Leslie Jamison’s piece “Devil’s Bait” was by far the most interesting I’ve read in this class so far. Morgellons disease was one I had heard of and had an inclination about but knew fairly little about the disease itself. So far, it seems there is no widely accepted explanation for why these people itch and see/feel these bugs, parasites, or fibers moving across or under their skin. But if I learned one thing from reading this is that these people are most definitely suffering. It’s difficult to empathize with people when you truly cannot fathom what is going on inside their head or you plainly just don’t believe them. But whether or not you believe these people doesn’t mean they should be denied simple human empathy towards their pain, which unlike their claim, is undeniable. The people at the convention were clearly suffering and Jamison had to look past her own skepticism to provide what few were able to give these people: empathy. When referencing a unified or divided self, one attacking, one under attack, Jamison poses the question: “But I wonder why this fractioned self shouldn’t warrant our compassion as much as the besieged self? Or maybe even more?”(Jamison 232). I personally think that throughout the writing, Jamison isn’t asking the reader whether or not they believe Morgellons is real, but rather whether we think that they deserve empathy despite our lack of understanding. I think she uses the headings of a scientific article as almost a way to counter the typical logical approach and say “this isn’t about science and the facts behind the disease, but hearing these people and supporting them through their pain”. Jamison ends with almost a confession that she feels as though she betrayed the people she talked to because she couldn’t give them what they wanted, her belief. But despite not being able to commit to their belief, she acknowledges their suffering and hopes for their relief.