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How To Talk About Mental Illness Online?

An anonymous reader writes: Shortly after the death of Debian founder Ian Murdock, Bruce Perens, who succeeded Murdock as Debian Project Leader in 1996 and was also Murdock's employer for a period of time, claimed very publicly that Murdock died of mental illness, although no evidence has been provided. Without referencing Murdock or Perens, another prominent Debian Developer, Daniel Pocock, has asserted that discussion about who has or had a mental illness is a step too far. To be fair, it sure doesn't sound like Perens was trying to do other than express sympathy in light of a tragic death.

308 comments

  1. Secrets =~ Stigmas by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you want to keep mental illness stigmatized, insist it be kept a secret.

    If I die of cancer, I won't have a problem with anybody talking about that. Same with a heart attack. Same with a mental illness.

    A brain dysfunction can cause the affected quite a bit of suffering, but sympathy doesn't mean lying. There's no moral failing associated with, say, a neurotransmitter imbalance. These aren't attributed to demons in 2016 - we can see them on PET or fMRI. They're just as valid a medical problem as a broken arm, even if the science of treatment is still in its adolescence.

    Now, people who belittle those with mental illness - they should be ostracized. It no better than taunting somebody who gets cancer.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    1. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Totally right. This also means the freedom to discuss it wrongly. If you have a sprained shoulder and someone (wrongly) tells you to immobilize it you don't get upset. You just tell them your doctor told you to do gentle exercise. Unfortunately that means there can be no truly completely "safe spaces" but that is also the cost of freedom. Apologise, accept, learn, move on.

    2. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      I agree, EXCEPT, there are actually all sorts of other real world problems that step in when mental illness is involved. Specifically Insurance and Job issues in many areas. Discussing someones mental illness openly can still have a lot of unforseen consequences. e.g. life insurance not paying as any death becomes questionable, where I work mental illness would also be an immediate disqualifier for my job.

    3. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Now, people who belittle those with mental illness - they should be ostracized. It no better than taunting somebody who gets cancer.

      That's fine and all, except in reality people love to shame it anyways. Especially on slashdot. Just read the comments about any summary that has to do with somebody being a psychopath, which is a mental illness. CEO's are frequently psychopaths, and people here love to name and shame them over it.

      The same is also true of pedophiles. I don't think anybody anywhere ever just decides one day "I'd like to be a pedophile."

    4. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Dirk+Becher · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Cancer usually doesn't cause antisocial behavior while many mental illnesses do.

    5. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      psychopaths need idetifying and managig by all of society, its ot a mental illness but a personality disorder, mental "illess" is somewhat a flawed cocept, a psychopath isnt ill doesnt suffer but there is a lot wrong with them on every level and no treatment...
      its all the more important we discuss psychopathic persoality disorders and mental illness as seperate issues..
      psychopaths subvert treatment , abuse others and exrtenuate illess and urest i others and guess what?
      those that see huma behaviour as wholly a medical issue?
      well they are psychopaths, drawn to the cocept that we are all ill unless we are cold hard ad unemotional like them..
      thats the reality...
      and if yur a psychopath?
      its important others are warned before the psychopaths get the chance to turn perfectly stable character traits into distressig illness.
      1 in 100 , maybe more are psychopaths.
      ad its not a illness.
      they do npt suffer ...but get to know one...yu might start feeling pretty sick.

    6. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's no moral failing associated with, say, a neurotransmitter imbalance. These aren't attributed to demons in 2016 - we can see them on PET or fMRI. They're just as valid a medical problem as a broken arm, even if the science of treatment is still in its adolescence.

      No we can't. We measure neurotransmitters by cutting up people's brains after they die. There aren't scans that can detect them in unmodified humans. And guess what, the people we cut up to research on are normally people who were previously diagnosed and were getting treatment for mental illness (which is too wide a term). We are looking at drugged brains and simply ignoring that fact. It's still not even clear if a neurotransmitter imbalance is a normal cause of depression. Sure we have drugs that mess with those levels and the person feels better or worse or unchanged. That's worth repeating: SOMETIMES THEY FEEL BETTER SOMETIMES THEY GET WORSE. When you give anti-depressants to non-depressed people they develop depression! These drugs screw with your neurotransmitter levels, but we have no clue as to how that translates into what we feel or what damage or help it does.

      Drug ads claim depression is caused by low neurotransmitters, so they try to increase them. However when you increase them on normal people those people develop depression. So what's going on? Do their brains stop producing those transmitters or does a transmitter increase also trigger depression? Since there's no way to measure the levels in living humans, there's no way to determine the proper dosage and course of action. Instead we guess, see what happens, and change based off that. Anyone who knows AI knows it's easy to get trapped thinking you're going down the proper path while there's a much better one just over the hill. This type of treatment is bad where health is concerned. It's like getting a minor cut on your finger. If you apply a turnakit to your arm it will eventually go numb and you'll no longer feel the cut. You'll think, great! it's fixed. But in reality your entire arm is going to die and fall off within a month. Mental illness treatments are like that. We have a little clue into what the drug is doing, but we have no clue how that effects the brain as a whole. We just know they sometimes have seemingly positive side effects. They all have negative side effects, but lets just ignore those.

      But this still has little to do with a cause. If we assume neurotransmitters are the only factor in depression, how did they get out of whack in the first place? They are only a symptom, not the cause. We never treat causes only symptoms! Your brain is still tired if you use stimulates to stay awake, you just don't feel it. Depressed people taking meds are likely still depressed, they just don't feel it.

    7. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The same is also true of pedophiles. I don't think anybody anywhere ever just decides one day "I'd like to be a pedophile."

      The same is also true of gays. I don't think anybody anywhere ever just decides one day "I'd like to be gay." Lets medicate all these mentally ill people who aren't straight. That goes for asexuals too.

      "Mental illness" is a bullshit term. It just means someone different from what I think people should be like. The less we talk about mental illness and the more we talk about specific conditions the better. There's a post below mine claiming introverts are mentally ill. As an introvert, I'd like to claim all extroverts are mentally ill. Lets go lock up anyone who can't stop talking. The world will be much more peaceful after that.

    8. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want to keep mental illness stigmatized, insist it be kept a secret.

      If I die of cancer, I won't have a problem with anybody talking about that. Same with a heart attack. Same with a mental illness.

      A brain dysfunction can cause the affected quite a bit of suffering, but sympathy doesn't mean lying. There's no moral failing associated with, say, a neurotransmitter imbalance. These aren't attributed to demons in 2016 - we can see them on PET or fMRI. They're just as valid a medical problem as a broken arm, even if the science of treatment is still in its adolescence.

      Now, people who belittle those with mental illness - they should be ostracized. It no better than taunting somebody who gets cancer.

      what if yur labelled with a mentak illness you havent actuially got cos a lot of the doctors are utterly isightless drug dealing idiots who havet the first clue about neuroscience , theyve got 50 yr old freud book ad soime mumbligs about food and dopamie and behaviouristic psychopathic projective bullshit t?

    9. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Njorthbiatr · · Score: 2

      The medical treatment is still in its infancy, it hasn't even begun to mature.

      What's worse is the medical community clings to their barbaric methods like it's actual medicine, instead of the snake oil piss it actually is.

    10. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      And a mental illness doesn't necessarily kill you in a few years while many cancers do. What's your point?

      They're both undesirable and if possible something we'd like to cure. If we can fix a person's mental issues and they truly believe that they were happier in their original state I suppose they can always go back. I would imagine you'd get that response at a similar rate as people with cancer who would like their tumor back.

    11. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want to keep mental illness stigmatized, insist it be kept a secret.

      If I die of cancer, I won't have a problem with anybody talking about that. Same with a heart attack. Same with a mental illness.

      A brain dysfunction can cause the affected quite a bit of suffering, but sympathy doesn't mean lying. There's no moral failing associated with, say, a neurotransmitter imbalance. These aren't attributed to demons in 2016 - we can see them on PET or fMRI. They're just as valid a medical problem as a broken arm, even if the science of treatment is still in its adolescence.

      Now, people who belittle those with mental illness - they should be ostracized. It no better than taunting somebody who gets cancer.

      There is a difference between privacy and secrets. Privacy is essential to effective treatment of mental illness. Confidentiality is essential to the practice of medicine. The stigma of mental illness is unfortunate, but eliminating stigma does not require the loss of privacy or confidential treatment, and if it did the stigma must remain, because its elimination is less important than healing.

    12. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is unfortunate that what we have from the medical fraternity is an approach rooted in 19th century ideas which should have gone the way of homeopathy and chiropractic. I have had a diagnosis of bipolar for quite some time. Alas, unlike areas of solid science, where anybody reasonably well educated in the discipline can point to the smoking gun experiments that justify theories, with modern 'mental health' medicine there is only arm-waving and insistence that 'it is well known that', 'the evidence shows that', etc. I tend to distrust things which look like cargo cult science ('science that is not science' as Feynman described it in his famous talk), and whilst much of medicine looks like it is supported by proper science, psychiatry, and the recent alcohol limits stuff, seems more like pseudoscientific arm-waving.

      Go to youtube, for example, and search for Daniel Mackler Open Dialog: his documentary which is now freely available. Follow up what he talks about to verify to your satisfaction. Read Joanna Moncrieff or Lucy Johnstone's books in the straight talking series. The trouble is that better ways than the drug-centric approaches have been demonstrated, and serious critiques of the drug-centric approaches have been made. But due to how the pharmaceutical giants stuff the literature with 'it really works' stories, and target influential people within medical mental health, the drug-centric status quo doesn't get properly questioned, the alternatives get drowned out, and people can easily get the mistaken impression that mental health treatment is a settled matter, and that drugs are the best approach.

    13. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no thats antisocial personality doisorder pal... yur a psychopath and yu have it btw .. its pretty obvious trollin of all mental illness that yur doing, very succinct and unasuming "riht to troll" is very evident in your short but bigoted and nasty staement..
      , of which psychopathic personality disorder is not one (or cluster b types as they are called,,,sometimes severe is used to indicate a fixed and unchaning permanent condition..)

      oh and as to the original post???
      well slashdot aint the place for any sort of discussion,, they time out the posts to such an extent that you cant really be bothered discussing stuff if your confronted with a wait time in a conversation???
      its like internet has devolved communication not helped it...

    14. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

      The GP is correct, the plural of "stigma" is "stigmas". "Stigmata" can be both singular and plural and means a mark (or marks) of shame, such as the wounds from crucifixion.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    15. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Crucifiction. FTFY.

    16. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Tyler+Durden · · Score: 1

      I don't hate people who are born psychopaths or pedophiles. What I do hate, however, are people who act out on their psychopathy or pedophilia with no concern about the damage it causes other people. That's the point where my sympathy for them dies.

      --
      Happy people make bad consumers.
    17. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's no moral failing associated with, say, a neurotransmitter imbalance. These aren't attributed to demons in 2016 - we can see them on PET or fMRI.

      OK, so let's say that someone is really sad and hopeless and unmotivated (i.e. depressed) because they're trapped in an abusive relationship where their spouse is coming home drunk every night and beating the crap out of them. Would a PET or fMRI show a "neurotransmitter imbalance" in a such a person's brain? You seem to be implying that it would - that depression is a medical condition rather than a response to a difficult environment.

      Many people soldier on through life with the belief that life is a test and that once they pass the test they will be rewarded with an eternity in heaven. But what if there is no afterlife and what if, for many people, the suffering outweighs the pleasure? What if the objective reality is that life really isn't worth living for many people on the planet.

      Sure, you can point to your own life and claim that the good has outweighed the bad. But we live in a world where 20,000 children a day die of poverty. A lot of people on this planet live lives that are so horrible that if you actually understood the true horror of their existence you would have nightmares for the rest of your life.

      That's not to say that no one has ever felt inappropriately sad and hopeless - that no one has ever misjudged the eventual outcome of their current situation. The most fundamental aspect of the human condition is, after all, being trapped in ignorance. But some people also feel happy and optimistic about situations that eventually end very badly.

      It's easy to just dismiss everyone who is sad and hopeless as having a "neurotransmitter imbalance". But the reality is much more complex.

    18. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      There's a big difference however.

      If someone is homosexual, how does that hurt anyone? It doesn't, assuming they only have consensual sexual relations with other adults (which is no different than hetero people).

      If someone is asexual, how does that hurt anyone? They don't want sex with anyone, so there's no way for them to hurt anyone with their condition.

      If someone is a pedophile, however, if they act on that impulse and molest children, obviously that's quite harmful to the child and his/her development and psychology.

      If someone is a sociopath or psychopath, that's harmful because they either commit crimes (hurting the victims) and go to prison (costing the taxpayer), or they become a CEO or politician, which hurts society in general through their selfish decision-making combined with their position of power and authority.

    19. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by ultranova · · Score: 1

      Just read the comments about any summary that has to do with somebody being a psychopath, which is a mental illness. CEO's are frequently psychopaths, and people here love to name and shame them over it.

      The problem is, our system is deficient in that it allows economic power to be wielded with little or any oversight, CEOs wield a lot of such power, and psychopathy's defining symptom is not caring about the consequences of your actions to other people. This means a psychopathic CEO is a danger to everyone, especially since the position drives even healthy people to actions they'd never otherwise do.

      Also, CEOs are not typically "named and shamed" over clinical diagnosis of sociopathy, but for psychopathic behaviour, which is condemnable no matter its origin.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    20. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

      I agree with Feynman's assessment in the context it was made. However the advent of "brain scans" and the subsequent huge leaps in neuroscience over the last 30yrs have greatly improved the "science" part of psychiatry and even more so for psychotherapy. The problem as I see it is that GP's are too quick to prescribe head pills for someone who claims to be depressed/stressed. They wouldn't prescribe chemotherapy for cancer to a patient without consulting a specialist, so what makes them think they know what they are doing when it comes to picking the right combination of the 2000+ drugs use to treat mental issues?

      Mental problem are even more specific to patients than malignant tumours but GP's will happily write scripts for "regular drinkers" without even mentioning alcohol and the devastating effects it can have on the patient's mental state when mixed with certain types of medication (eg:Zoloft). The problem of inappropriate medication as I see it comes from the fact that the average GP suffers the same ignorance as the general public when it come to the most common forms of mental illness. That is; the cure for stress is "stop worrying", and the cure for depression is "cheer up", here's some "happy pills" to get you started.

      I've seen "head pills" work as advertised for several people in the last 20yrs, I've also seen them push several people off the "deep end", my ex-wife was one of then and two others ended up serving time in prison. Every one of those few that "lost the plot" were also regular drinkers and got their pills from the local GP. Alcohol is the root cause in half of all reported cases of "general stress disorder". OMO, handing out head pills to stressed drinkers without even mentioning alcohol is negligence of the highest order. Another huge mistake is cutting out close friends/relatives from the equation in the name of privacy, these are the very people who can (if properly informed) monitor the patient and spot any improvement/deterioration in their behaviour.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    21. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're fucking crazy. Ignore him, folks. Let's bottle up the cuckoos and get on with the party!

    22. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, check out the book "The Wisdom of Psychopaths". Psychopathy is not actually a mental illness.It's only when psychopathy is combined with maladaptive behavior that there are problems

    23. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      being a psychopath isn't necessarily bad. many hero's are also psychopath's too, The same cold calculating emotionless approach that makes them excellent politicians, CEO's, mass murders etc also make them excellent hero's. basically it all depends on what life opportunities throws at that person.

    24. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Heroes? This isn't the Marvel Universe (or worse, the Watchmen universe). The only "heroes" in real life I can think of are firemen. And unlike politicians and CEOs, firemen have very little actual power, unless you happen to be in a burning building, so there's no real damage they can do to society. And I've never heard of firemen being described as having any sociopathic traits of lack of empathy, usually quite the opposite (they frequently rescue pets).

    25. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      firemen, soldiers with the ability to show amazing courage under fire, police, people with high risk/danger jobs. Many of them exhibit the exact same mental illness but it instead of being labelled with a mental illness that get called hero's.

    26. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 2

      Speaking of superheroes, this looks like another job for the Apostrophe Avenger.

    27. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      That superhero is a wanker, along with the Captain Grammar Nazi.

