Wait, let me guess... As such, they are not allowed to buy weapons, right? How convenient...
It's all ok in the end… There's a 3d printer and a "liberator" waiting for you! And if you call now, I'll throw in a Feinstein mag! (Shipping Not Included)
Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
41–50 of 211 posts
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#42Previous discussion of this article one year ago http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3642570
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Out of curiosity, why bring that into this discussion? The linked article says nothing about firearms.
Because it absolutely is a related issue these days. New York and California are, as a result of very recent legislation, actively seeking out and disarming those labeled "mentally ill". The USA's federal leadership is pressing hard to do the same. Genuine at-risk cases aside, we're facing a situation where sensible liberty-defending anti-authoritarian citizens may very well be involuntarily labeled as ODD and disarm…
I get the connection, I just wondered if OP had something other than snark for this since it doesn't follow directly from the link.
Also, it isn't just communist countries it's authoritarian regimes generally. Hyperbolic comparisons and innuendos don't help the conversation, they just push potential participants away.
As to the idea of mass disarmament of "sensible liberty-definding anti-authoritorian citizens", I doubt that any organization within the government has the manpower to assemble an army of shrinks to diagnose the whole population. And then another literal army to quell the ensuing rebellion - considering that much of the current armed forces would be deserting. They may make it more difficult to purchase a firearm, but the existing ones aren't going anywhere for a while. Especially since Congress can barely cooperate enough to agree that the sky is blue.
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#44I sometimes ask mental health professionals what the converse of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is. At what point do we recognize a disorder in a child who is unnaturally compliant and obedient? No answer so far. I ask because I think I had this. When I was a young prodigy I had the mentality of a performing seal. It's true that some people have difficulty controlling themselves, and they do need help. But the lack of…
> But the lack of symmetry says a lot about how diseases are identified; it is about institutional convenience. Is it? I'd chalk it up to the fact that a unnaturally compliant child doesn't tend to cause the parents to seek out treatment, whereas a child who's kicking holes in walls and attacking their siblings does.
What about a child who is not violent, but who would rather spend their time reading advanced math textbooks, hacking, or otherwise learning? What about a child who will stand up to their teachers and say, "This is worthless homework, so I spent my time learning next year's material instead?"
The point of the article is that an awful lot of mental disorder diagnoses are being given to children who calmly reject certain authorities, or who demand that the legitimacy of an authority be demonstrated before they will submit to it. Psychiatrists are medicating people who question authority out of existence.
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#45I sometimes ask mental health professionals what the converse of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is. At what point do we recognize a disorder in a child who is unnaturally compliant and obedient? No answer so far. I ask because I think I had this. When I was a young prodigy I had the mentality of a performing seal. It's true that some people have difficulty controlling themselves, and they do need help. But the lack of…
They are classified as "dependent personality disorder" under the DSM IV, part of the anxiety group of Axis II disorders.
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#46I 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…
and it requires the above traits in people close to the person, not Ritalin or other mood altering drugs, to truly solve the problem, and not just mask it.
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is why we can't have nice firearms. Seriously: I fully support background checks -- extending what we already have, to cover all sales. I also think that if motor vehicles require registration, insurance, and license to operate, then firearms sure as heck should, too. Even so, if I'm being intellectually honest, I also have a twinge of doubt when it comes to "mental health" grounds, and I have some concern about…
I agree with you. I see the main problem as this: Many people want to keep firearms to keep the power of the government in check, and the government wants to write the rules on who can keep arms. This causes a friction. Either the people give up the right to bear arms and trust the government fully, or the government should not be allowed to make rules on who can keep arms. Anything short of that will continue to cau…
Your second paragraph is a perfect explanation of the conflict at the core of the gun control debate. Well said.
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#48I sometimes ask mental health professionals what the converse of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is. At what point do we recognize a disorder in a child who is unnaturally compliant and obedient? No answer so far. I ask because I think I had this. When I was a young prodigy I had the mentality of a performing seal. It's true that some people have difficulty controlling themselves, and they do need help. But the lack of…
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#49I don't like this article's groundless speculation about Albert Einstein, who is used as an unwilling poster child for dozens of causes without support in Einstein's actual biography. I have carefully read Einstein's longest autobiographical writing, and cite it on my personal website, http://learninfreedom.org/Nobel_hates_school.html and while it is indisputable that Einstein blew off some of his school homework, it…
I read two Einstein's biographies and I have come to the conclusion that if he was born today he would probably be a college drop out. Some people say that geniuses always survives life hardships, but the fact that there are no new Einsteins (or Maxwells, Plancks...) seems to show this isn't true.
"I have come to the conclusion that if he was born today he would probably be a college drop out."
And without mentors, his gift to the world then might have been squandered.
Re: Why Anti-Authoritarians are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill (2012)
#50This is a great article. The linked article ("Anti-Authoritarians and Schizophrenia: Do Rebels Who Defy Treatment Do Better?") is also very interesting: "At the 2-year assessment there were no significant differences in severity of psychosis between schizophrenic patients (SZ) on antipsychotic medications and SZ not on any medications. However, starting at the 4.5-year follow-ups and continuing over the next 15 years…
Sounds like persons who are less functional feel that they need medication more than those who don't. Not that anyone WANTS neuroleptics, the side effects sound terrible.
I would imagine that anyone who wants to deal through them is going to necessarily have more troubles.