers say and they are there for ratings so my guess is they will not want to hold anything back and neither would I. I can see where this show can strike a nerve and cause mahem for Therapist but like Kris says we can sit around and complain about it or we can do something about it. Personally I love a challenge. Guyes we are the future in health care lets protect it. Peace Travis
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Permalink Reply by Steve Kreger on
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Excellent perception Kris. I have been a therapist since 1992 and I have mentored hundreds of new therapists over the years. As Mike states below, I have seen this topic rear it's ugly head at least 3 times a year. FOCUS PEOPLE! Get public with your professionalism. Post on forums OUTSIDE our industry. Write articles, write press releases, volunteer in your community. The only true weapon against ignorance is knowledge and the only true path to knowledge is education. Quite telling EACH OTHER that you are professionals and turn that megaphone towards the general public. Attacking or reacting to an ignorant comment gets you nowhere, and fast. Kudos Kris and keep up the good work!
Stephen A Kreger, LMT
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Ty, I couldn't agree with you more. I am more disappointed in the therapist than I am in Al Gore. (If, in fact, ANY of her allegations are true). Let's say that he made no advances whatsoever. If, during the process of receiving THERAPY, Mr. Gore had released a deep secret or emotion about his childhood or marriage, would she then have blurted that information to the media? Our PROFESSION, at it's core, invokes a trust that is no less sacred than attorney/client or doctor/patient. In my opinion, this "therapist" violated that trust, was self serving and opportunistic, and did more to damage our profession than anything that was said on the View. Thanks for your insightful and accurate perception. It is therapists like you that make me proud to call myself a Licensed Massage Therapist
Ty Capuano said:Kris - Well I haven't changed my mind and it is one of the reasons I dislike "The View" - these hosts are uninformed (IMO). I had a client ask me today what I thought about the "Al Gore Massage". I had to admit I didn't know much about it (haven't really followed it), that I thought the massage therapist violated "the clients" privacy by going public, that she should have left immediately and reported it to the police. (Seems she did report it). My client acted surprised that MT's maintain confidentiality. This surprised me that she thought we wouldn't. Even living in a small town I do not encounter people who think massage is anything but "real" massage. Of course, I probably never see the people on my table who think otherwise - luckily
As to your point. I represent myself, my business and my profession as "professionally" as possible. As mad as I was about the whole "GoDaddy" ad during the super bowl, I found the opinions of "the view" did not set me off as much. Maybe I would be more upset if I didn't think they were......see above. .
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Permalink Reply by Kevin M. Deighan on
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I have never seen this show "The View"...but thanks to your attached clip regarding comments referring to "massage" I can readily understand why mis-information exists in our society. I have no idea who was sitting on the panel that day, my guess is these are regular spokespeople??? Unfortunately, for us MT professionals; I assume that this show reaches several streams of viewers and education levels. I'll even venture to say that only a small percentage of their viewers have even been exposed to any kind of bodywork, let alone a "professional"massage. Therein lies the problem...the uneducated staff of "The View" pontificating their "view" of what I love to do daily. Shame on "The View" their staff, producers, advertisers, their spokespeople, their research on this subject prior to the show for the injustice that was done.
Now...I do agree that we as professionals need to continually educate society...BUT I will not make a comment regarding what was said on that clip...no need to call attention to unprofessional sensationalism for TV ratings.
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Permalink Reply by Relax & Rejuvenate on
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All of the media idiocy has been particularly harmful to our business -- 90% hotel services, 75% of it in room.
I can't tell the # of times i have heard "what kind of a massage are you getting in your hotel room at night", without any thought whatsoever that this is a legitimate practice sanctioned by many hotels and frequent travellers.
I am tired of paying for Al Gore's stupidity -- first as a politician, and now as a public figure.
FYI - just over 3 years ago I received a call from a reporter for an independent weekly paper in Portland OR, asking if our company had provided an in-room massage to Capt. Planet and if so, what did we think of him as a client?" Whole thing struck me as odd, not to mention inappropriate to comment upon, and told the report as much. Clearly someone saw this police report a long time ago.
All makes sense now...
So much chatter about the stupidity of the View, but not a peep on the lecherous VEEP / lying MT
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I'm with you Chris,
Finally all the jokes and scandals and bad behavior has hit mainstream instead of just subtly circling us in our profession, leaving professionals with little education about how to deal with such issues struggling to defend themselves. This attitude has always been surrounding this industry. Now that it has hit the mainstream it is the perfect opportunity for some of us to step to the plate and be the voices of the group. Put a human, professional face on the profession. Without the ugly- we might never have had an opportunity to tell our stories in a powerful way. Embrace media and make it your friend, I say!