    28. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ummm you do realise that the very lack of empathy and fear that makes a psychopath means whether they act on it or not is pure chance and situational and the environment life provides them. They lack the necessary emotion to consciously be making such a choice. Those that do control it only do so by watching how normal people behave and trying to mimic them to fit in.

    29. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I believe the novel Erewhon addressed this incongruity. in their paradise, people with mental/emotional problems were viewed as people unlucky enough to have become sick, and are offered treatment and sympathy. however, those with physical ailments are seen as obviously having done something to deserve their affliction, and are judged as wicked or immoral for it. im sure the author doesnt agree, just chose to reverse the positions to see how illogical judgment can be.

    30. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      I you live in an environment unlike where the water apes evolved, or eat a diet unlike what the land lubber water apes became accustomed to, you are probably going to experience mental illness, without any genetic or otherwise predisposition.

      Being a psychopath or pedo does have ramifications for society, unlike anxiety or depression, unless the patient is aware and actively avoiding trigger situations. A great way to avoid is to tell people they have this problem, and there are of course cognitive exercises that may help.

      Specifically, naming and labeling can be helpful as a tribal protection, a warning to others, if you see behavior before a doctor is notified to evaluate the patient. Don't trust this person, dnor leave your kids with that one...

      The labeling becomes a warning label, and stigmas come right back.

      The way people simplify data for future reference makes an open minded approach impossible for most people. Which is unfortunate.

    31. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, anti depressants can actually make a person more depressed! Shocking isn't it. Mental illness isn't real. It has more to do with a person not fitting into society or vice versa rather than an actual illness like cancer or heart disease.

    32. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You realize, of course, that psychopaths ALWAYS act without concern for others. It's part of the whole psycho gig. If they aren't busying themselves with the murder and exploitation of others, you must then wonder what ELSE they're up to . . .

    33. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by drolli · · Score: 1

      If someone is a pedophile, however, if they act on that impulse and molest children, obviously that's quite harmful to the child and his/her development and psychology.

      If they are pedophile AND act on that impulse. If people act on impulses they are dangerous without being pedophile.

    34. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by sociocapitalist · · Score: 1

      ...where I work mental illness would also be an immediate disqualifier for my job.

      Which is, to me, an argument that such information has to be made available for certain employers.
      "Co-Pilot in Germanwings Crash Hid Mental Illness From Employer"
      http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03...

      --
      blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    35. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by zAPPzAPP · · Score: 1

      I may be old fashioned, but I do not think any of my personal matters are a topic to discuss with random strangers on the net.

      If they are not strangers though, then there is no need to make a special case just because the communication is online. Just make sure it is a private channel.

    36. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 0

      They fail to replace themselves sexually, then they coeirce other peoples children into serving their needs to the detriment of their parents.

      Reproduction is a duty. The grasshopper hurts the ants when he spends the summer of his life playing instead of preparing for the winter of his life.

      Doesn't really matter if you enjoy gay sex, straight sex, all sex or no sex. If you don't reproduce, you should work till you die.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
    37. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by khallow · · Score: 1

      Which is, to me, an argument that such information has to be made available for certain employers.

      They would have to demonstrate that the mental illness in question were relevant. For example, for a job I work, I'm required to be able to lift 50 pounds (20-25 kg). There's no requirement that I not have particular back injuries. If I can do the task with the injury, then I'm good. (Incidentally, if I become unable to meet that particular requirement, they have the option to move me to another job where I don't have to lift 50 pounds or to restructure my current job).

      A blanket proscription against mental illness (of the sort implied by the GP) is no different than a blanket proscription against injury. It's an overly broad category that includes a variety of problems which wouldn't be relevant for the job aspect in question.

      "Co-Pilot in Germanwings Crash Hid Mental Illness From Employer"

      Here, it does appear quite relevant since the mental illness of the copilot (who was at the controls when the plane crashed) in question was apparently quite debilitating. He collected several doctor's notes stating he was too sick to work, including one for the day he actually flew.

      Also the language of the employer (as it appears in the linked story above) is more focused.

      Lufthansa company policy requires notification of conditions that could affect flying or a pilotâ(TM)s license.

      This policy doesn't require notification of mental illness that wouldn't affect flying.

    38. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      Here lies the problem the though. We have been conditioned and taught now for decades that people are disabled they are differently-abled.

      "That person in the wheel chair isn't broken, the chair is part of their identity" that is how the social just warriors have insisted with think on it. So the trouble with your statement ultimately comes down to the fact that psychopath or pedophile isn't 'acting' they are just being themselves.

      An unfeeling person (possibly a psychopath) could argue almost any protected disability cases damage to others. We are forced to shoulder additional burden to make places handicapped accessible. Things like ramps might be considered a visual blight on architectural works. No this isn't a reasonable position. Mainly because society through a democratic process decided that the collective we want to enable these people to share in our common experience and the collective we are willing to bare some share of the cost of that. The collective we has not decided we are willing to make our children available to satisfy the sexual needs of pedophiles. So that is a difference. Clearly a line is drawn some place. The trouble is where.

      Should that person who is autistic be allowed to teach school? After-all they are less likely to be able to spot and recognize needs of individual children. Still an autistic person is really just 'thinking differently' Its who they are. Is it right to exclude them if they really want to teach elementary school. The egalitarian would say well they can't do the job as well so they don't get it. Still that isn't what most of our disability related legislation is designed to accomplish.
       

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    39. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should just die.

    40. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bullshit. There is only one word "stigma" and it means a mark (of shame), either in the literal or figurative sense. Its plural is stigmas (anglicized) or stigmata (Greek). Stigmata is NOT a singular. But I guess USAmericans who say things like "bicep" and "homo sapien" and "bacterias" and "datas" might as well use it as a singular. Plurals end in s, singulars don't, right?

    41. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      The Earth is provably over its carrying capacity if we live as we are, and you want MORE people? We have way more than enough people.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    42. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Golddess · · Score: 1

      "Mental illness" is a bullshit term. It just means someone different from what I think people should be like. The less we talk about mental illness and the more we talk about specific conditions the better. There's a post below mine claiming introverts are mentally ill. As an introvert, I'd like to claim all extroverts are mentally ill. Lets go lock up anyone who can't stop talking. The world will be much more peaceful after that.

      This is basically my problem in a nutshell, one persons mental illness is another persons normal. I have no problem with people who wish to medicate to change certain aspects of themselves. But I want to be able to make that choice for myself, I don't want someone else making that choice for me. Labeling something a "mental illness", to me, feels like it's just one step away from someone saying "we're going to force medication on you to 'fix' you. For your own good of course".

      --
      "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
    43. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Holy shit, that's the stupidest thing I've read all week.

      From what I've seen, gay people generally make a ton of money on average, so they're doing a much better job paying their own way than all the working-class heteros.

    44. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Cancer has caused some ridiculous amounts of anti-social behaviour. You should see what a tumour pressing on parts of your brain can make you do. On second thought, don't. It's really not nice. But regardless, there is no excuse for prejudice.

    45. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by sociocapitalist · · Score: 2

      This policy doesn't require notification of mental illness that wouldn't affect flying.

      I agree that the need would have to be demonstrated unless already categorized but I think it should be law and not only company policy that defines what jobs require it. There would then be a category list of jobs : conditions where the company does not have to demonstrate anything (i.e. piloting a plane : being suicidal).

      Flying is only one example but there are many where safety of others is an issue.

      Bus driver : heart condition with risk of cardiac arrest maybe:
      https://www.google.fr/search?q...

      --
      blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    46. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      I remember reading some article in Time or similar that was talking about a study of a typical squad of 12 soldiers/marines in a combat firefight in WWII. The typical breakout of the combat reactions of the 12 are something like 1-2 not fighting and literally wetting their pants, 1-2 actively engaging the enemy with highly risky/"heroic" behavior (behavior that qualifies as psychopathic or at least sociopathic) and the rest of their squad just keeping their heads down and returning fire in an unfocused manner and just keeping their heads down.

    47. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Insurance is something we need to fix as soon as possible. In some countries, e.g. Japan, insurance will pay out in the event of suicide. In the west most life insurance generally does not pay in that case. As well as being unfair (death due to other medical conditions is covered) it stigmatizes depression and creates a perverse incentive not to get diagnosed.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    48. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by crow_t_robot · · Score: 1

      Reproduction is a duty.

      Spoken like a true virus.

    49. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Which means that, if the government decides depressives can't be software developers, that I cease treatment and claim it's all over with.

      Depression isn't a disease in the usual sense. It's a syndrome, a collection of symptoms without a known cause. Diagnosis is based on self-reporting, and I do know how to answer all the questions.

      How does it currently work for physical conditions? Not the obvious ones ("sorry, sir, we only hire bus drivers who aren't quadriplegic"), but things like coronary artery disease (bear in mind that heart attacks are not necessarily immediately incapacitating)?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    50. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I've had tendencies to do things because of depression. For a long time, I was thinking of suicide. As you can probably tell, either I didn't do it or on the Internet nobody knows you're a ghost. Pedophilia does not by itself harm anyone else. Giving in to the impulses will.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    51. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      That's one of the big problems with mental illness. When I had my heart attack, it was clear that I needed medical attention, and I asked my son to call 911. It didn't really affect my judgment. When I'm depressed, my judgment is affected. At that point, I may not be the best judge of when I need to deal with it better, and I rely on my wife to help me there.

      We can have people who'd be much better off treated who don't get treatment because they avoid it or don't think they need it. In some cases, the meds are very unpleasant. At an extreme, we have the Mentally Ill and Dangerous, which a close relative of mine worked with for a long time. These people, through no fault of their own, are dangerous, kinda like an epileptic truck driver, and some of them really resist their meds.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    52. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      We don't know the causes. We don't know how many things cause depression, even. In many cases, reducing serotonin uptake alleviates depression. Last I talked to a doctor about it, he told me that you can't tell if someone is depressed by their serotonin level, but raising it is often useful. Now, if someone could tell me where my depression comes from, the real cause, we could probably attack it better.

      There are other therapies, such as cognitive and simple talk therapy, and they should be used as well, but antidepressants are very useful in many cases.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    53. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The problem is that we're dealing with extremely complicated things here, and often don't have a clue about the cause of a mental illness. Since we don't know the cause, we treat the symptoms. We can determine what drugs generally do this scientifically, much as we do with medicine for physical problems. I don't know who you've talked to, but all the doctors I've seen seem to tell me something like "This is likely to help. Let me know if you have problems with it, and in any case come back in a month and we'll see how you're doing."

      There are other ways to treat depression, which should be used in conjunction with antidepressants. Depressives get into bad thought habits, for example, and cognitive therapy is intended to deal with that.

      One big problem is that insurance companies don't want to pay for the full range of therapy. If someone comes in with depression, it's cheap to put them on Prozac, and expensive to provide the other therapy they need.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    54. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      It's certainly possible to have situational depression, and that apparently isn't helped as much by antidepressants. It sucks. (BTW, that "neurotransmitter imbalance" isn't considered worth checking for, apparently, since nobody ever even talked about it with me.)

      One big clue is when someone is depressed when there's really not much to be depressed about. That's clinical depression. It isn't a response to a difficult environment, because the environment isn't difficult. It is a real thing, and a medical condition. "Inappropriately sad and hopeless" isn't depression. I went through a long time without feeling unhappy, since I'd get depressed instead. A few years ago, I realized that the novel emotion I was feeling was sadness. Clinical depression has nothing to do with the situation or the judgment of the situation. Depression is not sadness, although it feels horrible, or hopelessness, although that's their to, it's more of an emotional numbness.

      You obviously don't know much about depression. Don't get me wrong, I really, really don't want you to get the dope on it firsthand, but you're talking like a person who's heard of depression, or maybe seen it, and does not understand it at all.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    55. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YES.

      If anyone wants to start a public shitlist naming names of bigots they have encountered, I would have a few to contribute.

    56. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is NOT how to talk about mental illness.

    57. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      That can be said about all kinds of mental problems that might drive people to violence. That's why I specifically mentioned the impulse thing; there's pedos out there who keep it under control and never hurt anyone, and that's fine; people should be punished for crimes, not thoughtcrimes.

    58. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They fail to replace themselves sexually, then they coeirce other peoples children into serving their needs to the detriment of their parents.

      You can't show even one example of this happening. You'll flail around desperately trying to, and will only embarrass yourself with failure.

      Reproduction is a duty.

      You cannot make an even remotely intelligent argument to support this.

      The grasshopper hurts the ants when he spends the summer of his life playing instead of preparing for the winter of his life.

      You cannot even show that this is true within the confines of your ill-considered analogy, let alone the real world.

      Doesn't really matter if you enjoy gay sex, straight sex, all sex or no sex. If you don't reproduce, you should work till you die.

      You cannot make an argument to support this, either. Unsurprising since it's merely a repetition of your previous unsupportable claim.

      There's a reason you always use vague and broad language. It's because you know that you're far too stupid to have any hope of successfully proving a point with concrete facts.

    59. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by sociocapitalist · · Score: 1

      Which means that, if the government decides depressives can't be software developers, that I cease treatment and claim it's all over with.

      Depression isn't a disease in the usual sense. It's a syndrome, a collection of symptoms without a known cause. Diagnosis is based on self-reporting, and I do know how to answer all the questions.

      How does it currently work for physical conditions? Not the obvious ones ("sorry, sir, we only hire bus drivers who aren't quadriplegic"), but things like coronary artery disease (bear in mind that heart attacks are not necessarily immediately incapacitating)?

      If depression could be shown to be the direct cause of significant death or injury of others based on 'software development', then yes. That being said, I think it's a bit of a reach to say that software development would be on the list.

      For things like coronary artery disease, you've answered your own question. If the disease has a high probability of heart attack then bus drivers (et al) who have it should be retrained for other jobs or have disability retirement.

      --
      blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    60. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I have apparently been unclear. I was talking about what I'd do if people with depression were banned from the career I have. It's a lot easier to fake normality with depression than with a heart attack, so I'd do what I could to get better while denying everything. Ban people with X from doing their dream job, and you'll get untreated X in that job.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    61. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by sociocapitalist · · Score: 1

      I have apparently been unclear. I was talking about what I'd do if people with depression were banned from the career I have. It's a lot easier to fake normality with depression than with a heart attack, so I'd do what I could to get better while denying everything. Ban people with X from doing their dream job, and you'll get untreated X in that job.

      I see, yes I had misunderstood. Certainly that would be an option indeed - there is no shortage of such fraud in the world.

      As far as getting untreated X - nothing is perfect but the alternative, of letting people who certainly have X do the job instead of people who maybe have X, seems riskier overall.

      As much as I don't like playing the 'think of the children' card, I'll do just that and say would you want a known pedophile taking care of your kids or would you prefer to have someone who is probably not a pedophile (while remaining reasonably observant just the same of course) ?

      --
      blindly antisocialist = antisocial
    62. Re:Secrets =~ Stigmas by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      There's some legitimate restrictions (you can't drive around here if you've had an epileptic seizure in the last year, for example), but lots of people seem to want to over-restrict. It's politically safe: if you let someone with disorder X be a pilot, and that person flies a plane that crashes, there's going to be at least some questions about why someone with X was allowed in the cockpit, and banning people with X mostly only hurts people with X, who aren't going to be as much political trouble. (If someone with X evades the screening and gets into a plane crash, the only prudent political response is to grandstand about needing better screening.) Since there's always going to be a certain proportion of the population with various mental illnesses, you will get people who have avoided diagnosis and treatment in that role. Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on the disorder and the role.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    63. Re: Secrets =~ Stigmas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From what I've seen, gay people generally make a ton of money on average

      That's not really true. It's a stereotype that arose from selection bias. Gay people (particularly young gay people) are more likely to come out as gay if they're wealthy, because they have less to fear from losing a job or financial support from parents. Poorer gay people are more likely to stay in the closet rather than risk getting fired by a homophobic boss or kicked out on the streets by homophobic parents.

  2. no just no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    no. just no. is it so fucking difficulT 2 ACCEPT THAT U CAN BE FAT & HEALTHY, U CISGENDER-ELITIST TRADITIONALIST!!!!!! dONT U SEE HOW OBJECTIFYING. BISEXUAL & DEMIROMANTIC TRANSWOMEN IS PROBLEMATIC?????? currently im a dogkin, so fucking address me as "thon/thon/thons" & not "tho/thong/thors"!!!!!!! im literally crying right. now, u thin-overprivileged basement dweller!!! adDRESS ME AS "ZE/ZIR/ZES"!!!!! () ur perpetUATING NON-ETHNIC SUPERIORITY & THIN ENTITLEMENT, U WHITE WOMYN-ELITIST SUBHUMAN!!!!!!! fucking white womyn-privileged ppl.

