21–30 of 84 posts
I am by no means read on the subject, just some first hand experience seeing someone crawl out of a pit of despair. It's unfortunate that this avenue isn't researched or condoned much.
Interesting. I can see how it would be appealing to long-time alcoholics (the "endless optimism" would get pretty sickening). Not entirely sure what my stance is on it, though - it's essentially long-term non-profit euthanasia. It's what they want, but it's also what they want because they're addicted and it's re-wired their brain so drastically they'll do just about anything to keep feeding it. On the flip side, reh…
Even as something of a liberal, this makes me feel conflicted. It doesn't quite feel like harm reduction - just cost-reduction for the agencies. It's very bleak.
America is on a huge "everyone should be happy" kick - smile all the time, buck up and be cheerful, if you're not happy take this pill - but that has its own problems, and masks problems like these people are having, making them worse. It also trivializes pain / unhappiness - everyone can have it! Why don't you? Try this pill, go to a meeting, look everyone can do it! - and given the amount of depression occurring can it even be said to be working? For some, sure - there are outliers in any system of people..
There's also that it can cause things to get even worse - if everyone really can / should be happy, and I can't, clearly something's wrong with me. You'll find a lot of depressed people in that line of thinking, and it crops up in suicides pretty often too.
Not really disagreeing, just debating with myself / you / the Internets.
I suspect many people will feel similarly. If my suspicions are correct, I wonder if we're witnessing a paradigm shift about problems such as alcoholism, drugs and homelessness. Are we as a society beginning to accept that some people are beyond redemption and should just be considered a "loss"? How far can we take this?
Interesting. I can see how it would be appealing to long-time alcoholics (the "endless optimism" would get pretty sickening). Not entirely sure what my stance is on it, though - it's essentially long-term non-profit euthanasia. It's what they want, but it's also what they want because they're addicted and it's re-wired their brain so drastically they'll do just about anything to keep feeding it. On the flip side, reh…
Even as something of a liberal, this makes me feel conflicted. It doesn't quite feel like harm reduction - just cost-reduction for the agencies. It's very bleak.
"This is about meeting people where they are and loving them. It's not rocket science," she said. "They still grieve, love and hurt. They still need food and shelter. They are you and I."
Dr. Steven Miles, professor of medicine and bioethics at the University of Minnesota, agreed.
The reason to support St. Anthony is not the money saved but the kindness extended to the residents. "It is the humanity of it, just like humanity drives the hospice system," he said.
Why precisely is this Hacker News material?
Taken from http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Are there good hackers that find this interesting? look at the votes.
Uhrm... there's a flaw in this logic somewhere. You could drive a train through it.
Interesting. I can see how it would be appealing to long-time alcoholics (the "endless optimism" would get pretty sickening). Not entirely sure what my stance is on it, though - it's essentially long-term non-profit euthanasia. It's what they want, but it's also what they want because they're addicted and it's re-wired their brain so drastically they'll do just about anything to keep feeding it. On the flip side, reh…
Even as something of a liberal, this makes me feel conflicted. It doesn't quite feel like harm reduction - just cost-reduction for the agencies. It's very bleak.
It's not really direct "harm reduction" in the same sense as needle exchange clinics. More a way to make a few people's lives slightly less miserable; I find it difficult to object to that.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Taken from http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Are there good hackers that find this interesting? look at the votes.
> Are there good hackers that find this interesting? look at the votes. Uhrm... there's a flaw in this logic somewhere. You could drive a train through it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Are there good hackers that find this interesting? look at the votes. Uhrm... there's a flaw in this logic somewhere. You could drive a train through it.
Eh, I try to be a nice guy, I like to assume the best of most people. Of course the voters are good hackers.
http://www.metafilter.com/100658/Everyone-is-going-to-keep-d...
I still don't know how I feel about it, though. Just sad rather than strongly for or against.