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God's Lonely Programmer

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Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#81

Post by EdwardDiego »

pfortuny wrote: post #76
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time his story comes up, there are people who respond with answers along the lines of "what can we do for him? can we find him assisted employment? can we raise money for him?" etc. While these comments are surely well intentioned, they end up being mostly condescending and out of place, as if talking about a completely helpless being. He is openly racist. He can't find a job on his own, unless it's among other…

I think you may be mixing two problems, one ideological (he is a racist), which has little to do with medicine and the other behavioural (he is "aggressive", or whatever). The latter may be a medical condition, the former I am inclined to see as a (wrong, if you let me) set of values.

> the former I am inclined to see as a (wrong, if you let me) set of values.

Yeah because mental illness allows one to think rationally about value sets.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#82

Post by vinceguidry »

yzzxy wrote: post #45
vinceguidry wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the wonderful things about Western society is that it's got enough social welfare structures to allow someone like Terry to exist, is wealthy enough to allow them to thrive, should they want to, and enough individualism to where he's not constantly being beaten over the head with other people's demands for him to change to fit their idea of what a person should be. As someone who has at times relied on this so…

I don't know if this is true. I find it extremely unlikely that the average employer would even consider employing someone with apparent mental health issues, so it's possible many people in similar situations just give up. I don't think he should be forced to work, or even pushed to do so. But I really don't see the harm in making an offer of employment or something similar - It's not "condescending" as some other c…

I wouldn't say you're so much condescending to him as rather underestimating him.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#83

Post by 67726e »

seivan wrote: post #75
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time his story comes up, there are people who respond with answers along the lines of "what can we do for him? can we find him assisted employment? can we raise money for him?" etc. While these comments are surely well intentioned, they end up being mostly condescending and out of place, as if talking about a completely helpless being. He is openly racist. He can't find a job on his own, unless it's among other…

He is not racist. As you said it His racism probably isn't his fault. It's probably a factor of his condition. Does not make him a racist.

My parents raised me to be a racist. It's not my fault, it's my upbringing. Any attempts to otherwise convince me are just a conspiracy brought on both those pesky inferior races.

Wanna play have a philosophical debate? Or can we agree that someone who espouses racist ideology is, in fact, a racist.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#84

Post by GFK_of_xmaspast »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #58
GuiA wrote: post #40

I'm a huge fan of Terry's work, because he works hard, has a clear vision for what he wants to do, and makes it happen. That's more than can be said of many self-professed hackers who never see a project to completion or are motivated solely by peer recognition. You may disagree with the logical coherency of his goals - I for one think the "temple for God" thing is pure kookery - but he is a master craftsman, and in…

Every time his story comes up, there are people who respond with answers along the lines of "what can we do for him? can we find him assisted employment? can we raise money for him?" etc. While these comments are surely well intentioned, they end up being mostly condescending and out of place, as if talking about a completely helpless being. He is openly racist. He can't find a job on his own, unless it's among other…

"And his online behavior is so racist that there's just no chance of him fitting into any average social situation."

Observational evidence suggests otherwise.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#85

Post by lomnakkus »

67726e wrote: post #83
seivan wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He is not racist. As you said it His racism probably isn't his fault. It's probably a factor of his condition. Does not make him a racist.

My parents raised me to be a racist. It's not my fault, it's my upbringing. Any attempts to otherwise convince me are just a conspiracy brought on both those pesky inferior races. Wanna play have a philosophical debate? Or can we agree that someone who espouses racist ideology is, in fact, a racist.

Wrong. People may say racist things without necessarily being racist.

The difference between "being X-ist" and "saying X-ist thing" is basically predicated on having a "persistent belief that X" or having a "momentary belief that X". (I'm using "belief" in the philosophical sense.)

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#86

Post by yzzxy »

vinceguidry wrote: post #82
yzzxy wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if this is true. I find it extremely unlikely that the average employer would even consider employing someone with apparent mental health issues, so it's possible many people in similar situations just give up. I don't think he should be forced to work, or even pushed to do so. But I really don't see the harm in making an offer of employment or something similar - It's not "condescending" as some other c…

I wouldn't say you're so much condescending to him as rather underestimating him.

