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I'm pretty firmly of the belief that everyone is insane. Including myself, of course.
I remember reading somewhere that nearly all mental disorders are really just extreme examples of processes that regularly happen in all brains. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder happen to all people, but most people have a handle on it and either ignore the impulses or just have a foible or two instead of a whole host of tics or abnormal behaviors. I've experienced this myself from time to time; my brain comes up with a ridiculous explanation for something (and I immediately dismiss it), or I feel the desire to check the emergency brake on my car again and again.
I think I'm posting this because I feel a lot of sympathy for the characters of I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (briefly reviewed in the other blog). And really, who can't feel sympathy for a person who's lost their mind? Everyone loses their mind once in a while, everyone feels confused or scared or alone at some point in time. People are fragile.
I'm also posting this because I was reading an article on evangelical Christian services happening in my neighborhood at various bars on Sunday nights. That kind of thing worries me in general, because I don't want more of that kind of condoned insanity taking root here. I don't need more recovering drug addicts sharing their rebirth experiences and growing the flock while the audience watches a hip VJ spin pictures of Baby Jesus and swigs $3 PBRs.
It makes me simmer when I think that preachers get to spread more mental confusion like that. The last thing vulnerable people need is someone injecting crap into their heads with a giant Jesus-shaped syringe, but we let it happen all the time under the guise of "helping" others. Why can't people just leave other people alone? Why do they have to infect them with their mania? I suppose I should feel bad for the preachers as well; but normally we lock the ones who are a danger to others up, yet these people get a free pass.
I remember reading somewhere that nearly all mental disorders are really just extreme examples of processes that regularly happen in all brains. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder happen to all people, but most people have a handle on it and either ignore the impulses or just have a foible or two instead of a whole host of tics or abnormal behaviors. I've experienced this myself from time to time; my brain comes up with a ridiculous explanation for something (and I immediately dismiss it), or I feel the desire to check the emergency brake on my car again and again.
I think I'm posting this because I feel a lot of sympathy for the characters of I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (briefly reviewed in the other blog). And really, who can't feel sympathy for a person who's lost their mind? Everyone loses their mind once in a while, everyone feels confused or scared or alone at some point in time. People are fragile.
I'm also posting this because I was reading an article on evangelical Christian services happening in my neighborhood at various bars on Sunday nights. That kind of thing worries me in general, because I don't want more of that kind of condoned insanity taking root here. I don't need more recovering drug addicts sharing their rebirth experiences and growing the flock while the audience watches a hip VJ spin pictures of Baby Jesus and swigs $3 PBRs.
It makes me simmer when I think that preachers get to spread more mental confusion like that. The last thing vulnerable people need is someone injecting crap into their heads with a giant Jesus-shaped syringe, but we let it happen all the time under the guise of "helping" others. Why can't people just leave other people alone? Why do they have to infect them with their mania? I suppose I should feel bad for the preachers as well; but normally we lock the ones who are a danger to others up, yet these people get a free pass.