  3. Hey look by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slashdot is full of comedians again!

  4. See John Oliver's episode on mental health... by ffkom · · Score: 4, Informative

    ... it was aired long before this suicide, but provides lots of insight on why the situation is as it is: Episode on Youtube.

    1. Re:See John Oliver's episode on mental health... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh by Zues yes, the stigma surrounding it is absolute bullshit. People talk about cancer, there's no stigma to that. So why is there for this? Imagine the doctor saying "You've got cancer, oh and by the way you should only keep it to yourself and tell no one as it's shameful. Even as you go through chemo, which you'll need by the way, do your absolute best that no one learns about it."

    2. Re:See John Oliver's episode on mental health... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not so simple. Social standards can never fully align with psychology, in which people are ultimately meat machines who's free will is only an illusion created by the utter complexity of the machine that drives their actions. Outside of psychology, people are responsible for their own decisions. That guy that contradicts everyone is an "asshole", not a sufferer of a "personality disorder". He gets fired from his job for insubordination, he isn't "discriminated against for his mental illness".

    3. Re:See John Oliver's episode on mental health... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://www.change.org/p/hbo-r... Come on peoples, it's 2016!

    4. Re:See John Oliver's episode on mental health... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If he requested reasonable accommodations be made for a diagnosed disability he certainly does have a legitimate tort if A) they refused to provide reasonable accommodations, and B) they fired him/took adverse action as a result.

      Convincing a judge or jury that special treatment for a personality disorder is reasonable/merited is a tall order though. It requires a grown adult to tell a courtroom that they aren't accountable for their behavior/actions because a psychiatrist/psychologist/expert witness said so.

    5. Re:See John Oliver's episode on mental health... by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      And then someone hears you have cancer and they say "I had a cold once and that's sort of like cancer so you should just eat some chicken soup and get over it in a few days. If you don't, then you're obviously faking it to get attention. My cold wasn't that serious so obviously neither is cancer."

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  5. discussion about who has or had cancer is a step t by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Oh right, mental illness contradicts the assumption that humans are informed rational actors on which under-regulated markets are based, so must be shamed or denied.

  6. The first step is the hardest. by leftover · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The first step requires a significant cultural change, which is always difficult. We collectively need to stop considering mental illness as a failure of character, a visitation by some imaginary deity/demon, or any of the other cruelly fallacious delusions out there. Truth is, the mind is extremely complex, very poorly understood, and probably never quite 'right' in the sense we would want it to be. In other words, we are all nucking futs and we had better learn to be more kind to each other.

    After that first step, we most definitely should start talking, openly and kindly, about mental health online and in-person and in all social constructs.

    --
    Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
    1. Re: The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. Though, I think I'd go the route of saying permanent mental problems are mental illnesses, while temporary problems are mental fugues.

      Classifying depression and schizophrenia both as mental illnesses is part of the problem, schizophrenia is only marginally treatable and can never be cured. Depression is both treatable and curable.

      People hear "mental illness" and think of a schizophrenic in a state of acute psychosis. Clearly, we need some new terminology to shift the ideas here.

    2. Re:The first step is the hardest. by chipschap · · Score: 1

      To make it even more difficult, what is considered mental illness can depend on society's values. Crazy in one part of the world may or may not be crazy in another.

      We need to be caring and non-judgmental in as far as possible. How many truly disturbed people want to be that way? Or even realize it? Yes, society needs to protect itself from those who may be dangerous (and we'd better be careful where we draw that line; mental hospitals are used to incarcerate dissidents in some places) but passing judgment can become a losing game.

    3. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think a lot of people simply lack the theory of mind to have any kind of empathy for the mentally ill. People simply can't understand what it's like to not have part of your brain functioning. If you ask someone very ignorant about Schizophrenia they will say "well just ignore the voices!".

      People don't think of their brain as a piece of hardware that inputs come in and outputs go out. If a calculator is wired to say "2+2 = 10" then you can't change that with inputs, the only thing you can do if you want an output of "4" is to find out how the computer is figuring this out and adjust your inputs.

      Addiction is probably the easiest one to pick on "nobody's forcing you to buy the drugs!". I say to those people, fine, lets test your willpower. Don't eat for a week. It won't kill you even though it's decidedly not healthy. Addiction feels like hunger and if you're truly stronger you will be able to go for a full week without eating.

    4. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this attitude that we are all nuts ,,,its psychopathic , autistic if lucky,,, almost catholic in its negative aspect...
      psychopaths are fucked up ad they fuck up other people quite badly if you let them influence you..
      they generalise grossly about metal illness and would love a world of ustable people of whom they can machivellianly fuck with to get reactios,,
      noone knows why they do it,,
      theyve ebven programmed software that does it...
      its fascinating but utterly isane and disgustig,,, its ot metal illness though...its persoality disorder indicative of structural brain deformity. which literally causes pathological lying, lack of emoathy for those in metal distress yet a desire to be drawn and ivolve themselves with others pain cos it excites them,, in the worst cases this excitemet is secxual...

    5. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Worse than not being able to comprehend a mental malfunction, many staunch "anti-crazies" are really in a struggle not to identify with the mentally ill as they might then recognize their own reflection, much as homophobia is rife in right-wing communities where part of the gay percent tries to suppress their own feelings.

    6. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      patronising bullshit, read this and dont say i didnt war you...
      http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/articles/strings-psychopathy.html

    7. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Kjella · · Score: 1

      The first step requires a significant cultural change, which is always difficult. We collectively need to stop considering mental illness as a failure of character, a visitation by some imaginary deity/demon, or any of the other cruelly fallacious delusions out there. Truth is, the mind is extremely complex, very poorly understood, and probably never quite 'right' in the sense we would want it to be. In other words, we are all nucking futs and we had better learn to be more kind to each other. After that first step, we most definitely should start talking, openly and kindly, about mental health online and in-person and in all social constructs.

      That's not the issue, I don't think many believe mental illness has such an extraordinary explanation. The problem is that we don't know the true scope of your mental problems, if you tell me you're depressed is it like "got the blues" depressed or "dangling from a rope" depressed? Is your memory just a little fuzzy or will you leave the food burning on the stove so the house burns down? Are you just a tad neurotic or are you going to go full blown psychosis with hallucinations and voices in your head telling you to do things? We've all heard the worst case stories and most are going to say better safe than sorry, which of course makes everything worse for the person opening up. But I can't crawl into the heads of those around me, I just have to assume they act like normal people ordinarily would.

      A mentally ill person is a wild card, a relative of mine that had Alzheimer's had to be put in a home because she could go out and not know where she lived or how to get back. She didn't want to go, of course she would have faked being well if she could. Another relative had a brain hemorrhage, he was mixing words and forgetting things and just couldn't be relied on for anything. He wanted to get his driver's license back, ended up being denied an electric wheel chair because he couldn't handle it. And a former class mate of mine did go nuts and stabbed a person to death with a kitchen knife, maybe I'm a little biased. I'm not sure anybody knew he had mental problems, but in retrospect it's certainly someone you'd want to stay well clear of. So from their point of view I think telling will continue to have negative consequences no matter what.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    8. Re:The first step is the hardest. by leftover · · Score: 1

      Tried to follow your link, was forbidden.

      "Patronizing"? Really, you are a fool. I was speaking of myself as well as others.

      --
      Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
    9. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not that clear cut.

      There is very little sympathy for a smoker who gets lung cancer, likewise someone who refuses to move more than minimally necessary who also dines on noting but sugarcoated lard having a heat attack.

      Alternatively, would you be as sympathetic with someone who is a pedophile?

      And especially with mental illness it, isn't simply a localized problem, but becomes everyone's problem.

      And much like the morbidly obese use genetics as a crutch, some use mental illness as an excuse to be an asshole. That is very much a failing of character.

      Don't get me wrong, I'm very much for society being much more permissive in accepting behavior and being tolerant of people that flitter around the edges, but as any psychologist will tell you, dealing with someone with significant mental illness is its own form of madness, and often it is a case of cutting your losses before they take you into the abyss with them.

      I am also wary of only a few brain patterns being the "correct" ones.

    10. Re: The first step is the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depression is both treatable and curable.

      Not always. There are plenty of us that have been through both therapy and a number of drugs, and still see no difference other than a lightening of our wallets.

    11. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Elledan · · Score: 1

      It's not just mental health which needs to become a topic less shunned in today's society, but many others as well. I have been diagnosed over the past years with PTSD, as well as DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), both of which are a consequence of my intersex condition.

      Or more specifically: the traumatic events resulting from the abhorrent treatment of my intersex condition by doctors and psychologists, who insisted I had to be transsexual instead, attempted to force me into 'normalisation' surgeries, lied about results and so on for more than a decade. Funnily enough I only tried to commit suicide once in all that time.

      This is a common thing for those who are unlucky enough to be born intersex, and there are many more 'conditions' which are prime candidates for causing severe depression and the risk of suicide if not handled correctly. Homosexuality has more or less left that stage in most countries now, as well as transsexuality, due to increasing knowledge and acceptance of something which is actually natural, and not a disorder (as some are trying to rename 'intersex' into now...).

      In short, society needs to stop bullying people with whom is nothing wrong. Just like how bullying at schools has led in the past and will continue to lead to suicides, so does bullying by society in general result in the same.

      --
      Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
    12. Re:The first step is the hardest. by jandersen · · Score: 1

      I think, just like other subjects that were once taboo, like homosexuality or drug experiences, people will not surprisingly imagine all kinds of stupid things, because they have no actual experience of it and feel powerless against it. It doesn't help, when idiots in the entertainment industry exploit these false notions to create 'demons' for their storyline. The only way I can think of to combat this, is increased insight - for example through television.

      People with mental illnesses are not "crazy" - at least not like they are portrayed in the media. I'm not sure it is always as simple as "some chemical imbalance" - things so rarely are. And many people live with something on a spectrum from a very wide category of "normal" to what in the extreme case is called "psychotic" - as an example, most of us have this little "voice" in our head, that sort of works as an internal commentator; to me it is a sort of conversation with myself, where I discuss aspects of what I do and feel. It is probably not difficult to imagine a situation where your life becomes full of trouble, and you start blaming yourself for bad decisions you've made - now your inner conversation becomes an argument, and you don't want to listen to that voice. Given enough stress, you may be able to convince yourself that this is not something that origniates from your own mind, and it begins to look like the kind of auditive hallucinations that are typical of paranoia. In this situation, therapy may help by educating yourself about what is really going on and by helping you make peace with your hostile inner voice.

    13. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      I think, just like other subjects that were once taboo, like homosexuality or drug experiences, people will not surprisingly imagine all kinds of stupid things, because they have no actual experience of it and feel powerless against it.

      True. I'd only add that they imagine it in either extreme. Either they think "You have depression? Does that mean you're going to walk in one day and shoot everyone up because you've given up on life? I've heard people with depression do that." Or else they think "You have depression? I had that once when my dog died. I felt bad for a day or two and then it went away and I got a new dog. If you keep having it, it's your own fault for not just getting over it."

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    14. Re: The first step is the hardest. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Actually, I've gotten a lot of improvement through various forms of therapy. I'm far from being cured, though.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    15. Re:The first step is the hardest. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I know perfectly well where the voices come from, and I have a standing offer that if they ever manage to agree on something I'll take it under consideration. My subconscious appears to be weird.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    16. Re:The first step is the hardest. by Udom · · Score: 1

      First step is to stop letting the media and drug companies define mental illness. People learn the role of depression through TV, movies and articles and find the symptoms within themselves. Once they get caught up in that role their expectations drive their behaviour. The placebo effect is enormously powerful.

  7. Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    If the person suffering is a man, deride and ridicule them. Men with mental illnesses are CREEPY and DANGEROUS. Report them to the police!

    If the person suffering is a woman, be supportive even if they are displaying anti-social behavior. Women are BRAVE and VICTIMS. Give them money!

    1. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isnt Communism wonderful ?

    2. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Attractive women > ugly women > dogs and cats > attractive men > horses > automobiles > robots > plants > weather systems > ugly men.

      This is an approximate pecking order for how society (and the law) views women and men.

      Won't someone think of those poor, poor ugly women.

    3. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You people are fucking idiots.

      Look through the YouTube comments posted for this video of Marguerite Perrin. Not a lot of sympathy being shown there. You morons read 'ugly woman' and you immediately think Hollywood homely, or something equally stupid.

      Any, enjoy your bullshit self absorbed little complex.

    4. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A recent YouGov poll showed white men in their 20s as the group who is the most negatively perceived group of people in the UK. There's no poll data in the US and Canada, but they have the same ultra-feminized man hating societal norms. The results are located at https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/12/14/prejudice-data/

      There you go, actual data that backs up what I and many other men are saying about how society perceives and treats us as second class citizens for being male.

    5. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whales and dolphins > Attractive women > ugly women > dogs and cats > attractive men > horses > automobiles > robots > plants > weather systems > ugly men

      Fixed that for you.

    6. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I agree, it's awful how the cult of masculinity condemns men to suffer in silence; as though simply due to their gender they're not allowed to need help or assistance in anything. The acceptable emotional expressions allowed to men under traditional gender roles are tragically restrictive; and it's killing men by the tens of thousands.

    7. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm pretty sure the "cult of masculinity" is pointing out that men get treated like shit. It's the cult of feminism that's disagreeing and attempting to subvert things like providing help (including mental health care) for men.

    8. Re:Easy to follow guide by Qbertino · · Score: 1

      If the person suffering is a man, deride and ridicule them. Men with mental illnesses are CREEPY and DANGEROUS. Report them to the police!

      If the person suffering is a woman, be supportive even if they are displaying anti-social behavior. Women are BRAVE and VICTIMS. Give them money!

      Woa, somebody is sexually frustrated.

      Dude, get laid!

      Hint: Wether a man approaching a woman is seen as creepy, awkward, retarded, repulsive, sexy, kind, forthcoming or masculine depends on relatively trivial technical parameters. Such as: How well is he kempt? How aggressive is he doing the approach? In what mood is the women? How is her current self-esteem level? How is his current self-esteem level? How much does he convey emotional independance of the/any womans affection? In what setting and under what circumstances does the man approach the woman? etc.

      --
      We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
    9. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Imagine the furor if anytime a woman complained about 'rape culture' or the imaginary wage gap, someone responded with "you just need a dick inside you".

      However, "you're sexually frustrated" is an accepted statement when you direct it at a man.

      Gotta love the double standards.

    10. Re:Easy to follow guide by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      This is an approximate pecking order for how society (and the law) views women and men.

      No that's just some bizarre delusional fantasy you've got going there, or possibly some deep persecution complex. I'm guessing you're assuming that women are always treated better than men because you couldn't get a date with a woman you wanted to pork and you're now claiming that this is in fact the fault of the world.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    11. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Men are sentenced to prison for the same crimes more frequently than women and receiver longer sentences. The homeless population is overwhelmingly made up of men. Men are required to register for the draft while women are not. Male suicide is vastly higher than female suicide. There are unlimited resources for women who are the victims of domestic violence, yet hardly any for men - while women initiate roughly 50% of domestic violence and are just as physically violent as men.

      Oh but keep trotting out the "you just couldn't get laid" argument. We're used to that by now, because it's the only response that simpering idiots like you can offer.

    12. Re:Easy to follow guide by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think he has a good, solid point. There are significantly more men in mental institutions than women, and I think I know why: nobody will put up with crazy shit from a man. He is just labeled dangerous and stigmatized. People put up with crazy shit from women all day. They are just as dangerous, you've got to sleep sometime. Men are still culturally expected to be the breadwinners, but they are probably equally likely to suffer a debilitating mental illness, so there's an additional component of stress there. None of this excuses any particular kind of behavior.

      Do you have some alternate theory as to why there are more men in mental institutions than women? Because I'll read it.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    13. Re:Easy to follow guide by dave420 · · Score: 1

      The lengths you have to go to to justify your "picked-on white guys" claim is amazing. The fact you have to make stuff up also doesn't really help your case. If you really care about this topic, do some research before belittling it and you in public.

