Mass. Meeting to Have Scent-Free Zones

Ledger-Enquirer.com ^ | Mon, Apr. 28, 2003 | AP

[fight_truth_decay]

SHUTESBURY, Mass. -People who attend Shutesbury's upcoming town meeting will be segregated by scent to avoid disturbing those hypersensitive to chemicals and odors.

Splitting the meeting hall into three sections May 3 is part of a two-year-long effort that also has produced "fragrance-free" hours at the library.

One section of the room will be reserved for people who never use perfumes or scented deodorants, detergents or other products. The second will be for those who sometimes wear fragrance but not on the day of the meeting, and the third will be labeled, "Seating for those who forgot and used cologne and perfume."

Using fragrances in public is similar to smoking, said Town Administrator David Ames, who is also responsible for making the town compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He said the Massachusetts Office of Disabilities recommended establishing the fragrance zones.

A local survey found that nine of 52 respondents identified themselves as afflicted with multiple chemical sensitivities syndrome, although the National Institute of Environmental Health Science says the very existence of such an affliction is in dispute.

[ladylib]

Morristown NJ's library had a problem with a homeless man with really bad BO. The library tried to ban him, but he took them to court.

If I remember correctly, he won.

[Prolixus]

There is a good reference for information related to Multiple Chemical Sensitivities Syndrome at NRJAC Resolution on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. To summarize: MCSS is a scam.

In my opinion, the issue at hand is that so-called MCSS sufferers have been able to get disability benefits for MCSS (see Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits) and now they're flexing their "disablity-muscles".

What MCSS sufferers are really suffering from are:

1. Psychoses - i.e. They believe that a whiff of perfume is going to cause some great physical harm.
2. Neuroses - i.e. They are fixated on their beliefs such as item 1.
3. Self absorbtion - i.e. They don't consider that most people enjoy perfume and most people are not happy to accommodate someone else's ridiculous demands.
4. Passive agression - i.e. This may be the Sine Qua Non of MCSS and its ilk. It may be that MCSS is really just a vehicle for demanding that other people accommodate one's demands due to one's "having a disability." In other words: "don't consider" in item 3 should be changed to "do consider".

[mywholebodyisaweapon]

Amen. My sympathy lies with the weapons inspectors in this particular case.