[aklug] Re: OT: Did you know most of you are

/* start rant

Perhaps. But George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and quite a few others wer=
e so into freedom that they went to war with the worlds only super power of=
 the time to get it. Hardly your typical behavior, and even a little over b=
oard by some people's standards or even a bit antisocial, including many in=
 the mental health proffession now days. So were they mentally ill just bec=
ause some shrinks now days think so? Besides, do you trust the US governmen=
t to wield the power over you and yours to make that call? Through the ment=
al health system of course, which they conveniently own a good deal of thro=
ugh medicade and medicare. It is for your own good after all. If George and=
 Thomas had lived today, many would call for them to be locked up till they=
 were cured.

Think about the implications though. Most people do not use Linux. Of those=
 who do, many use it because of privacy concerns including security holes, =
viri, etc, or even just because it's free and offers freedom. Hardly "norma=
l" behavior wouldn't you say, seeing as how most people are content to go w=
ith the flow and use Mickysoft products? That's what the herd does isn't it=
? How and where do you draw the line at what is mentally ill and what is ju=
st fringe behavior? Who draws it? Who gets to decide what is normal? Head d=
octors, because they have gone to school? Most of the academic world knew a=
nd taught that the world was flat and the sun went around the Earth not too=
 long ago, so I'm not convinced that just having a degree makes you know be=
tter. How many times have we heard that you don't really need Linux, you ju=
st want it so that you can pirate intelectual property such as music and mo=
vies? Or why would you need Linux if you have nothing to hide? Will
 we soon start hearing that we need to lock up Linux users till they are cu=
red? We don't exactly follow the herd after all.

So somebody stands there and flips the lights on and off a few doz times. D=
oes obsessing define mental illness? Says who? And if so, is Torvalds ment=
ally ill for obsessing over Linux as some would think? Should he be cured? =
Most of our best scientists obsess over their work, far more than a man who=
 stands there and flips the light switch a few hundred times even. You give=
 them a pill to cure them and most of our scientific progress stops cold. M=
e thinks far more gets done, and far more progress is made, by people who o=
bsess(or have other quirks) than by ones who don't give a rat's back side. =
Who's to say that the man flipping the light switch so many times isn't obs=
essing over a way to make it better? Yea, probably not, but can you, or the=
 doctors, read his mind?

Or is it just the desire for freedom that the government wants to "cure", a=
nd not any other obsessive behavior?

end rant */

Sorry, been getting a bit irritated with what I'm seeing happening in polit=
ics and this is really starting to concern me, obviously lol.

>=20
> > From: "Aaron A." <akbeancounter@yahoo.com>
> > Date: November 26, 2010 3:18:05 PM AKST
> > To: Kurt Brendgard <brendgard@yahoo.com>
> > Subject: Re: [aklug] OT: Did you know most of you are
> mentally ill?
> >=20
>=20
> > On Nov 24, 2010, at 9:15 PM, Kurt Brendgard <brendgard@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> >=20
> >> I thought some of you might be interested in this.
> Seems as though some of us might be considered mentally ill
> by the "modern" mental health system because we value
> privacy and freedom.
> >>=20
> >> http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/people-who-resist-authority=
-stand-privacy-cou?page=3D2&t51hb=3D
> >>=20
> >=20
> > This reminds me of an urban legend from the 70's that
> a person who took a certain number of doses of LSD (either
> in one sitting or over a lifetime, depending on the teller)
> could be declared / was automatically declared legally
> insane.=A0 What the author misses out on is that many
> behaviors are perfectly normal in small doses, but are cause
> for concern if they interfere with basic tasks.=A0
> Turning the lights off when you leave a room is normal;
> turning the lights off and on twelve times because you won't
> be able to concentrate on anything else until you do, that's
> not normal.=20
> >=20
> > Of course, that's not to say the system can't be
> abused; during the 1920's, both the American and Soviet
> governments locked dissidents away under the reasoning that
> one would have to be crazy to not appreciate everything
> their noble leaders were doing for their country.
>=20
> =0A=0A=0A
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Received on Sun Nov 28 14:50:48 2010