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Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

madinamerica.com

131–140 of 211 posts

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#131
ITT obedient pro-authoritarians are getting pissed at the article.

In all seriousness, I can second the notion about extreme compliance that is required to get PhD and to secure a job. I knew a small army of extremely talented individuals that have been forced out of grad school because they refuse to kiss all asses they were required to kiss (starting of course wit almighty adviser). Those who graduated (well at least majority of them)are only good at following commands and "networking".

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#132
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Many people want to keep firearms to keep the power of the government in check," Really? Are you sure its not just a case of guns being ingrained in American culture and make the owners feel all macho and strong, and that any old excuse is good enough to argue that they should be allowed to keep huge pointless arsenals of weaponry? I mean, from what I can tell, such people are generally on the right of politics, and…

It is sad that the sort of bigoted opinions you're espousing here are what us firearms enthusiasts have to endure. It has nothing to do with machismo, nothing to do with Obama, and nothing to do with birther garbage. The right to bear arms is a right of last resort. Its the right that protects all others and, as such, it is the _most_ essential right. As for naming incidents in the last 100 years where armed resistan…

If you're a "gun enthusiast", then you're not in it to protect yourself. You're only fooling yourself.

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#134
post #73
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Many people want to keep firearms to keep the power of the government in check," Really? Are you sure its not just a case of guns being ingrained in American culture and make the owners feel all macho and strong, and that any old excuse is good enough to argue that they should be allowed to keep huge pointless arsenals of weaponry? I mean, from what I can tell, such people are generally on the right of politics, and…

"when in the last, say, 100 years has the US government posed a threat to American citizens" I'll name one -- Japanese internment camps during WWII. Forcibly imprisoned over a hundred thousand citizens against their will, depriving them of their liberty and property. But I suppose in your world view the government has final say over your life and property, so being able to deter or resist attacks like this is unneces…

So in your mind, it would be better then if a hundred thousand armed Japanese would have started fighting back on mainland US? How about, instead of permanently distrusting the government, try to make it more democratic. There shouldn't have to be rebellions in a democratic country, then you talk it out and try to convince everybody else. If you can't, then touch luck, you're in the minority. That doesn't mean you have the right to start a damn rebellion and carve yourself a new country by force.

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#135
post #123

Not exactly the same thing, but I have long said that if Joan of Arc were alive today, they would be adjusting her meds to make the voices go away instead of following her into battle while she played handmaiden to the birth of modern France.

I guess so, but I wouldn't be too negative about it because she probably wouldn't have gotten burned at the stake.

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#136
post #27

The trick is largely to learn when to shut your gob, or say one thing and do another. I was repeatedly diagnosed with ADHD and ODD in my year of school in the states - flushed the pills, got expelled (well, forced to leave, as they didn't want an expulsion on their squeaky clean record). Back to school in England... "Engaged", "curious", "incisive questions". Partially down to cultural differences in terms of views o…

Yeah, and probably an American kid in the UK - and for sure in Eastern Europe where I currently reside - would be diagnosed with autism ;-) Too quiet, has no views or opinion of his own, sits still all day. ;-) I love it.

I remember my first days at the office in the US. I was like - am I in a mental institution with a band of cranky autistic adults now?

And for them I was waaay too crazy. Asked too many questions, talked too much, walked too much, "rocked the boat" too much.

Finally, they got really offended when I told them that I really came to believe they must be medicated or have some stuff added to water / food. ;-) And I loved that too.

I had a friend from LA visiting Poland. He used "dude this is intense" about 10 times an hour. He claimed people drive crazy here, say crazy stories, generally are crazy, and he was like - is that all for real?

Cultural differences can be huge factor in determining if someone mentally fit or not.

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#137
post #123

Not exactly the same thing, but I have long said that if Joan of Arc were alive today, they would be adjusting her meds to make the voices go away instead of following her into battle while she played handmaiden to the birth of modern France.

I guess so, but I wouldn't be too negative about it because she probably wouldn't have gotten burned at the stake.

She ended The Hundred Years war. She stopped a great many other people from suffering and dying. Her fame does not make her suffering "worse" than what she stopped. France was an occupied land. It was an ugly era that she put an end to.

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#139

I have a 13-year-old brother with ODD. And let me tell you, there is more to it than a healthy does of anti-authoritarianism. We adopted my brother when he was 15 months old, and in his first year of life we suspect he was frequently neglected, leading to attachment issues. Basically, when an infant's needs are not met, they get distressed, and the more often this occurs, the more those neurological pathways become i…

> it is probably much more common that some kinds of mentally ill individuals happen to be anti-authoritarian.

I think thats a hard judgement to make, but its a tragedy that any kids who simply disagree with authority figures they don't see as valid are medicated and diagnosed with ODD.

Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)

#140
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me of a poem my favorite Math professor used to share, about a little boy who was always instructed exactly how to draw a picture of a flower: http://home.bresnan.net/~cabreras/theboy.htm

This "poem" is depressing. Off topic: It's never made sense to me why people call things that don't rhyme "poems." As far as I'm concerned, this is an essay, not a poem.

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