" LET's NOT GO THERE "

" WE DON'T WANT TO REVISIT THE PAST "

These are two similar comments that i find are being used frequently at all levels of VA contact.

Has anyone else noticed this or other language that is used to dismiss, invalidate and deflect comments and inquiry?

When i got a call last week from my congressmans VA assistant who has written a letter on my behalf once before and i tried to tell him about the comment VARO made to me about his letter; he quickly used that same line: " Let's not revist the past ".

Hmmm...did he learn this from the VA or is this part of the new language that has trickled down to our lexicon?

i tried to get a word in edgewise but he interupted my attempt. Not discouraged i raised my voice ( they don't like that and will use that fact against you ) " ED, ED, ED, you must listen to this becuase if you don't you will not have vital information about all those hours you put into writing letters thinking that you are HELPING "

Ed allowed me to speak. i told him that he wrote a letter in Sept of 08 to VARO in FL "telling them" ( as he put it ) to return my recoards to VARO CT immediately. In Dec i knew that the records were still in FL and while visiting FL over the holidays i called to find out about the delay. Long story short i was told " Yes we got a letter from the congressman but we will not release the file until we look at it. "
i thought Ed should know that so i got to tell him.

But here's what happened. " That was then and this is now " another one of those cliche's that are used to dismiss, deflect, and invalidate YOU!

It seemed to me that on one level Ed was going to win this discussion because arguing with him about what he would call " your opinion " " your theory " or as the DRO said to me at my hearing " your conspiracy theory " would not help my cause.

But here's my question to you: If this is indeed a tactic even one that is done subconsciously isn't the end result the same? Invalidation means that your information will never get heard no matter how important or pertinent it may be.

If my so called theory is true then this language and tactic is being used on many levels and it's easy to see why it is used: it invalidates individule rights.

Old posts on Hadit and elsewhere giving us notice that our rights are being violated, fade away....the importance and relavance of timely action gets lost amidst other fights.

This is NOT said as a political commentary for or against one side.

My guess is that seeing and hearing this around the same time that my theory about VA language was posited by similar lingo from the democratic rep in my state, an exclaimation mark was placed on the theory when shortly after the presidents news conference where he mentioned "inheriting the economic problem " the republican response was: " we don't want to revisit the past..... "

So the langauge of invalidation and on some level a great way to not take responsibility is everywhere!

Whatever happened with: " If we don't learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it " ?

It occures to me that if we can agree that this is indeed happening and agree that it needs addressing then maybe we can come up with our own immediate reply EVERYTIME someone tries to run that language on us.

If we don' revist the past what good are our records in the first place?