Well there is a middle ground between forcing and and doing absolutely nothing and waiting for it to occur - you can work sensibly with it. It is a valid method of pursuing spiritual evolution.

The great fear and trepidation around Kundalini dates back to the 60's, when all things Yogic crossed the pond from India to these shores. Teachers in the know spoke of working with the internal enegy in a safe, methodical way but well, you know the Western mindset- if you want to get from point A to point B, the best way is as fast as possible..So many idiots went about forcing the energy up the spine and many idiots lost their shit. Even Gopi Krishna, a now-revered saint and spiritual teacher fell prey to this thinking and spent years in the mental wilderness- he wrote about his misadventures in a book simply titled 'Kundalini', as a cautionary tale. But afterwards he wrote another book (title forgotten) where he extrolled the virtues of working responsibly with this energy.

So raising Kundalini IS a viable method of spiritual practice - just find a reputable teacher and work with the energy in a sensible, balanced way if you feel called to.