Surviving Christianity: society

Showing posts with label society. Show all posts

Friday, November 21, 2014

Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder

A person with [Antisocial Personality] disorder usually does not take responsibility for any of his or her own suffering.

But then...

Antisocial personality disorder is probably caused by a combination of factors. Having any of these characteristics does not necessarily mean that a person has antisocial personality disorder.

Influences from the environment. A chaotic family life contributes to the development of this personality disorder, especially where there has been little supervision from parents or other adult role models. The disorder also may be more common where the community is not supportive or provides little reward for positive behavior. In some situations, there may even be reinforcement for sociopathic behavior.

Genetic (inherited) or biological factors. Researchers have found certain physiological responses that may occur more frequently in people with antisocial personality disorder. For example, they have a comparatively flat response to stress. They seem to get less anxious than the average person. They seem to have a harder time maintaining daytime arousal. They also have a weak "startle reflex," the involuntary response to loud noises. This relative insensitivity may affect their ability to learn from reward and punishment.

The frontal lobe, the area of the brain that governs judgment and planning, also appears to be different in people with antisocial personality disorder. Some researchers have found changes in the volume of brain structures that mediate violent behavior. People with this kind of brain function may thus have more difficulty restraining their impulses, which may account for the tendency toward more aggressive behavior. Neurobiologists cannot say with certainty that these variations in brain structure are a cause of antisocial personality. The variations could easily be the result of life experiences that are more common in people with this personality disorder rather than a cause.

So, if it is caused by poor parenting/role models, the community, genetic or biological factors, and/or abnormalities in the brain, exactly how is it that a person suffering this disorder should "take responsibility for any of his or her own suffering"?

I am genuinely perplexed by this anomaly of a prime example of blaming the victim.

And as a "professional" once told me: "That is exactly the kind of thing an antisocial personality would say". Well, fuck me.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Hunger Strike is over and canned Spam is better than the comments here

Yeah, I quit on the hunger strike after day six. Nobody gave a fuck. Especially the Veteran's Administration at whom it was aimed. I've sicked my State Representative on them. For all the propaganda that is pumped out about how much this suck ass country wants to honor and care for its Vets one could use it to build a causeway from Miami to Cuba complete with Circle K stops... and a few titty bars!

But the thing that I find most annoying is the spam comments that these posts have generated. This blog was linked to by CNN for over a week at one time. I had regular readers. I had thoughtful comments. I met wonderful people. Now, all I get is spam. I kind of like canned spam once in a while. But the crap that appears here (awaiting moderation as I have that option turned on) are nothing short of insulting.

Capitalism is sooooo wonderful. I'm posting shit about my health deteriorating and the VA doing nothing when it is contractually their obligation and all anyone wants to say in their comments is "come to my website and buy my shit". So, capitalism is doing exactly what it is created to do: benefit from the suffering of others.

I'm a heartbeat away from turning comments off completely. I tire of seeing that crap. If you don't have anything to say about what I am writing - good, bad, or indifferent - then simply move along. I don't care if you like me or agree with anything I say. And I don't care if you say so! But if you provide a link to some "buy my shit" bullshit in a comment IT WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED!

So, read or don't read. Comment if you like so long as your comment has anything at all to do with the post. If I keep getting spam I'll just turn the shit off... you blood sucking capitalist pigs.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Day 4 of VA Hunger Strike

It's storming ice and snow here now. Has been for a few hours. Then I remembered that the ramp to my front door can be a challenge when iced over. So, I slipped some clothes on over my bedclothes and made the arduous trip out to my shop where I stored the salt from last year.

I've gotta tell ya, sleet propelled by 50 mph wind striking you in the face is kind of like getting sand blasted. It's no fucking fun at all. But then, neither is begging the government to live up to its end of the military service agreement.

Ooops. Gotta go. A tree limb just came through my roof.

Oh, and fuck the VA and the USA.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Yep, that ought to fix everything!

Compounding my multitude of health problems, I have lost three significant others recently. I called my psychiatrist at the Veteran's Administration who told me to come ASAP for a review and augmentation of my anti-depressant therapy.

When I arrived, we spoke for a few minutes. Then, as if this were his prescription, he said, "I think you ought to go to church". He then said he'd see me again in four months.

Of course, I objected and he made some minor changes to my therapy.

I checked my "Pocket Constitution" real quick, just to be sure, and there under the First Amendment it read:

AMENDMENT I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I find it highly offensive to hear an employee of a federal institution tell me that I need to go to church while acting in an official capacity.

Besides that, yeah, I'm sure chanting to some imaginary friend in the sky will fix everything!

Friday, November 05, 2010

Guidelines for current and future endeavors

In order to move toward a more meaningful and just society, we need to have target goals and a strategy to get there. Here is a list of guidelines given by Father Jose Maria Arizmendiarrieta, a priest who had fought Franco After World War 2 in Spains Basque country, ended up in prison, but managed to get released instead of executed. Father Arizmendi, as he is popularly called, was assigned by the church to the valley in the Basque containing the small town of Arrasete-Mondragon. He set to work trying to solve the massive war-created problems at hand. He began building a small technical school, and then a credit union where the region's peasants and workers pooled meager funds. After a few years, with just five of the best students of the school, he started a small factory making one product: a small paraffin-burning stove so people could cook and heat water. It was a good stove, and sold well.

Most important, he gave the project a set of ten carefully thought-out principles to serve as guidelines for the current and any future endeavors:

Open Admission, meaning no worker is to discriminated against because of nationality, gender, political party or religion and such.
Democratic organization, meaning one worker, one vote.
Sovereignty of labor
Instrumental and subordinate nature of capital
Participatory Management
Wage Solidarity
Cooperation between Coops
Social Transformation
Universality
Education

We could all learn something from these simple guidelines. The goal of all of us remains to create a more just, peaceful, and prosperous society in which we can all live with some security. And it will take all of us to make this happen.

In the Interest of Full Disclosure

Following the oligarchic doctrine of "full disclosure", the following is the editorial decision on necessary disclosure concerning the authors/editors of this blog:

IT'S NONE OF YOUR F-ING BUSINESS!

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. "
[Extracted from The Constitution of the United States of America (May 2006), The Constitution of the United States of America.]

My advance appologies

If any of the information, such as names and dates regarding my own testimonials, are incorrect I apologize in advance and would be happy to make the corrective edits at your emailed request. Unless you tell me, I'll never know. I tell it as I remember it.

I also post articles of interest with or without my own commentary. Frankly, some of the stories just leave me speechless. They usually reinforce the theme of what I am trying to relay, however. I try my best to give credit to the original authors. If I have posted your work here and you object to my sharing it, simply notify me by email and I will accommodate you by removing your work or any reasonable concession that you may require.

And furthermore, about my general tenor, don't worry. One day, you will be just as screwed over and just as angry as I am. I suppose it will take that to wake the automatons up from their indoctrinated sleep.