I'm halfway through a memoir about this profession that I expect will explode through the media. We won't be voiceless any longer. letter writing hasn't helped us in the last fifteen years, it's time to take a stand.
Meagan Holub
www.HundredThousandDollarMassage.com
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Green on
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As others have pointed out this is not a new issue. Here in Kansas City, Mo. 25 years ago when I first moved here, Massage was lic. by the liquor and amusement department of city hall and massage biz was restricted by zoning to the adult entertainment fringe . Today we are lic at the state level as health care. Times, they are a changing.
Lighten up, any time we as a profession are in the news good or bad it builds the number of people that consider us. No profession is beyond the joke and rumor mill. Individuals and associations have made great headway on this issue and more is to come. Yes speak up and speak out but rise above by your work.
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Permalink Reply by cocrea on
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dear group,
i am from Bavaria, Germany. i work as an interpreter, translator in seminars for the healing arts (so called Energy Medicine)
provided in Germany. occasionally i write articles on the matter.
agreed, the Gore case - made public - is an opportunity to set straight what's so. licensed health/body work is not sex work.
what i find disturbing in the above discussion is the concern for the misrepresentation of the profession LMT, but hardly
any concern for the compromised fellow worker(s).
Hagerty has concluded on Gore's routine:
“Generally, I think it's because he's done things like that before, many times, and gotten away with it.
Why would he proceed in such a crude fashion? I would guess that his sensibilities have numbed over
the years, as women acceded to his moves.”
women who have acceded are LMTs – given Gore's routine.
the Gore sex assault case has found world wide attention in the main stream media -
however, some morning TV shows in USA avoided it.
Hagerty is being mocked and laughed at. the licenced massage therapist (LMT) is derogatorily
tagged as a masseuse. the same situation i found in German online newspapers. some tag
Hagerty as masseuse (insinuating sex work), others as a Masseurin (which is the correct term for
a health worker).
the ill informed media is singing from the same hymn book than Gore.
his routine seems to be: no prostitutes, no consensual groupies, but compromising mobile
in-room health workers who expect to treat "VIP Mr. Stone" at night.
in 2006 Hagerty's "Birkenstock tribe" had warned her not to act as the "ultimate traitor" by going public.
she'd better "suck it up", otherwise the world would not be saved from global warming.
* the "code of ethics" of health workers requires to remain silent on confidential information.
* civil responsibility requires to report asap on sexual offenders.
* this VIP case requires a strong character to take the heat for it in public - given the queer views of institutions
and the public in respect to health work / sex work / dealing with power figures.
in 2006, Hagerty had her lawyer cancel personal interviews requested by the detectives. no charge was filed.
In 2007, a Portland newspaper had checked with Gore's lawyers regarding Hagerty's allegations who called them
"absolutely false". the story remained unpublished.
in 2009 Hagerty read a detailed, prepared statement to Portland sexual assault investigators and answered
to questions. neither the police nor the press nor the prosecutor engaged further in this case.
this is the full audio interview: http://www.portlandonline.com/police/audio/07-9568a.mp3
i suggest to listen to it - and then to comment on it, viewing the case from different angles.
only when the NE story broke did the police in Portland reopen the case - admitting procedural mistakes.
a new chief has taken office there in May 2010.
gossip TV celebrity women (of The View) are vilifying Hagerty.
>Whoopi Goldberg blasts Al Gore's accuser<, "you cannot wait this amount of years."
abcnews the view - 3:47 minutes, 30. June 2010
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/whoopi-goldberg-blasts-al...
pathological silence in sexual assault cases is "normal" - and the fear of being eaten alive for
breaking a taboo is imminent.
Goldberg does not refer to the code of ethics of LMTs to keep confidentiality.
she insists on naming crimes and criminals.
so far, no liberal feminist has rushed to the side of liberal Hagerty who had voted for Gore
(actually against Bush) in the 2000 election. in person she found him to be "a sick man",
acting violently, pleadingly, dictatorially, switching moods and personalities.
i do not see the contributors here to rush to her side either.
NewsSY.com wonders about Hagerty's credibility and the problem of paycheck journalism
which seems to require a tabloid like the National Enquirer (NE) to break scandals around
larger-than-life (too big to fail) VIPs.
Media Question Gore Sexual Assault Accusations, 2:35 minutes, posted 1. July 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55x5nf9mlw0
Gore Case: Police Reopen for 'Procedural issues', 2 July 2010, abc news, 7:05 minutes
former prosecutor Robin Sax, LA, comments on "this delayed investigation case":
"the case was mishandled from day 1."