    14. Re:Easy to follow guide by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      He isn't making much, if anything, up. I'm not going to claim that my life suffers because I'm a man, but it isn't all one-sided.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    15. Re:Easy to follow guide by Beryllium+Sphere(tm) · · Score: 1

      This isn't a theory, this is speculation.

      Biologically, men are constitutionally weaker than women. Their infant mortality rate is higher. In environments with the same lifestyle and stresses, women live longer (studies have compared nuns with monks).

      You could even argue that having only one X chromosome is a dangerous genetic defect.

      Speculation #1, then, is that mental illness is in the same lump of phenomena as hemophilia and color blindness, disproportionately affecting males.

      Speculation #2 is that men get better health care than women and are diagnosed more often as a result.

      Speculation #3 is that there's no such phenomenon at all, given that women are diagnosed with depression more than men are.

      >They are just as dangerous

      You might be falling into a common mistake there. OCD people, depressed people, most schizophrenics, and most other mentally ill people are as safe to be around as anyone else.

    16. Re:Easy to follow guide by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      X chromosome. There are a bunch of recessive X-chromosome traits (like colorblindness) which men experience much more than women, because they don't have a second X chromosome to filter it out. A woman needs two colorblind genes to be colorblind, men need only one. Many such traits are negative, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of them code for mental illness.

    17. Re:Easy to follow guide by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Speculation #3 is that there's no such phenomenon at all, given that women are diagnosed with depression more than men are.

      Ah, but that can be subject to the same kind of biases. There's more stigma attached to male depression; you're just supposed to "man up" and get over it, don't be a crybaby, don't be a sissy, etc. Only women are allowed to show emotion other than joy without people thinking there's something wrong with them as individuals. Granted, that comes at the cost of many people thinking there's something wrong with their whole gender.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Don't let people bully you away from a topic by Improv · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We should always reject and ignore demands/requests for consideration or special treatment of some topics in discussions that take in the general public. Maybe in the workplace it'd be good to avoid some topics, likewise at some special events, but otherwise talk and joke about whatever you want, and if someone must be ostracised it should be those trying to fence topics off rather than those who ignore the fences.

    --
    For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
  9. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ditto, except for the socialism part. I only get free drugs because I have a job and insurance, and I can't say the "support" I get is top notch.

    I don't think there is very much wrong with openly talking about it or talking about it after someone's death. That kind of think can help healing and help to fight stigma. You do need consent though, and it is absolutely not acceptable to "out" someone if they don't want it. Let them talk about it themselves.

  10. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is correct, Sir.

  11. The need to fix everyone else by gavron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's a very big part of the American culture thing to need to fix everyone else.
    This can be a very good thing, and I respect Bruce Perens for "daring" to "go there."

    Donald Trump, in his own bombastic style also likes to point out broken things, but
    he's less interested in fixing them and more interested in pointing out how he's not
    broken. [ob mental illness the Donald is clearly a case of NPD waiting for diagnosis].

    Bruce did the right thing because he brought a discussion to the forefront... and sure
    enough here we are on Slashdot talking about it.

    - Should a mental illness be treated any differently than Lamar Odom's condition... or
    Patrick Swayze... or Steve Jobs... or... anyone who has a physical ailment? I don't
    think so. They are all people and whether they suffer from a diseased liver, a drug
    overdose, or a mental demon, they deserve our [something- is it attention, respect,
    space, support, leave-them-alone-ingness, or even just a nod of the head saying
    you're not going through this alone].

    - Should we NOT discuss it, are we not then perpetuating the de-facto stigma that
    mental illness is so bad we can't even talk about it... let alone offer help... or just
    say we're there for that person.

    I did not know the man himself but I respect greatly the contributions he made to my
    daily life. (I use Mint Linux and Ubuntu, both of which are Debian variants).

    My thought - there are lots of mentally diseased people running for office right now,
    but Ian is no longer here.

    May his soul rest in piece... and may a dialogue help others in similar situations.
    Thanks, Bruce Perens.

    Ehud Gavron
    Tucson AZ

    1. Re:The need to fix everyone else by leftover · · Score: 1

      Wonderfully said! Thank you.

      --
      Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
    2. Re:The need to fix everyone else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/articles/strings-psychopathy.html

      learn the terms... npd with comorbid psychopathy,,, hes downright nasty that one,, low machiavellian unlike that truly evil murderous psychopath that is hilary clinton...
      shews as dangerous as putin and likely in cahoots..
      power mad,, like manyt psychiatrists who would accentuate personality trsaits into full blow illnesses they can treat...

    3. Re:The need to fix everyone else by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not so much "fixing things" but solving problems. Americans believe that there are no unsolvable problems and will work tirelessly to solve them.

    4. Re:The need to fix everyone else by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      - Should we NOT discuss it, are we not then perpetuating the de-facto stigma that mental illness is so bad we can't even talk about it... let alone offer help... or just say we're there for that person.

      I'd say yes. But with a huge but.

      We have to realize that people with mental illness that are willing to talk about it, are going to undergo the same reaction as the people who are whistleblowers. Unless you are completely independent, you are going to fuck your life up but good. Denying that isn't possible. I would grant there are probably some exceptions, some fellow was noting something Bell Canada had. Sounds good, but I would no more visit the site than some place called "Trixie's preteen playground"

      But all that aside, yes, it would be wonderful for people with say, depression to not have to hide it form their employers or others. Hope we get there some day, but we are a long long way.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    5. Re:The need to fix everyone else by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 2

      I think that if someone brings up "I have a mental illness" that it should be treated like someone broke their leg. You don't have to dance on egg shells to talk about a foot race -- but don't expect the person with the broken leg to keep up. And insulting such a thing, well, then you should be considered an ass, or someone with Asperger or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. That doesn't mean people can't talk about empathy, just that they shouldn't expect you to have any. Maybe everything we find annoying will one day be treatable. It's hard to say what is really in your control or not -- and people without a disorder or who have been around it, won't understand that just a few chemicals can make night and day differences in a person.

      If anything, we will find more of us have SOME kind of ailment that has been holding us back. The "self made men" out there will of course, think that we are becoming an "excuse society" urged on by Radio talk show pundits and the like, who make sure any expense that could be borne by big business or government, not take away from paying pundits and billionaires.

      We can all sympathize with the cancer patient or the battle scarred warrior with PTSDs (at least we FINALLY call it something beyond Shell Shock). Depression and other ailments can be just as debilitating -- or even more so, yet they don't garner the "respect" of the obvious ailments. "I don't want to" sounds like an excuse, so people without the mental energy to do what they need to be doing, find ways to conceal that they have any problem -- even to themselves.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    6. Re:The need to fix everyone else by KGIII · · Score: 2

      Maybe I just hang out with assholes but, to be honest, if you showed up at a footrace with my group of friends then we'd probably call you names like Hop-a-long, gimp, and hide your crutches. Oh, we'd slow down and even carry you to the finish line if you couldn't make it yourself but you're gonna catch a whole ration of ribbing in the process. We won't let you lose all alone but, yeah... We're gonna call you funny names as we carry your crippled ass across the finish line - probably "dumb ass" 'cause you did something stupid enough to break your leg before a race. But, we'll be there beside you... I'm not sure that will work so very well with mental illness.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    7. Re:The need to fix everyone else by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      And insulting such a thing, well, then you should be considered an ass, or someone with Asperger or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. That doesn't mean people can't talk about empathy, just that they shouldn't expect you to have any.

      It's a common misconception that people with Asperger's Syndrome have no empathy. We do, but it can be hard for us to a) recognize when someone is feeling something (we often miss visual clues that are obvious to neurotypicals) and b) express said empathy. In fact, people with Asperger's can be so worried about upsetting someone by saying the wrong thing that they often will withdraw from conversations entirely. Better not to say anything than to say the wrong thing.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    8. Re:The need to fix everyone else by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Personally, I've been with my current employer for about eight years, so they know what I do. The company culture would be supportive, and if all else fails I can have a comfortable retirement if I'm dismissed tomorrow. I have no problems talking about depression, but it's often frustrating and other people consider it depressing.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  12. Fine if about Yourself by Etherwalk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm mentally ill and don't give a fuck. Thanks to socialism they'll take care of me on their dime and I get all the free meds and support I want.

    It's fine to make that decision about *your* mental issue. Making it about someone else's, at least while they're alive, is not okay, because it can cost them their job or career.

    Especially if they ever hold or want to hold jobs with security clearances, or certain jobs with a very, very public profile where a company is especially sensitive to the PR around a role. A company is much less likely to hire you for a C-level position, for example, if people are openly discussing your mental issues online.

    But also just if you make someone's mental issue come up in the first page of google hits, the chances of them making it past HR in the normal hiring process probably also drops at least 10%.

    1. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What you describe about discrimination in the workplace is illegal in most sane jurisdictions. I can't speak for the USA though.
      Plus, it doesn't make sense anyway, because you have to have sociopathy - a form of mental illness - to be a corporate exec anyway. Some types of autism spectrum people make way better software testers and thorough coders too. I'm sure there are many more examples.

    2. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Etherwalk · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What you describe about discrimination in the workplace is illegal in most sane jurisdictions. I can't speak for the USA though.
      Plus, it doesn't make sense anyway, because you have to have sociopathy - a form of mental illness - to be a corporate exec anyway. Some types of autism spectrum people make way better software testers and thorough coders too. I'm sure there are many more examples.

      Illegal, yes, frequently. Actually done? Absolutely. It's not like HR tells you the illegal reason they don't hire you. They stopped doing that when people started winning lawsuits.

    3. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Well for some jobs people with serious mental illnesses should never ever be placed in those positions. Like airline pilots. A crazy person's right to privacy does not trump the right of passengers to not be smeared all over the Alps because some lunatic decides to kill himself and take a bunch of people with him.

    4. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If that was actually the case.

      A similar aircraft had "simultaneous icing of angle sensors" and "therefore tried to crash into mountain" and was "saved because pilot turned off automatic control law in the last seconds before impact".

      The french are great liars. Never forget this wisdom.

    5. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this lack of insight and yur labelling of all mental distress and illness as "crazy people" MARK YOU OUT AS AS SUCH AN INDIVIDUAL.
      APSYCHOPATH IN FACT OR WITH UNTREATED AUTISM...
      YOUR LACK OF ISIGHT MEad you should ot be give a position of resposibility over others lives ad emotional states...
      the irony of your comment is quite succinct...

      The arrogace of the pilot who put himself into that mountain?
      wast mentall illness, it was misdiagnosed personality disorder.

      It appears it was a petulant and veangeful preplanned massmurder the mab should ever have been encouraged to be a pilot...
      the innate empsathy that is required is a safety feature of good pilot selection,,,
      a sense of selflessess and absolute responsibility...an adherence to the code and procedure and the belief of a need for it ? comes with the ackowledged risk that some can learn these procedures and methods but not the innate inherent sociability and empathy therein societies rules?
      area constant risk everywgere, from incompetent medics who dosed up on amphetamines to pass exams to pilots who upon suffering a mior upset will take it out o 300 radom strangers with o ageda whatever other than being remebered...

      your blanket approach and misunderstanding of personality disorder , a severe psychopathic one at that?
      with the bullshit diagnosis given by some expert?
      depression?
      probably given ssris which are known to worsen acts of violence,, very common in spree killers to the extent one must ask?
      is it the patient?
      the drugs?
      or the doctor?
      whose at fault?
      considering the ssris carry warnings of lessened emnpathy and outbursts of violence, murder suicide type violence specifically wanton violence is stated as a fucking side effect and the doctors had em out?
      cheer up?
      kill a few people?
      wtf?
      the worlds truly iupside down if thats whats going on...
      personal happiness at the expense of public safety,,, insane.

    6. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he was a psychopath yes , no doubt, he locked hois copilot out and refused to communicate, locked him out...
      thats locked him out and was hearding breathing on the flight recorder right to the last second , concious..
      the man was difficult prideful , competitive, bullish , had few friends, estranged relationships he lost because of lack of emotional responsibility.
      something took his pride for a swipe, no more plane flying?
      his logic? no more passengers either..
      in there is flawed societal logic,, he will be remebered,, foir precisely that reason..
      you decipher hois motive?
      however twisted he sure made hois point, one you echo...
      psychopaths shouldnt be given such huge respoonsibilities,,,
      his whole life defined by being a pilot...such an individual needs to be capable of not being a pilot anymore..
      suddenly, unexpectedly needs that capability...
      his eyesight might go.. he might get the inkling that his career is up..
      he should be trained to know, trained to report and oput the safety aspect first...
      if you dot do that ads go fltying?
      your not called a pilot your called a fireball.
      a petulant selfish melodramatic psychopath whose personality ad circumstaces fit his modus perfectly...
      a petulant pathetic act of self aggrandisment and lashig out , an emotionally retarded man, not a n "ill " person.
      he never sufffered, one knock to his life? his idea that hes some great pilot ??
      and physical specimen supreme as a competitive runner?
      it wast corrected in his mind before it was too late..
      "ill show em " HE THOUGHT AND HE DID..
      to say it was his sensors is naive wishful thinking at best . total self delusio if you actually buy sensors icing...and if its a kbown risk o that route which any pilot worth shit would know?
      hed have saved the plane like the other guy...

    7. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jobs successor was chosen because of his mental illness, not in spite of it.
      #fuckyoufaggots

    8. Re:Fine if about Yourself by flerchin · · Score: 2

      You're not really wrong, but your writing style, along with your lack of punctuation and spelling; make you seem like a crazy person too.

      --
      --why?
    9. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Etherwalk · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well for some jobs people with serious mental illnesses should never ever be placed in those positions. Like airline pilots. A crazy person's right to privacy does not trump the right of passengers to not be smeared all over the Alps because some lunatic decides to kill himself and take a bunch of people with him.

      Such a person is homicidal, not suicidal. They just also happen to be suicidal.

      It really depends on the mental illness. The problem you have comes when you stigmatize the mental illness and make the breadth of jobs you're disqualifying people from too big. In the United States, we have an absurd number of jobs that require security clearances and really shouldn't. Between that, the stigma, and the fact that you need to report mental treatment, we have at *least* hundreds of thousands of people in sensitive positions who can do their job, but are working with *undiagnosed and untreated* mental illnesses. Which is just dumb. A pilot or a low-level analyst at the CIA should be able to talk to a psychologist about his depression without having to worry that he's going to lose his job. Otherwise it makes him more depressed, he *doesn't* seek help or treatment, and he is much more likely--for example--to commit suicide and take a bunch of people with him. Or to compromise national security.

      Some professions and institutions are better about it than they were twenty years ago, certainly. But the stigma is still very high and the pro-treatment aspect is nowhere where it needs to be.

    10. Re: Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps non-native English writer..

    11. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Grishnakh · · Score: 2

      Well for some jobs people with serious mental illnesses should never ever be placed in those positions. Like airline pilots. A crazy person's right to privacy does not trump...

      What about corporate executives, who run all the large companies which run our economy? Almost all of them are sociopaths, which is a mental disorder.

      What about politicians, who run our government? Almost all of them are sociopaths too.

      Why are you picking on airline pilots when all the most powerful people in our society are clearly mentally ill?

    12. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      You're absolutely right about all the undiagnosed and untreated mental illness cases, but what's really bad is that there's a LOT of people with security clearances who have very obvious mental illness. I'm talking about politicians. They run our government, and make all kinds of sensitive decisions, yet nearly ALL of them are sociopaths, which is a mental illness. Why are these people allowed to have access to sensitive data, or even to hold office?

    13. Re:Fine if about Yourself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sociopaths are only "sociopaths" when a psychologist has a need to use the DSM to diagnose their antisocial behavior. No dysfunctional behavior requiring a psychiatrist-> no diagnosis = no sociopath.

    14. Re:Fine if about Yourself by KGIII · · Score: 1

      Hmm... You know? I never worked for anything that had an "HR department" in that sense of the word. The closest I came was when I was enlisted. I guess you could call certain aspects of that "HR" but I don't think they're quite the same thing. My company didn't have an HR department (but we only had a whisker over 200 people at the end). We outsourced payroll. I don't think that counts. They didn't hire or fire. :/

      When we hired, well... How to describe it? Anyone, I guess, could sit in on the interview. No, most people didn't but I'd sometimes ask people who'd be working with the new hire, having to train the new hire, or would depend on the new hire to come sit in. Hell, I didn't even sit in on all the interviews - I was sometimes too busy and had more important things to do.