How would I be underestimating him? If anything, I'm underestimating his potential employers. There's a digital fossil record of what he's said online at this point, and the average hiring manager will probably just throw him out as a candidate as soon as they any of his posts, unless they take the time to understand the larger situation at play.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#87

Post by sillysaurus3 »

kstenerud wrote: post #80
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I don't think we should leave the mentally ill alone. That's not how society works, nor how it should work. I think we should respect their wishes, when appropriate, but leaving them alone isn't a good decision.

I'm barely able to contain my rage at this moment, so I'll make it short. The ONLY time you're allowed to intervene is when someone's life and self image is visibly deteriorating. If it's stable, leave it the fuck alone. I've gotten into the habit of hiding what I've got because of people like you, and judging by the downvotes I'm getting, you're not alone in perpetuating the stigma and condescension. Every single "o…

That's all you have to say. "No, thank you. Please leave me alone." And then you're left alone.

We live in a world where we help each other. Offering help isn't a bad thing. Some people aren't as strong as you.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#88

Post by lmm »

The lionization of this guy reminds me of the reporting of the Charge of the Light Brigade. All those noble British soldiers, following orders even unto death, what courage, what majesty... when what should really have been said was: what a bunch of bloody idiots, who got themselves killed for no reason. And so the same foolishness repeated throughout the first world war.

So let me say it: this guy, whether through his own fault or because of his problems, is acting like a dumbass. He's pouring a lot of talent into a pointless project that no-one will ever use or benefit from. He is not someone to look up to or admire, and certainly not to emulate. Do not romanticise his foolishness.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#89

Post by jmduke »

MrBra wrote: post #55
nyolfen wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the dude is straight up racist and just because he's eccentric and mentally ill doesn't mean it should be tolerated

If you're referring to him saying "nigger" multiple times, then I think that that to him is more like a a kind of a generic bad-word to go with, and that he's not actually using it in a true "racist" sense. Of course I agree that just using that word to insult someone classifies as racist, but so far I've never seen anywhere in his comments or rants that he actually argumented something against black people.

Quoting from the first page of @TempleOS's comments (censorship mine, of course):

I spend my days clubbing retard-ns. CLUB! CLUB! DIE N! CLUB! RETARD! N! DIE!! CLUB! N!

Regardless of his mental state, this is not content that I want in any of my online communities.

Re: God's Lonely Programmer

#90

Post by innguest »

kstenerud wrote: post #80
sillysaurus3 wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I don't think we should leave the mentally ill alone. That's not how society works, nor how it should work. I think we should respect their wishes, when appropriate, but leaving them alone isn't a good decision.

I'm barely able to contain my rage at this moment, so I'll make it short. The ONLY time you're allowed to intervene is when someone's life and self image is visibly deteriorating. If it's stable, leave it the fuck alone. I've gotten into the habit of hiding what I've got because of people like you, and judging by the downvotes I'm getting, you're not alone in perpetuating the stigma and condescension. Every single "o…

It really makes it patently obvious, when the subject is a mentally ill person that is doing well for themselves, that the agenda of the collectivist is really about controlling how other people live, and the fact that they are mentally ill, or poor, or gay, or any other special group, is just an excuse to meddle with their lives. This doesn't affect just minorities. Oh, you want to marry someone? Well, then society must decide for you how you should live through laws and paperwork.

I wish I knew how to disabuse these people from their collectivist hypnosis but as you can see from your interaction, they don't use reason - "leaving them alone isn't a good decision" is just a feel-good sentence with no substance. Collectivists are touchy-feely and just as hard to disabuse as the religious.

You're exactly right in saying that it is through condescension that they perpetuate the stigmas that their well meaning (but myopic) intentions purport to fight against. For instance, they ban the poor from competing by raising the minimum wage, then cut the burgeoning poor a check because they're oppressed. They never see they are doing the oppressing by cutting them the checks. Why? Because intention is king in the kingdom of the collective.

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