"3 years in a sex crime case is not all that long."
to speak out against a sex offender 3-6 years after the fact is normal.
"this incident could have occurred. i really doubt that we are going to see charges in this case."
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/al-gore-sexual-assault-case-oregon-...
i have suggested to the VIEW: invite Molly Hagerty to your show. this is way better than an apology.
next to her (the victim) invite a member of the massage association and a therapist all of whom are
bound to confidentiality -- however, not in a criminal case that requires to end the traumatisation asap.
kind regards
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how to safeguard (often ill respected) female health workers on in-room night shifts possibly faced with
violent or disturbed VIPs who may feel entitled to abuse them?
what comes to my mind is the story of Sheherazade and the horned Sultan.
Gore was horned by GW Bush who won the 2000 presidential election via a Supreme Court decision which left him as the loser.
the sultan had "raped" minors night after night and had them murdered the next day, thereby taking revenge on budding women in general and subverting life in general.
consecutive stories told in 1001 nights by a brave woman accompanied by her sister spared the lives of many young women and healed the sultan's whacked out soul after all. in the legend there were no media machine, no prosecutors, and no licenced (sex) therapists at hand to end the drama.
it took a courageous erudite woman with Geisha qualities and her sister Dinazade (as a witness) and the art of story telling over a long period of time to transform (i.e. heal) the closed heart of a head of state gone awry in "f***&kill" mode. he had ordered and received his "victims" by their conceding fathers and had them - who had seen his dark side - silenced by willing professional "killers" who did so to feed a family.
the wolf had devoured Red Riding Hood's weak and sick grandmother before she arrived on site and was "eaten alive" by the same manner. she had not listened to her inner voice and despite her uneasy feeling had entered the house then occupied by a false grandmother.
Hagerty did not have a sister on site to serve as her safeguard witness.
and she did not quit immediately after having been greeted improperly by an alcohol-fueled Al Gore.
as it turns out the posh hotel had secret surveillance cameras in use in their hallways.
and her friend who she had called at 4 o'clock Oct 24, 2006 at night agreed to speak out on her behalf.
teachers of the other sex are required to never stay alone in a room with a youngster in order to keep both
parties secured of illicit behavior and/or false allegations.
there are no female night porters in hotels.
is it feasible to require a witness on site as part of the packaged deal when female LMTs are ordered for in-room
night shifts by male clients?
Indeed, Hagerty in shock and in fear of Gore's versatile attacks and his unseen body guards who she suspected there did have the wits to distract him by conversing with him. i suspect this has saved her from being raped. it did not save her from being groped, disgraced, and traumatized. she doesn't work in hotels any more. it took her 3,5 years of therapy and focusing to outgrow her pathological silence.
Hagerty's case shows several angles of disrespect and malpractice.
her person was undignified.
her profession was undignified.
her allegations were improperly proceeded.
her colleagues may face sexual assault as well - as long as the crime/criminal is not being stopped.
after she had her story published via the channel that's willing to do so and her identity disclosed
and her audio statement to the sexual assault inspectors released via social youtube the flwg has resulted:
* the police reopened the case immediately.
* the press started to report on the case, some avoiding the case, some vilifying it.
* the massage association started to intervene.
* the sensationalized public is shocked once more faced with the cracked image of a family-man.
* chances for collective reeducation are availed.
the evil wolf came crashing to the ground once he could no longer feed on a grandmother (the system rep) or
on naive followers. the wood chopper had different ears to hear and different eyes to see and the guts to
step into a house without having the consent of the wolf. he found out that "the old sinner" was posing
and cheating.
who is the wood chopper in Hagerty's case? the prosecutor? the colleagues? the women? the press? the therapists?
what did it take to make a (violent?) sex addicted VIP like Tiger Woods to reconsider his driven behavior?
the media turned against this darling, comedians mocked him, a host of duped (partially calculating) women
who were neither silenced by money nor by shame came afore via social media and media channels, sponsors turned away from him, his popularity rates dropped, stock values dwindled, his marriage failed, his family is divided.
Tiger Woods, apology statement, before continuing his sex addiction rehab, 19. February 2010
"Character and decency count. […] I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in.
I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply. I never thought
about who I was hurting. Instead I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries
that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that
I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled.
Thanks to money and fame. I didn't have to go far to find them. I was wrong, I was foolish. I don't get to
play by different rules. The same boundaries that apply to everyone apply to me. […] My failures have
made me look at myself in a way I never wanted to before."
kind regards
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