      See, I guess I can't be objective? I don't have enough information but, by nearly all accounts, HR is evil and a cause of more problems than they seem to solve. We had an obscenely low turn-over rate and I can't think of any tensions in the group that didn't get resolved over a beer and some fatty food (and yes, that includes the women). Well, there was a black eye at one point and that was over a female co-worker and is a long story. It was *technically* off work property and didn't hinder their work - and they were the best of friends afterwards. So, I guess that too was okay.

      I've seen people say that humans shouldn't be treated like resources. I kind of disagree. They should be. They're assets. Without them, I'd have nothing. That's a pretty damned valuable resource.

      I pay careful attention to the problems that people express on here. Why? Well, I'm half-tempted to write and give away a book on management. I've been told that I should do so by quite a few people. Unfortunately, I don't think my writing is up to snuff and I'm not sure my style will work well in a book, but I digress...

      What I've observed is that the problems almost always stem from two things. They seem to almost always be due to management or human resources. I don't, unfortunately, have anything more than anecdotes and presumptions. However, maybe we should rename Human Resources to something different? Maybe we should look for some transparency? At the same time, maybe we could just accept that we're not all an appropriate fit for every job we apply for? Maybe they didn't hire them because they suck and not because they didn't like their mental health history?

      On the other end, management? Yeah, I can write about that for hours. In short, I learned to give clear direction, ask what was needed to reach those goals, to shut up and get out of the way, and that the tools the vendor suggests are probably not the best tools for the job - ask the people who have to work with them what they need and get them that.

      But, maybe it's time to get rid of HR entirely? Maybe it's time to let the people who are doing the work decide who they're going to work with and let them resolve their issues on their own? Yeah, it means that not everyone gets every job they want and sometimes for crappy and ignorant reasons but, if those are the type of people who you'd work with - do you really want to work there? I'm not white (very much) and if you don't hire me because I'm not white then, strangely enough, I probably wouldn't have wanted to work with you - even if the law said you had to be nice to my face.

      I don't know but I think I'd rather work with people who appreciated me and not with people who were forced, by law, to accept me. It's a strange concept, sure. It's just more about reality, I think. In reality, people suck sometimes. It's kind of like, I'm absolutely against affirmative action in today's environment. Why? Affirmative action is you telling me that because I'm not white that I am unable to do it on my own and thus need your help. It had a place and a time. Now is not that place, nor is it that time. I don't need you to help me because I'm not white. I need you to help me (or not) because I need help. My innate tr

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    15. Re: Fine if about Yourself by M8e · · Score: 1

      In what language would that writing style be correct?

      I call non-native earthling.

    16. Re:Fine if about Yourself by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Many people with serious mental illness are no more dangerous in those positions than people without serious mental illness. It depends very heavily on the illness.

      Also, the only thing you can do to keep people out of a position is not hire anyone who has a diagnosed mental illness or has been under the care of a psychiatrist. This means that you hire people with untreated mental illness, which is probably worse.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  13. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Worst fail troll of the day.

    You are the reason why people don't talk about it. Assuming you have a job, and that is a stretch, I bet you work with mentally ill people and aren't aware of it. They sure as fuck wouldn't tell you.

  14. open discussion requires dismantling surveillance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given the present state of governmental and (in this case, probably more importantly) commercial and cultural surveillance and the ability to use anything that one ever says or discloses as a weapon against one's future self, it would seem rather ill considered for anyone to be overly open in this regard.

    The culture of the internet is broken. Until it is fixed, many people are naturally going to avoid precisely the sort of honest personal discussion that might help them with difficult personal issues. Fixing this broken culture probably requires either assurances of strong anonymity, or assurances that what is disclosed non-anonymously will not be used in negative ways in the future by any other party. Both things seem difficult, the first possibly somewhat less than the second.

    But as for now, it is broken. It was once not so. Now it is so. I hope someday it may be not so once again.

  15. Sounds like you missed to take your medication... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... or should see a doctor if none was prescribed, yet.

  16. Course not, stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Saying he died from a mental illness should be taken literally.
    People should be aware of that as, all can see, can be fatal.

  17. Bell Canada is doing something about it. by XB-70 · · Score: 1, Informative
    We don't often laud large corporations but Bell Canada has a wonderful campaign to get the conversation started.

    There are so many people dealing with mental illness that it's ridiculous not to deal with it.

    The worst thing you can do is to NOT get treatment or help.

    --
    *** Don't be dull.***
    1. Re:Bell Canada is doing something about it. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      The worst thing you can do is to NOT get treatment or help.

      As opposed to losing your job, undergoing life changing alterations in how you are treated by others? Forced onto medicine and end up living under a bridge?

      Hell, with perks like that, you'd expect people to fake mental illness.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  18. FYI: Died suddenly at home.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Means suicide or drug overdose...

    I hope we can come up with a better way to talk about it.

    1. Re:FYI: Died suddenly at home.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Accidents in the house are the most likely thing to kill you prematurely.

      They're so common they don't make the news.

  19. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Thinking that we live in a socialist society is a mental illness-- or at least, a delusion.

  20. Some of you are already quite open by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Keywords: "the species", "this rock", "gravity cage", "get off this rock".

  21. Mental illness? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that what we call a cover up?

    http://archive.is/vBS6N

    He was already dead when someone began impersonating him on Twitter, hence no final blog post.

  22. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dear Ignorant Rhetoric,

    Yes, all you have to do is live in constant terror of your own mind everyday and not be able to relate to other humans or go outside and you will live the life of riley! Every month you will get a whopping 800 dollars, WOW! You will be on your way to that house in the Bahamas in no time!

    Sincerely,
    Harsh reality

  23. Can't talk about it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Subject is forbidden. No can do. Sorry. Better luck next time.

  24. If only diagnostics were more reliable by ffkom · · Score: 1

    When you say "We collectively need to stop considering mental illness as a failure of character" you are certainly right, but it is a big problem that diagnostics of mental illness are far from being reproducable, objective, reliable, and evidence based.

    Nobody doubts that there is such a thing as "mental illness", but there is a wide spectrum from "people whose behaviour is just outside the 90% percentile perceived 'normal'" to the clinically insane that pose an immediate threat to themselves and their surrounding if not sedated/restrained.

    Those on the "almost normal" side of the spectrum will continue to be seen as flawed characters, no matter how good willing and educated a public discussion on mental health goes on. That's a reality unchangeable as long as "mental illness" is not an undisputable 0/1 diagnosis.

    1. Re:If only diagnostics were more reliable by leftover · · Score: 1

      Strongly agree! Being of the engineering persuasion, my first instinct is to measure ... something. Look into it even a little bit and you see there isn't even agreement on symptoms vs causes. The complexity is far beyond what most people are motivated to understand. Reducing it to sound-bite level summarization just adds to confusion.

      You touched on a sadly telling point: right now our track record for detection and action to intervene before suicide or killing spree is abysmally poor.

      --
      Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
  25. Bruce went too far by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

    Bruce doesn't know he died of a mental illness. They weren't close, they weren't even friends. He doesn't know if he was mentally ill. I suspect he was, but who knows. Maybe he was taking some crazy drug. Maybe that was his true personality. The problem with mental illness is that the line isn't straight. If you have cancer, you have cancer. It isn't as clear as mental illness. I have people I thought were mentally ill, but what do I know about what is "normal"? Hell, I might be crazy. After all, I visit this site often and every time I do I get a bit crazier.

    1. Re:Bruce went too far by KGIII · · Score: 0

      Bruce doesn't belong speaking to anyone any more, concerning any OSS project. In his own words, open source is a mistake and he's not a "freetard" any more. I can only surmise that he's trying to burn all his bridges? I have no idea why he'd do that. (The citation for that quote is in the thread already - it's not taken out of context or anything, the links is posted too.)

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    2. Re:Bruce went too far by serviscope_minor · · Score: 1

      You've kind of hit the nail on the head with the main problem. You almost never hear if someone died from mental illness. You would hear if he died in a car crash, from cancer or some other condition. But not mental illness. Because it has a huge stigma. And that is a problem.

      The thing is should nothing be done? You never hear about it so there's not much point in waiting until you do hear about it.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    3. Re:Bruce went too far by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      If you could not see the sarcasm in my comment to you, that's your problem, not mine. A belief in Freedom is not coupled to a belief that everybody should have guns to shoot holes in their neighbors, depriving them of their Freedom.

    4. Re:Bruce went too far by KGIII · · Score: 1

      That you think that's what freedom means is even more telling Bruce. Next you'll be saying we should take away encryption because bad people might do bad things with it. I'm sorry but you're not only not to be trusted but you're proud of it, like to piss people off, and don't mind breaking a few eggs because you feel you and yours are more important than other people.

      That was not, and is not, sarcasm - you can try to claim it was in hindsight. You, yourself, wrote those words. I'd have been willing to, I even wanted to, see sarcasm but the follow up post was just you doubling down on it. I linked it in my reply to David, Slashdot doesn't show it by default as there are too many comments. It's not at all about firearms, it's about your willingness to take away the liberties of another because of your belief that you're more important than someone else's rights.

      Well, I guess I'll unload right here in public. I'm not scared. Maybe I'll finally get through to you? Maybe you'll finally get through to me 'cause I sure as hell hope there's a miscommunication but I can tell you, sarcasm is not it. If you're gonna read, try to read carefully, I'm a bit verbose but I think it's for the best in this case.

      It's great to love your children and your wife - that's a wonderful thing. But when you elevate them, and yourself, above the rights of others - to the point of being willing to deny all others access (again, you'd take them from them and you hope to do so someday is a quote from you, close to verbatim but easily verified) to an inanimate object. There's no mistaking what you wrote. There's no sarcasm there - I looked for it, I wanted to see it. I wanted to hope you were having a pissy day, an off day, and were just not expressing yourself well.

      Instead, you doubled down on it. I linked the exact response, Bruce. I didn't say these things. I didn't make these things up. You wrote them, they are your words. You even went so far as to make sure that it was clearly understood. You went so far as to make sure that you let us know exactly how you feel about freedom (more accurately liberty but that's besides the point, we'll use your words) and how you were willing to break those eggs. You expressed glee, clearly articulated, at the thought of pissing people off while you trampled on their rights.

      How the hell am I supposed to mistake that? How the hell can you say, with a straight face, that it was sarcasm? We've got the quotes. I suppose you'd like to claim that this is sarcasm too?

      I don't mind breaking some eggs. In fact, I like pissing people off for a good cause.

      You then go on to make accusations that I, personally, am responsible for the harm done by others? How much longer before you start claiming that encryption is bad because people may harm others with it? How much longer before you claim letting people program is bad and must be taken away because programming can be used to write malware and people might be hurt? How many more liberties do you want to take away because you feel that you and your's are more important than me and mine? How many other "causes" are you going to get behind because you're unable to accept that freedom has inherent risks?

      You can answer, if you want, but it's probably a good idea to let people read the words that you, yourself, wrote and are trying to retroactively claim are sarcasm. I'm not the only one who has read them and reached the same, or similar, conclusions. What will be your next liberty reducing cause de jour in the name of your superiority? What's the next thing you will declare needs to be taken away because you feel that how your wife and kids see you is more important than the rest of the entire population's liberty? Shall we take away C, SSL, AES, or even that "mistake" that was open-souce?

      You can make the claim that it was sarcasm if you want. It's your lie, you can tell it any way you want to. We have the follow-up post where you clearly articulate that your interpersonal relationships with

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    5. Re:Bruce went too far by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      We can't take away encryption without taking away simple digital logic. I'm going to refrain from saying more about that, because I don't want to point out better techniques for Daesh.

      We can, however, take away firearms without doing similar harm. And although there will always be someone with a machine shop, if you look at the UK they've done really well with handgun prohibition. Very big difference in deaths/year and most police don't carry a handgun.

      There is a subtle difference between freedom and liberty. Liberty means you can act as you please. Freedom means you are not subject to domination. The problem with firearms is that they are an instrument for dominating others or removing the ultimate civil right of life itself. Every society arrives at a balance between individual liberty and collective freedom. My judgement continues to be that everyone is better off if they are not surrounded by others who have tools with which to dominate or kill them at whim. Including police, I've been to enough nations where most of them go without firearms. So, I feel my position is indeed one that maximizes your freedom.

      It's ironic that this discussion comes to the story of a very capable and admired person who, sadly, flipped out once in a while in a way that hurt others and himself. As I told you previously, everyone has a crazy day in their life. I don't want people to have guns handy when that day comes.

  26. the cause of much distress by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/articles/strings-psychopathy.html

    there are lots of them who know they are ill and wat the sympathy you would give to someone truly in distress and i need of psychological help...

  27. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pretty sure the OP was just attacking "socialism" and doesn't actually have any kind of (diagnosed) mental illness...

  28. Re:YOU KNOW WHAT??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have a Fish for the attempt.

  29. Re:open discussion requires dismantling surveillan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The internet is just the latest place for political discussion.

    VERY serious stuff is done here.

    Some people say the internet is the place where DECISIONS ARE MADE. I tend to agree.

    For example, Kadaffi's death warrant was written down in the internet. I personally was part of it and I do not regret it. Kadaffi was a bastard who killed for pleasure. He killed people of my nation. Therefore I strongly supported the death warrant.

    For operational reasons I will not go into the details here, but I can assure you this is not a phantasy of mine.

    There exist places where very powerful people meet and serious decisions are made.

    Do you really think the internet can be "free of government" and "free of intelligence agencies" ???

  30. Bruce Perens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A goddamn expert at everything... Who knew?

    1. Re:Bruce Perens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He does seem like one of those liberal, ham radio know it all types doesn't he?

  31. A difficult subject by jd · · Score: 2

    Partly because so little is known about the brain/mind. With something like a heart attack or a murder, there's a fairly clear sequence of cause-effect relationships that start with an known and end with a known. With mental illness, the genetics are obscure and too complex to fathom out by any conventional methods. Genetics aren't, however, the only contributing factor. Epigenetics, chemical signals, environment (including stimuli) right the way through life, it's a nightmare.

    There are already 1,100 genes - not SNPs, genes - linked to the brain and 23&Me typically links about 50 SNPs of interest to each gene. That's 55,000 possible mutations, which gives you 2^55000 (10^16500) different combinations. In comparison, there are only 7x10^9 people alive on the planet (which means you can't get good resolution data on how variables interact, even if you studied everyone alive today) and about 10^100 atoms in the universe (which means that you'd nowhere to store sufficient data even if you could obtain it). That's just the genetic contribution, nothing else. What the everything else is, and how it relates, is only known in vague details. That's why news stories on yet another breakthrough are commonplace.

    To make things worse, culture hasn't yet caught up to the idea there even is a theory of mind. It's still in some sort of Die Hard - Neolithic stage. Medicine isn't much better, the DSM manual has absolutely bugger all to do with what conditions and illnesses exist, it's about what tag the insurance should be billed under. The American psychiatric association is too busy digging its way out of the threat of criminal charges over direct assistance and fraudulent financial dealings to worry about anyone who is actually sick. The NHS can't afford anything more complex than a door-stop, right now, so don't expect Britain to haul anyone out of this mess. (Britain actually has a fairly good reputation on theoretical and practical psychiatric and neurological treatments, or at least it used to. Now, it's about on equal footing to Zimbabwe.) Australia has a Centre of the Mind, but it looks like it's a long way from getting anywhere - if it does at all. Some of its research seems iffy.

    So there's no useful categorization, no meaningful theory, no known mechanics, superficial treatments for only certain diagnoses with rather suspect evidence to back them, no systematic approach towards system analysis, triage or debugging. Not even a definition of what a bug is.

    The information in this post plus the fact that I've been here a long time aught to allow anyone here to identify (in very superficial terms) one out of the eight diagnoses I endure. Won't help you, won't help me. Those diagnoses aren't useful if you do want to help anyone, because each is subject to an overlapping combinatorial explosion. No, if you want to be helpful, there are citizen science projects for exploring the brain that will benefit the experts and there are probably insights the deep enthusiasts can contribute somehow by exploring databases and literature from perspectives that aren't obvious to researchers.

    When it comes to interacting - understand, respect and listen. Oh, and don't fetishize any principle other than first doing no harm. Every other ethic, philosophy or cultural belief should be expendable if it contradicts that. Consider it a mandatory access control.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    1. Re:A difficult subject by del_diablo · · Score: 1

      Another issue is that we are not that long into how to deal with mental illness.
      We got drugs, but no good tool for diagnostic.
      We got diagnostic, but they are still not at the stage where they could be used on routine checks.
      We got generic drugs, with side effects, which may not be intended for the actual problem.

      Then there is enviroment. Its understood that there is some cause and effect, but rather poorly. Especially incubation.

    2. Re:A difficult subject by jd · · Score: 1

      Absolutely, on all points. I'd perhaps add one other - we've got potentially good diagnostics, but they're not used for this, they're rare and they're horribly expensive. (Problem is, it's longer and less clear than yours.)

      An example. Hospital MRI scanners are around 2 to 2.5 T, which gives sufficient resolution to see severe injuries and malformations but not much more. Medical scanners can go up to 7.3 T and research scanners actively used go up to 9.1 T. At this upper end, blurred sections of the brain are almost crystal clear. You can see not quite to the neuron level but fairly close. Subtle issues can be detected. It's more than good enough to find out if there's a problem with mirror cells, bandwidth issues (too much or too little) and similar fine-scale deformities. The best scanner that can be built that can take a human head is around 13 T. It's unclear what this would show, I've not been able to find any info on it

      I wouldn't ask psychiatrists and neurosurgeons to have an underground bunker with dozens of such devices armed with top technicians at the ready, although if one of them is the sole winner of the US Powerball at its current 1.2 billion dollar level, it would be nice if some of it was spent on such things. However, MRI as a diagnostic tool is strongly discouraged, apparently, which seems to defeat its value as a means of rapidly identifying and classifying evidence you can't otherwise get to.

      I counted the total number of scanning technologies (excluding minor variants) and came up with 33 different diagnostic tools that could be used at the level of the brain. Of those, I have only known two of those to be used in practice (EEG and MRI), never even remotely close to the levels of sensitivity needed to analyze the problem unless, as I said, there's a problem at the grossest of levels. EEG, for example, is performed with as few leads as possible and the digital outputs I've seen look like the ADC is cheap and low resolution. Nor have I ever been impressed by the shielding used in the rooms (the brain is not a strong source, so external signals matter a lot). I've read papers where MEG is used, but it seems to be almost exclusively research with very, very few hospitals actually using it.

      This doesn't contradict your statement that there are no good diagnostic tools, partly because nobody has the faintest idea if these tools would be any good in diagnostics (as it's forbidden by the great overlords), how you'd read the data (if it's not actually used then nobody can understand the output at all, and if it's used but never for diagnostics in mental illness then there's no means of understanding what the output means in this context).

      That's just the bog standard medical gear, though. Whilst it should be useful (your experience shapes your brain, your brain shapes your experience and this recursion should mean that you can identify traits of one from the other), there will be other tests. In fact, there are. There are hundreds of questions that make up the official test for autism spectrum disorders, but I've only heard of (and then second-hand) one doctor actually running through them. Most glance at the DSM (which is worse than useless and the criteria listed in it are largely rejected by both the checklist and those definitely in this category) and that's it. The checklist is probably not optimal and is probably incorrect much of the time as autism has a very wide range of causes (both known and suspected) and congealed categories of unrelated conditions won't work with any single checklist. Researchers hotly dispute even when it can be diagnosed and at what age it first appears. That's clearly not very helpful.

      But that's positively enlightened compared to something like "Borderline Personality Disorder" (a label given to anyone who doesn't fit any billable category and is generally considered not worth wasting time on by the medical and psychiatric professions). Here, there really isn't an actual diagnosis as such, just an identification that there's a problem

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  32. Re:I talk about it openly by penguinoid · · Score: 1

    All it would take to make it so in the US would be a change to the capital gains tax.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  33. Talk about Mental Illness Online? by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 1

    Welcome to Slashdot! You came to the right place for that.

    --

    Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

    Vote for Bernie in 2016!

    1. Re:Talk about Mental Illness Online? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That crack could be interpreted in several ways, all of which deserve +5 mod.

  34. Bruce Perens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's okay Bruce. We know you're the anonymous submitter here.

  35. the stigma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I am a developer/IT guy who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It is still heavily stigmatized and has directly affected my career.

    1. Re:the stigma by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      I am a developer/IT guy who has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It is still heavily stigmatized and has directly affected my career.

      No. The disease is not stigmatized. Behavior is. And why shouldn't it be? Especially in the workplace, there are expectations for conduct and social interaction that, when ignored by someone (whether because they're just jerks, or because they can't stop themselves because they're damaged), that's that - the conduct, the protocols, aren't be followed. If that didn't matter, then the expectations (for good manners, for example) wouldn't matter, wouldn't be expected in the first place. But they are, and for solid reasons. So, people who (for example) exhibit poor judgement when it comes to talking to clients or investors are stigmatized because of that behavior, not because of the cause.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    2. Re:the stigma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      But you've already gone and attached that behavior to the cause which is adding to the stigma. And you shouldn't be getting points for that because you have no idea what good manners are.

      A different Anonymous Coward

    3. Re:the stigma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't even know this person and have already condemned their behavior based on what your concept of what "bipolar" is, and what it means to have it.

      That is what stigma does.

      You are wrong, by the way. You're the problem.

    4. Re:the stigma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Frankly, you have no idea what you're talking about. The behavior isn't stigmatized, the diagnosis is.

      When Adam Lanza shot up Sandy Hook, those were his behaviors, not his disease. And yet: every single adult hiding their diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder was cringing at the inevitable public backlash against his diagnosis. Those same adults who have never fired a gun in anger are now slightly less trusted by the public because the behavior heuristic of "prejudice" creates guilt-by-association in the mind of anyone who is unfamiliar with a null hypothesis.

      The public can't help the fear of the misunderstood/different. It's self-preservation instincts vs. feelings of obligation not to contribute to social injustice.

      The "mentally ill" are defined by their seemingly unpredictable and/or deviant behavior. Deviation is stigmatized because it doesn't play by the rules we expect it to which means a total wildcard. Completely inappropriate and possibly violent/dangerous/offensive behavior could occur for any reason and we have no means of determining when/if it will happen.

      I'm a disabled college student and it is very difficult to use the school resources without other disabled students who lack social awareness from betraying your attempts at discretion. Progressive students are surprisingly professional/polite about the elephant in the room and very few pry, but it is immediately apparent the cloud of unease that hangs over a relationship before/after a medical diagnosis is over-divulged during conversation. It's too depressing for polite company and nobody wants to get mixed up with "damaged goods" that might make their life any more complicated/difficult than it already is. it's the same "stink" of divestment that the terminally ill complain about when they share with acquaintances that they are dying. People make an effort to be respectful/courteous about it but the message is very clearly received:

      "Why would you make my day worse by sharing your personal problems with me? I barely even know you!"

      Moral of the story: if your kids just got accepted to Harvard or you won $1,000 in the Lottery: tell anyone who will listen. Never display weakness or confide a failure. The concern that it might be contagious isn't totally unjustified.

       

    5. Re:the stigma by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      But you've already gone and attached that behavior to the cause which is adding to the stigma.

      No, I've pointed out that what makes people a bad fit in some jobs is their behavior. Whether their behavior results from meat computer chemistry issues, or from a lifetime of just being a jerk, is really beside the point. The behavior is what makes the friction. Yes, if someone becomes aware that the behavior essentially can't be fixed through conscious choices made by the person with the behavioral problems (the jerk can choose not to be a jerk, but the person with the chemistry problem isn't in control of that), then sure - there's stigma. Why? Because co-workers and employers know that for as long as they'll be working with that person, that behavior is always going to be a problem.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    6. Re:the stigma by ScentCone · · Score: 2

      Nonsense. If the organic/neurological problems didn't result in notable behavior experienced by others, nobody would care. The thing that people notice is the behavior. And that behavior is only notable when it falls outside of social norms. Some people - without any genetic or other medical condition - also act outside of social norms (because they want to) and their behavior is also noted by the people around them. It really doesn't matter why someone is a terrible communicator, or why someone responds to normal human interaction with alarming behavior - it's the fact of that behavior that others notice, and which raises concern. If someone completely hides that issue, and can act and respond normally, then the fact of their having a diagnosed condition really doesn't matter - nobody would notice or care.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    7. Re:the stigma by dave420 · · Score: 2

      So you'd have the same reaction to a baby accidentally being sick on you as you would to a fully-grown person purposefully being sick on you. If the answer is "no", you might want to figure out why that makes you a terrible person.

    8. Re:the stigma by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      So you'd have the same reaction to a baby accidentally being sick on you as you would to a fully-grown person purposefully being sick on you. If the answer is "no", you might want to figure out why that makes you a terrible person.

      You're setting up false choices.

      Regardless, the point remains. Can you pay someone to wait tables in your restaurant if they're continuously puking - whether it's because they want to or can't help it?

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    9. Re:the stigma by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      You don't even know this person and have already condemned their behavior based on what your concept of what "bipolar" is, and what it means to have it.

      Nonsense. If someone isn't exhibiting disruptive or counter-productive behavior at work, then it doesn't matter if they're bipolar or suffering from any other disorder. No outward behavior, no issue regardless. But if someone has a problem (say, a certain flavor/degree of Tourette's), should an employer simply ignore outbursts of profanity as that person handles customer service calls? If their flavor of Tourette's simply results in the occasional odd movement or other physical tic, that wouldn't be evident over the phone - the behavior would be invisible, and the stigma wouldn't have anything to latch onto. Not sure why you're foggy on this.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    10. Re:the stigma by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      What behavior did the GP mention? It's often possible to fake being normal. I took a fairly tough job interview once when I was solidly into clinical depression territory, and then got the job. Instead, you claimed without evidence that the disease is not stigmatized, and made up another possible reason out of whole cloth, assuming that bipolar disorder necessarily screws up behavior bad.

      Now, think about it. You have several applicants for a position, and one has been diagnosed as bipolar. Even if he seems more qualified, are you likely to hire him? (Well, obviously you aren't.) That's an example where just having people know the diagnosis is harmful.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    11. Re:the stigma by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      While seriously depressed, I managed to hold down a demanding job and raise a son. I wasn't publicly acting outside social norms. I was doing pretty well for myself in most ways. Then, because of the diagnosis, and nothing else, I was denied life insurance. Not told that my rate would be higher, just a flat denial.

      In the meantime, I'll tell you one person who cares about my depression: me. Having the diagnosis has allowed me to get certain treatment that has helped me a lot.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    12. Re:the stigma by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      What behavior did the GP mention?

      It's inferred. If the person has some sort of mental difficulty that doesn't manifest itself in any way that another person could detect, then the entire notion of "stigma" surrounding that mental difficulty is moot. Nobody is talking about or is concerned with something going on, mentally, which in no way impacts behavior, social interaction, cognitive capability, etc. All of the hand-wringing is about the perception of being treated unfairly because an employer or co-worker is responding unreasonably to something they see in their interaction with or proximity to someone else. If there's nothing there, there's nothing there.

      If the GP says his career has been seriously impacted by his bipolar disorder, he knows perfectly well it's not because it shows up on some insurance claim somewhere, but not in any way, at all, in the way he conducts himself on the job. If he's 100% even, and is never manic or depressed in his dealings with customers and co-workers, then there's no way to see how his career could be directly affected. What's the mechanism through which that effect takes place, if there is absolutely zero outward sign of the problem, and the GP's bipolar problem doesn't manifest itself as being any different than someone who is not bipolar?

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    13. Re:the stigma by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Wrong. Depression, when it comes along, makes me less effective at my job for a while, but I appear to be valuable enough anyway. I'm not very social at the best of times, and I almost never do anything inappropriate in public. Lots of people with mental illness can fake being normal.

      I'm no more suicidal than the next guy, but I have been denied insurance because of my depression. I'm calling that a stigma. It wasn't based on any tests or behavior, but on the diagnosis. I occasionally see people who think I should be denied things because I've got depression and am taking antidepressants, which do not affect me cognitively that anyone has noticed. (The simvastatin I've been taking since my heart attack does hurt cognition a little in some people. Nobody seems to have noticed an effect, though, including me.)

      You seem absolutely determined to believe what you're saying, to the point of begging the question. You're arguing that the diagnosis isn't a stigma, because he must have had behavioral issues, because it hurt his career, since the diagnosis isn't a stigma.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  36. Who has never, ever, suffered from mental illness? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1

    ... I'm mentally ill and don't give a fuck ...

    Who has never, ever had a cough, a fever, a muscle pull?

    The term "Mental Illness", till today, still has the taboo that has the 'permanence' stigma tagged on it, but in truth, 'mental illness' like all other illnesses, could be big, permanent, or small, temporary

    One could suffer from an illness that never goes away, a permanent handicap - similarly one could suffer from a mental illness that will stick for the entire lifetime

    On the other hand, one could have a cold that goes away in a short while, and one could also be depressed which goes away in a few days

    I am a geek, and I have been with many other geeks in my lifetime, and the one thing that makes geeks so geeky ... is from something deep inside our psyche which drives us to behave so differently

    Many of us had (and still have) to endure all kinds of insult from the world at large because of our own geekiness, and most of us suffered untold rounds of bullyings by those who think they are 'better' than us --- but still, we tough it out, come hell or high water, and remain as geeky as ever ... WHY?

    I wouldn't call geekiness 'mental illness' per se, but if we are to look from the logical perspective, why the geek insist on acting 'geeky' when the very act of 'geekiness' attracts bullies in pounce on them, not very far from waving red cloth in front of bulls attracting their attention?

    The fact that we geeks remain geeks because of our illogical mental state, and it is that illogical conclusion that lead to our seemingly endless sufferings, at the hands of the bullies

    In short ... who can say they never, ever, suffer from mental illness?

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
  37. Re:I talk about it openly by NEDHead · · Score: 1

    Actually, when you have insurance you don't get free drugs, you get prepaid drugs

  38. Re:Who has never, ever, suffered from mental illne by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    psychopaths categorically do not "suffer" from mental illness.
    they do however have an incurable unchanging deficit of common empathy and the brain structures associated with this attribute, (parts of the forebrain , limbic system and amygdalae are shrunken and misshpaen , oddly connected ,they have a thrid less grey and white matter in their ovverall brains which is clearly indicative of a very different growth and development during pre and post natal stages.
    The behavioural traits of these individuals if spotted early in childhood are called "calllous conduct disorder" similar and analogous to psychopathy in adulthood but the hop eis early identification and maagement of the child condition and antisocual aspects , proper boundaries maintained the callous disordered child does not always become the adult psychopath , often they do despite intervetion and all efforts ..
    oce in adulthood no treatment is advised and they con their therapists into thiking the treatmet has worked..
    when it hasnt their behaviour of ot criminal doest change and the recidivism rate of the psychopath in the crimanl field? is higher with "treatment" of any kind than without.
    They do not suffer, talk to one.. ask one,,,
    they often will give quite pompous and candid answers about how your "crazy " and they are not..
    and they arent...they are morally insane.,,itrs very differnet.

  39. Ian Murdock Died From Police Abuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Nobody willing to talk about it?

    1. Re:Ian Murdock Died From Police Abuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ok. The police murdered someone. What do you want me to do about that?

      Keep in mind: I'm mentally running a cost benefit analysis here where my probability of getting murdered by cops for doing nothing is weighted against the time requirement/probability of retribution for participating in your social movement.

      I've got some hashtag activism, and a willingness to change my Facebook profile photo. Will that satisfy you?

      Black Lives Matter needs to get more than college students involved if they want to make a change. The civil rights era worked because of boycotts. Nobody cares about your pet issue until you get a large number of people to stop spending money until the problem has been substantially addressed. Dismissing my advice as "whitesplaining" doesn't make it less true.

    2. Re:Ian Murdock Died From Police Abuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, he abused the police to act out his schizophrenia, and they willingly played along.

    3. Re:Ian Murdock Died From Police Abuse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      you don't get it do you? The whole point of this entire "story" is to distract everyone from the fact that the government murdered him to cover something up (probably an NSA backdoor he refused to put)

  40. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Medicine doesn't cure mental illness, gun ownership does. Just ask the folks at the NRA.

  41. R.I.P. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ian Murdock
    Aaron Schwartz
    Ilya Zhitomirskiy
    (Just to name a few...)

  42. Suicide copy-cats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm happy enough to talk about mental illness, but there is a good reason that newspapers in Australia rarely publicize suicides. Unlike getting cancer, suicides can inspire similar behaviour in people who are close to the edge. This is especially the case if the suicide is an attempt to get attention, which this one appears to be. We don't want to encourage people to think of suicide as a good way to get attention.

  43. Do NOT! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 3, Insightful
    There was a person in here who posted how he had gone to a few alcoholism websites to do some research, and how he was then hounded by "well meaning" people trying to get him to help fix his "problem".

    To me, the only surprising thing is that they would take the trouble to find out from something like alcoholism. I think tracing people out like that should be reserved for crimes, bit 'taint necessarily so.

    I said it then, I'll say it again. Before I retired, I would never ever ever have gone to a website about alcoholism, mental illness, or suicide.

    If I had, and after they traced me out, my job would have given me a choice of being fired, or seeking treatment. Even with treatment, my job would have forever changed.

    What is worse, although my alcohol is limited to less than 1 adult beverage per month, I would at that point be required to pretend actually having a drinking problem, or else I would be branded as resisting treatment. Gar, sounds like a basis for a novel.

    People need to quit treating the web as a private place. It isn't. Get help if you need it, but go through channels that will give you a bit of privacy.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    1. Re:Do NOT! by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 1

      Now I'm curious: how did those "well meaning" people find out? Or did he actually browse these sites from his work computer, rather than from home?

    2. Re:Do NOT! by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      I said it then, I'll say it again. Before I retired, I would never ever ever have gone to a website about alcoholism, mental illness, or suicide.

      If I had, and after they traced me out, my job would have given me a choice of being fired, or seeking treatment. Even with treatment, my job would have forever changed.

      Either you worked at a very tiny business, or your company already has multiple employees dealing with alcoholism and mental illness (including depression, which is what usually leads to suicide when untreated). If its a halfway professional company, your HR folks should have options for treatment they routinely provide employees for these things as part of their medical coverage.

      You may not know about it, because these aren't the kinds of things your coworkers bring up about themselves at the water cooler, but it is that common.

      I know when my kids started having trouble with depression, one of the things that shocked me was how well set up my company's medical(/mental health) insurance was for dealing with this kind of thing. I had a lot to deal with, but crippling medical bills and/or static from work was not one of them. And I work in deep red "not one county voted for Obama" Oklahoma. You're telling me you think your company is more regressive than a bunch of Okies?

      I bring this up because one of the things I see a lot with mental illness is sufferers being far harder on themselves than anyone else would be. And sometimes these feelings are transferred onto other people who would actually be downright supportive. Believe me, your HR people do this for a living. You won't be their first ever case.

      This isn't the 1960's. Depression is usually quite treatable, and there's no reason employing someone on anti-depressants is any more of a problem than employing a diabetic on insulin.

    3. Re:Do NOT! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
      Assuming he was using the web in the normal manner, it isn't that hard. IP address to ISP to name to email.

      Its usually a law enforcement thing for people to bother, but never underestimate do-gooders ability to turn something simple like surfing some pages into a life and death situation.

      A good experiment for someone would be to post some messages on some suicide sites and see what happens. Wait, don't do that. In today's climate, the results might look a lot like being swatted. That's a - I say that's a joke son.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:Do NOT! by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 1

      Assuming he was using the web in the normal manner, it isn't that hard. IP address to ISP to name to email.

      I know, but for that you would need:

      • Access to the web server's (or a proxy's) log to get the IP
      • Access to the victim's ISP server's log to go from the IP to a name

      This is indeed a trivial exercise for the NSA, but usually far beyond the reach of a random "do-gooder".

      Its usually a law enforcement thing for people to bother, but never underestimate do-gooders ability to turn something simple like surfing some pages into a life and death situation.

      I know. Especially if it's do-gooders within law enforcement. But it's rather unlikely that they would troll visitors of alcoholism websites. Unless they were targeting your friend specifically already for other reasons...

      A good experiment for someone would be to post some messages on some suicide sites and see what happens.

      But in your case, your friend was merely reading those pages, not participating in the forum discussions, or was he?

      That being said, it's a cultural thing. Here in Europe, you wouldn't get into trouble for posting on suicide boards even with your real name... (general questions, of course, specific plans would be another matter, but even that would be rather unlikely to get sb into trouble here)

    5. Re:Do NOT! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I know when my kids started having trouble with depression, one of the things that shocked me was how well set up my company's medical(/mental health) insurance was for dealing with this kind of thing.

      Have your children tried getting a job that required a security clearance?

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:Do NOT! by chihowa · · Score: 1

      Having depression that is being treated won't interfere with getting a security clearance. Having obvious symptoms of depression and refusing treatment or having a history of erratic behavior linked to untreated depression would interfere, though. Seeking counseling or medication for psychiatric conditions hasn't been a cause to refuse clearance sine ~1995, per Executive Order 12968. Officially, anyway, it can't be the reason for being denied clearance.

      --
      If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
    7. Re:Do NOT! by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Around here, the father of a pregnant teen found out because of the offers Target was sending her. They may have found out because they saw targeted advertising. Have you ever looked at a product, decided not to buy, and seen it advertised on Facebook for you? (Presumably not if you don't use Facebook, but I've seen it happen.)

      This is also not a good thing for writers, who often need to know things like a good way to kill someone and cover it up, or what sort of behavior can be expected out of someone with a certain mental illness.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    8. Re:Do NOT! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Around here, the father of a pregnant teen found out because of the offers Target was sending her. They may have found out because they saw targeted advertising. Have you ever looked at a product, decided not to buy, and seen it advertised on Facebook for you? (Presumably not if you don't use Facebook, but I've seen it happen.)

      One of the confirmations I was smart when I switched to an ad blocker was some years ago, I needed to go to Tire Rack to buy some new tires, and had to turn off my extensions onmy browser. So I searched for and bought the tires I needed. I forgot to turn the extensions back on, and almost every site I went to after that had a Tire Rack Ad, and it was for the same tires I had just bought. The creepy stalking buttplugs.

      I've also heard of some folks finding out what their mate bought them for chrismas or other event So it doesn't take the level of snooping that Facebook, has, and your story is 100 percent plausible.

      Today, if a site insists I turn off the ad blocker, I simply don't read their pages, nor buy from them.

      This is also not a good thing for writers, who often need to know things like a good way to kill someone and cover it up, or what sort of behavior can be expected out of someone with a certain mental illness.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    9. Re:Do NOT! by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Another spooky thing: we were playing a role-playing game with minis (we're having fun storming the castle), and I took a shot of the setup. I got a friend in the picture, and when I loaded it on Facebook he was tagged with his name. It wasn't a good shot of him either. I've heard about it happening, but it spooked me when I saw it.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    10. Re:Do NOT! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Another spooky thing: we were playing a role-playing game with minis (we're having fun storming the castle), and I took a shot of the setup. I got a friend in the picture, and when I loaded it on Facebook he was tagged with his name. It wasn't a good shot of him either. I've heard about it happening, but it spooked me when I saw it.

      Yes - Facebook has been doing facial recognition, and has taken some heat for it. What happens is they often do FR on non-fcebook users. And if the non-users are on private property, it becomes a legal issue.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  44. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Preach on! Keep up the good fight! And, let me salute your obviously successful campaigns against other socialist institutions like libraries and public schools.

  45. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do... do you even know what socialism is?

  46. It is not a step too far. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I am like many of you -- I love Drupal, I love Bootstrap, I appreciate the accessibility tags in HTML5 and how they finally allow a developer to address screen readers in a standardized way.

    But I also have bipolar disorder. The Internet provides real life flame wars for my nervous system to engage in when hyped up, and an endless round of people to ill-advisedly e-mail when I am feeling down.

    Both LGBT issues and diagnoses are in fact valid things to be aware of. Mental illness is a disability. While there are perks to being bipolar, it does change the way I am, and I really do benefit in the vast majority of cases from letting people know.

    apt-get unity

  47. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by davester666 · · Score: 1

    is everybody just fucking nuts?

    --
    Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  48. Oh come on by cfalcon · · Score: 1

    Bruce's statement is factual (or if not, it certainly APPEARS factual), and is meant to be kind. Stop manufacturing offense.

  49. Cause of Death by Spazmania · · Score: 2

    When someone dies, it's simple respect to his friends and admirers to report the cause and circumstance of his death. From the reports of Murdock's death, it was indisputable that something went very, very wrong in his brain.

    Calling someone rude for saying so, presupposes that one is revealing a shameful situation. Not only is that ludicrous, it disrespects the dead. Dude got sick and died. Shouldn't we talk about how to help the next person who gets sick avoid dying?

    --
    Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
    1. Re:Cause of Death by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, first we need to know what he actually died of. Saying he died of "mental illness" does no one any favors and just causes problems for everyone across the entire spectrum. We don't say someone died of "physical illness". They died of cancer, or a heart attack, or pneumonia, or a car crash.

      Mental illness is a stigma on its own because no one knows what's actually wrong with you or how to respect your actual condition. If an employer knew you were bi-polar, (assuming they don't fire you straight out) they could take steps to help others around you understand your situation and be more forgiving and understanding. If someone else in the office developed Tourette's, that's a different thing to understand with different treatments and response to episodes.

      As much as people want to be respectful, it's a terrible idea to lump every kind of mental illness together and treat everyone the same way regardless of their actual circumstances.

  50. Copied exactly. Avoided the typewriter font. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... I'm mentally ill and don't give a fuck ...

    Who has never, ever had a cough, a fever, a muscle pull?

    The term "Mental Illness", till today, still has the taboo that has the 'permanence' stigma tagged on it, but in truth, 'mental illness' like all other illnesses, could be big, permanent, or small, temporary

    One could suffer from an illness that never goes away, a permanent handicap - similarly one could suffer from a mental illness that will stick for the entire lifetime

    On the other hand, one could have a cold that goes away in a short while, and one could also be depressed which goes away in a few days

    I am a geek, and I have been with many other geeks in my lifetime, and the one thing that makes geeks so geeky ... is from something deep inside our psyche which drives us to behave so differently

    Many of us had (and still have) to endure all kinds of insult from the world at large because of our own geekiness, and most of us suffered untold rounds of bullyings by those who think they are 'better' than us --- but still, we tough it out, come hell or high water, and remain as geeky as ever ... WHY?

    I wouldn't call geekiness 'mental illness' per se, but if we are to look from the logical perspective, why the geek insist on acting 'geeky' when the very act of 'geekiness' attracts bullies in pounce on them, not very far from waving red cloth in front of bulls attracting their attention?

    The fact that we geeks remain geeks because of our illogical mental state, and it is that illogical conclusion that lead to our seemingly endless sufferings, at the hands of the bullies

    In short ... who can say they never, ever, suffer from mental illness?

  51. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, when you have insurance you don't get free drugs, you get prepaid drugs

    Not anymore. My last two corporate jobs - the type that previously would have provided decent deductibles and $10 co-pays for both standard doctor visits and also prescriptions - both switched to catastrophic plans. That means I pay the first $2K out of pocket for EVERYTHING. It's about $5K for famillies.

    The allergy drug I take - which was off patent before I was even born, and costed me around €20 / month w/o insurance (when I lived in the EU) somehow costs about $200 / month in the US. For the generic version. Somehow, all of the companies that used to manufacture the drug were gobbled up by the big boys and the cost sky rocketed.

    This was actually part of Obamacare: the idea was to push more people to high deductible plans which would then allow the 'free market' to take over and introduce price aware consumers into the market. Unfortunately, the Feds didn't take care of the supply side - forcing the drug companies to compete via the ability to import drugs from overseas and dictate that hospitals and physicians actually advertise their prices like every single other industry in the US. So what we have now is drugs that cost 10x-100x the price of Canada or Mexico and alphabet-soup hospital bills with $50 aspirins and $10K / a night stays. Shameful.

  52. Re:I talk about it openly by Falos · · Score: 1

    Some wouldn't be able to suppress those identifiers without the help of the support systems, the kind GP alluded to.

    Other uses of these systems (on top of said discretion, and on top of gun rampage prevention) include helping the less socially adept with handling the ever-increasing subtleties in modern discourse. Something I'm sure you can appreciate.

    Well, would appreciate. Your whoosh suggests you were unfortunate enough to be born in one of the "I've got mine, fuck you." countries and had no such support. Earth itself is an ovarian lottery, but at least you're probably in the Golden Billion.

    It's likely necessary that I spoonfeed out the Bonus Tier of irony, where GP not only goes on a rampage anyway (despite coming from a supportive locale) but does it against the very population that supported him/her.

    If you're still confused, "GP is full of shit and so is the absurd possibility that I would sincerely request a fucking murder spree." (ps Never read A Modest Proposal or you'll probably blogpost enough whoosh to collapse the planet)

  53. mental + illness = illness period by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you have a mental illness you have an illness. That is all.
    Any problems or baggage people dump on that illness is theirs and not yours.
    I have at least two "mental" illnesses. These are treated, much like my high cholesterol and prostrate issues. I see no reason why these issues differ from one another. If anything I'd think Americans might consider prostrate problems a bigger secret than mental illness, given their issues with guns and large cars. Just saying.

  54. Re:I talk about it openly by NEDHead · · Score: 1

    Missed the point entirely I see

  55. YouTube isn't helping. by aliquis · · Score: 1

    I was going to write a reply about how one could do it on YouTube, because the new hip thing to do is to call everyone autistic, here in Sweden and old such phase is "CP" for cerebral pares and also "mongo" for retarded / down-syndrome.

    But since the first comment was serious I'll make a twist and go serious and just say that people joking with those comments don't help. I'm 36 and strong enough in myself that it doesn't matter to me but for someone in their teens they likely don't want to bring up any mental flaws and issues when it's always made a joke and used as a degrading term.

  56. Let people who want to kill or be killed die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mental conditions are normal. Don't try to control or fuck with something normal.

    madinamerica.com

  57. Stay Silent by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stay silent; it is the message that is clearly being shouted today from the hill very loudly and clear! To speak of anything that might have a stigma of mental illness means the risk of a losing your liberty and freedoms. With the current assault on 2nd amendment; more people will forgo treatment than risk having their rights trampled on.

  58. No one would have given two fucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If this guy was a criminal who died in prison because of his condition.

  59. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yes, yes we are. Something Bruce said that you might find interesting:

    I'll tell you another secret then. Open Source was a mistake. I am not a Freetard any longer.

    And there's a good chance that some folks will not believe this was a quote from him, it was. Others might suggest that it is taken out of context, it isn't, I will cite it:

    This is the relevant link.

    I'm assuming he too has gone off the deep end or, more realistically, has been using the movement to gain popularity and money and now has enough to disassociate with the movement, as it has served its purpose.

    He just might be crazy. But he appears to be burning bridges as fast as he can.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  60. Faith Required by s.petry · · Score: 1

    Mental Illness takes faith to understand. It's nothing like a broken bone, or collapsed lung where someone can say "wow, that sucks" by looking at you or an image. Mental illness can't be seen, and really with as much as we know about the mind much is really unknown. Every mental illness effects people differently. Hell, nerve damage in general impacts everyone differently for that matter.

    Not being able to see things makes mental illness a target for abuse. People abusing the trust of people leads to suspicions about whether or not a person is really ill, and ridicule and humiliation for people caught abusing trust.

    The real world problems you mention don't change much from physical to mental. Smokers, people with bad hearts, people with diabetes, etc.. all pay more for insurance and may become a liability at work. A carpenter with heart disease probably won't be on the job very long, just like your job would not be sustainable with a mental illness. Sucks, but not really when you think it all through.

    Anyway, long story long. The stigmas associated with various mental illnesses don't become easy to break down. Open dialogue sure will help all aspects though.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:Faith Required by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      One day, I was in the supermarket with my oldest son (who's been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and Anxiety Disorder). We saw another father/son pair walk by. The son was missing the lower portion of one of his arms (starting about halfway from the elbow to where the wrist would be). My son couldn't help but notice (thankfully, in a quiet fashion). I told him that everyone has their challenges in life, but some people's challenges are easier to see than other people's. If someone is a quadriplegic, you can see the wheelchair. If someone has a mental illness or something like Autism (which isn't actually a mental illness, despite a lot of people thinking it is), it's often invisible to others.

      I totally agree with "Not being able to see things makes mental illness a target for abuse." I've suffered from panic attacks. In one really bad instance (exasperated by medication I was on post-surgery), The panic kept me up the entire night. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and had to fight the urge to run around the house screaming. Even typing about it, I can feel a tinge of anxiety rising. Yet, when I tell people about it, I'll often get told that I should just "get over it." Brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? I'll just tell my skyrocketing anxiety that we're not doing this now and it'll disappear, right? However, people who don't suffer from things like this try to find their nearest equivalent and then figure that it must be as easy to get over as that. It's like hearing someone has cancer, mentally comparing it to a cold, and telling the person to just have some chicken soup and get over it.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    2. Re:Faith Required by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      From my point of view, some mental illness doesn't take faith to understand, so I'm speaking from experience. When I applied for additional life insurance through the work plan (I had a minor child), I was turned down. If I smoked, I'm sure I would have gotten it, although likely at an increased rate. Fortunately, my son has just graduated from college, and is very close to being self-sufficient financially (he needs to get a job.), so I no longer care about additional life insurance.

      I've had a close relative completely fail to understand my depression. I've been told that I need to cheer up. The easiest way to give me a flash of anger is to tell me that depression isn't real in some way. People on Slashdot have suggested that, since I'm on antidepressants, I should be restricted from a range of activities, many of which I can do perfectly normally and safely.

      So, I do appreciate what you wrote, and I hope you never see it from my side.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    3. Re:Faith Required by muridae · · Score: 1

      I disagree. Mental illnesses are visible if you have the empathy to look when someone tells you they have one. There are even physical ailments that can't be seen on an image or diagnosed by quantitative measures; chronic pain from nerve inflammation, fibromialga, chronic fatigue. It doesn't take faith to see that a person with depression can't get out of bed some days, that is plainly visible. It takes empathy to believe them when they tell you why they can't get out of bed. Empathy lets you believe a person gets anxious when there are too many people around them.

      I don't know why empathy is something so lacking in people. I understand the generation that believed mental illness meant someone needed to be locked-up; they were misinformed. But this generation has access to all sorts of information to learn about mental illnesses and understand each other better, and simply doesn't. I used to assume that I was the odd one, since I had to teach myself to be empathetic towards other people as I had no natural inclination to be. I know other people feel empathy at a young age, I've seen plenty of kids get sad when their friends get hurt; something either erases that as they grow, or I'm not as odd as I thought and people really do need to be taught how to be empathetic towards each other.

  61. Question of definition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Important detail, because the Internethappens to be global.

    What is a mental health issue and how to deal with it is not globally defined. As in scientific classification systems from the USA (RCDC), UK (HRCS) and AU (FOR) having a completely different "mental health" category.

  62. Ian's Mental Illness by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

    Hi Bill,

    Ian was someone we should mourn, and we should not be discussing his problems due to this Daniel person. We can't help Ian now, although we can help other people who have his problems.

    I was not Ian's employer. I was, however, the chairman of the board of Progeny Linux Systems for a while, and my company arranged the initial $5 Million capitalization of Progeny. I had no real control of the company, the investors were the Simon group, known for their shopping malls.

    I will give you one sad fact about Ian which is concrete. Ian was arrested in Indianapolis in 2009 for three counts of battery, one of criminal confinement, one of public intoxication.

    The encounter with police before his death was a continuation of Ian's previous behavior. The guy is dead, he did some great stuff, he had problems. Let's not drag him through the gutter further.

    1. Re:Ian's Mental Illness by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      You're missing the point here. The point is that talking about his illnesses should not be considered dragging him through the gutter, whatever the illnesses are. David Bowie recently died of cancer, and nobody considers that disparaging.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    2. Re:Ian's Mental Illness by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

      There seen to be a few people who believe that Ian died as a result of police abuse, and some theorize that he didn't write the messages archived from Twitter. My favorite is the one who theorizes that he was murdered by the US Government for refusing to add an NSA back-door.

      Obviously I don't wish to let that stuff stand.

      I'm happy to discuss mental illness when it can be helpful. It isn't really helpful to go further into specifics after someone's dead, except to dissuade the few conspiracy theorists. I would have much preferred they find someone else's death to theorize about.

    3. Re:Ian's Mental Illness by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      It isn't really helpful to go further into specifics after someone's dead

      It's not helpful to understand why something happened, and how similar situations in the future can be better addressed?

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    4. Re:Ian's Mental Illness by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      To anyone involved in his life and his care it can be important. I'd rather not be the posthumous topic of discussion on various web forums, though.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    5. Re:Ian's Mental Illness by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 1

      That's the very definition of stigmatizing, and it's unfortunate for anybody else who's going through a similar situation. It's too bad that his tragic death can't at least have the positive outcome of helping others avoid similar fates.

      --
      Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
  63. In my personal experience... by Bartles · · Score: 1

    ...Perens is a giant dick.

    1. Re:In my personal experience... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Are you going to provide any examples, or are you just going to make unsupported statements? I've clashed with Bruce publicly in the past and I don't recall him ever being "a giant dick". Self-serving maybe, but that's the opposite of unusual.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  64. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or possibly you missed the irony of the context of his statement.

  65. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    You're free to view the thread and share this missing irony. Well, there's irony there - it's just probably not intended. Expand the thread and have a look. It's not like I'm making this up, took the quote out of context, or even altered what he said. The dude used and abused the group to get what he wanted and now is happy to deride them, as a group, and as a pejorative. I haven't got a nickel invested in it - just read it for yourself. 'Snot like I have the capacity to go edit his comments.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  66. Bruce Perens should shut his cakehole by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What do we know about Murdock's death? He had an altercation with a neighbor who for all we know had his stereo blaring and that something happened to Murdock in police custody which shook him badly: allegedly that he was beaten and maybe raped with a baton. So who doesn't Peren volunteer for a good beating and ass rape and see if he can maintain a stiff upper lip after? If not Peren should keep his speculation to himself and let the coroner and DA do their jobs.

  67. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Have you really read the posts leading up to Bruce Perens' post?

    Two different people call him out to be "pinnacle for freedom" and "a guy who is supposed to champion freedom" and because of this he shouldn't be opposed to their "freedom" to bear arms. I am all for Bruces position, what about others freedom not to be surrounded by neighbors with guns?

    Freedom is not black and white and what makes you "free" might make others less free. Advocating freedom in one case does not mean that you want everything to be "free".

    In that light, re-read what Bruce wrote and see if you can spot the irony. But yes, irony and sarcasm translates poorly into the written medium and is often misunderstood.

  68. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is everybody just fucking nuts?

    Nope, they are fucking crazy!

  69. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    Have I read them? You might want to see who the author of those posts was. There is no irony there. Not one shard of it. I'd wondered where you were going with that. Now I see... No, there's no minimizing, the words speak for themselves and you can interpret them as you wish. I dare say you've some strange ideas about what freedom is and what it isn't but that's a topic for another day and this really isn't about you.

    But no, the words are there for those who wish to read them. It's pretty hard to misinterpret statements about open-source being a "mistake" and the use of "freetard." You can willfully misinterpret them if you wish, that's the great thing about freedom, but that doesn't actually alter reality. In fact, the link to the post and the invitation to expand the thread and read it yourself are there for a reason. Just because it's likely that people will try to misinterpret them and it's better to have the actual source.

    However, thanks for sharing what it is that you were trying to express. I find it a curious interpretation and I wonder if it might be due to some personal biases on your part but, alas, this isn't really about you. Unless, of course, you're him and posting as AC? That's rather unlikely, however.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  70. hah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yes massa, Not All Women Are Like That.

  71. How To Talk About Mental Illness Online? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How To Talk About Mental Illness Online?

    Easy: Blah dooby dooby dooby whing bang .... I'm a tea pot.

  72. letting the world know is good and bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Usually being open about ones life is a good thing, when surrounded by good people. But not everyone is good. Some see opportunity in someone who is "gone mentally anyhow", human tests of pharmaceuticals come to mind. And some don't know they were used as a test person. Really they should get compensation if that comes to light. I've had 3 or 4 different medications in my mental illness life, some I disfavor because they made me hungry all the time and I gained a lot of weight. The consequences of something like that may be worse to someone else, it doesn't really bother me. I'm more focused around the time when I can reduce my medication. It's been over a decade that I've taken these meds. My doctor doesn't know to tell me that I have to keep taking these for decades to come. And no compensation at all from anyone. You don't chose this life, it chooses you. And you have to deal with the set-backs that it comes with. Thank goodness I was born in a 1st world nation that's all I can say.

  73. Fuck the family by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    They don't own him. You can't own someone who ceased existing, and even a living person doesn't belong to anybody but themselves. Free speech is a thing. People who interacted with someone who killed himself in what appears to be a deranged episode must be able to talk about it, especially since they can no longer talk with him. If psychological terms aren't allowed for laypeople, what kind of terms should we use when describing someone's apparent state of mind? Go back to religious? No thanks.

  74. Re:I talk about it openly by KGIII · · Score: 1

    As someone whose tax dollars are helping to pay for your support and meds, I'm glad. I'm really glad that the system is helping you and I wish it would help more people. I see lots of people who, for varied reasons, indicate that they're unable to get the support they need. Truth be told, I'm pretty sure we're paying enough in taxes but spending it poorly. However, if they'd spend it more wisely, I'd not mind paying more.

    So, while your "thanks" seemed a bit sarcastic (it's hard to tell on the 'net), let me say, "You're welcome. Is there any service that you really need that you are unable to access?"

    When I'm home, I go to see a headshrinker. She assures me that I'm (mostly!) sane so now I mostly see a therapist because I find it is good to bounce ideas off an objective person. I want someone to find the flaws and help me think better. I enjoy it. I used to go to a group session and I found that the most beneficial but, well, the people in there (as I've explained before) had serious issues and I felt like I was taking time from them. So, I'm not actually selfish and I quit attending. It'd be kind of neat if they had some sort of group therapy for people who aren't actually suffering from mental illness - something structured the same way. CBT is actually pretty handy - beyond mental illness. It's great for introspection. These days, I only see the headshrinker for meds - she gives me a sleeping med but I don't normally take it. It makes me feel hungover in the morning and groggy for the whole day.

    At any rate, you're welcome and I hope you're doing well in your recovery. I've a sibling who is mentally ill and her health care is a fortune as she's also very physically ill. (It's *thousands* per week just for her TPN supplies.) So, yes, it's good to see someone who hasn't fallen through the cracks. Perhaps, maybe, you can share how it is you didn't end up falling through the cracks and that sort of comment might help another person? Who did you reach out to first or did you have an intervention not of your own choosing? No need for details or specifics that might identify you but, well, it'd be nice to have that information out there and it might be of value for someone else.

    I imagine such services vary per State. My sister gets some help paid for but the pittance they give her to live on is pretty low. I end up making up the difference but I have to be careful how I do so. For instance, certain medicine is paid for but they won't supply others. Some of them, if I buy them, they'll stop paying for others. For an example, I have to pay for her whole morphine pump, supplies, and that sort of thing plus I have to pay for her breakthrough meds. She could have one or the other and if I paid for one they were going to not pay for the other. That means I pay for both the pump and the sublingual strips that she uses for breakthrough pain. I found a decent supplier that has a compounding pharmacist and they rent the machines and take care of it - they even deliver. However, I'll avoid sharing the price but it's a whole ton of money - even by the week.

    So, yeah, as I said - you sounded like you were being sarcastic but you're more than welcome. I'm glad it is working out for you and curious as to what more we can do to help get you to the point where you're able to enjoy day-to-day living and find life rewarding? Fortunately, I don't have to pay for her DLS folks who spend 6 to 8 hours a day with her. I imagine that she'll be in end-of-life care soon but I'm doing what I can to give her the things she needs to enjoy the time she does have. Her kids keep talking about repaying me and all that crap, which kind of sucks actually. See, they don't have a pot to piss in between them. It's not about the money, it's about the moments. So, yeah, what services do you think would help you have more of those moments? I ask because I might be able to help a needy sibling.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  75. Yeah, it's very difficult by bytesex · · Score: 0

    I got modded 0, flamebait for suggesting exactly this about Ian Murdock: http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    So yeah, even though the signs are written all over the friggin' wall, people don't like to hear about it. They think you're being mean, not realizing, or not wanting to know, that not talking about it is actually the mean thing to do.

    --
    Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
  76. Multiple problems by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are multiple problems with mental illness:

    As psychologists and slashdotters here have indicated, there's few metrics for what is a mental illness. There was even an experiment where provably sane people were put in insane asylum and its staff confirmed each (sane) patient had a certain mental illness.

    There's little cause to effect for mental illness, making treatment difficult.

    Mental illness, unlike a broken arm, is difficult to see and impossible to calculate its daily/weekly effect.

    Mental illness also affects our character, or more importantly, perception of our character (honesty, violence, drug addiction, financial/emotional stability, commitment/loyalty efforts). So to avoid being misjudged and labelled, harassed, or even fired from work, people can't talk about their mental illness.

    The majority still see many mental illnesses (eg. depression, addiction, anorexia/bulimia) as not serious and probably self-inflicted.

  77. Re:I talk about it openly by smallfries · · Score: 1

    Doesn't look like he did - he is pointing that his experience of insurance is neither free, nor prepaid.

    --
    Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
  78. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Today I learned that (1) David Bowie just passed away, and (2) Bruce Perens, a man I held immense respect for, has abandoned the principles he spent most of his career defending. Today is not a good day. -PCP

  79. bllllllaaaa aaaaaaaaa aaaahhg ugaba by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    blorgapl ubagyba umbuutoobuutuu ma snakes aaaaagjrc$%$ b;;uugha spiders agagagabutu 911imeach impeach flaglafro

  80. Re:I talk about it openly by prefec2 · · Score: 1

    No. Socialism requires that private property is converted into public property which is then lent (often without a fee) to people. In socialism you can have a planned economy. However, this is not compulsory. Alternative models are based on management by the, for example, the employees of a company. For more details please read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... before you say anything else about socialism which you learned from FoxNews. Thanks.

  81. Re:I talk about it openly by prefec2 · · Score: 2

    No it is not. And if you would get your information from serious sources instead of FoxNews then you would know what socialism means. Feel free to read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... It might provide a good start for understanding the term.

  82. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    I understand. I guess Bowie died of the Big C and was 69. I sent my sister (she's a fan) a text after someone posted about it in a comment in the PostgreSQL thread. That's kind of sad.

    As for Bruce? Well, I'd feel used if I'd helped support him. I'd not be surprised if some of my donation dollars somehow made it to him but that's okay. It's unfortunate but I've come to grips with it. It was I who he said it to, after all. So, yeah, it's unfortunate as I had held him in high esteem. I do appreciate his honesty.

    It's sad, but not surprising, that people are trying to minimize it or to claim there's irony or things like that. It's like they don't want to believe it or don't actually understand the concepts of freedom and liberty. They don't seem to accept that the claiming open-source was a mistake and that he's referencing the movement as a pejorative are not good things to hear from this particular source. I mean, yeah, I'd not care if it came from Steve Balmer. It matters because of who said it.

    It was those "freetards" that enabled him to be where he is today. It was they who gave him financial support and a platform. Without them, he'd probably be nothing. Now that he has his assets and voice, he can abandon them. They're being abused and a couple of the other replies seem to indicate at least a few people are willing to take more abuse. Speaking of mental illness...

    Anyhow, I've seen you post a number of times and you generally have good things to say. You could get an account. ;-) It'd make finding your posts easier though I can understand some of the reasons people have for not wanting to sign up.

    Ah well, 'tis a sad day indeed. What's really odd is that I'd just re-watched an older documentary about the making of Linux and the Free Software movement, Bruce was in it, and he was extolling the virtues of free software and taking part in a documentary about basic freedoms and how we need to have freedom. Albeit they were using the word freedom when the word liberty is more apt but I've no need to quibble over trivial details when the message is basically the same.

    I will try to continue to post the link and comment in other threads. It's tempting to go to the sites listed and see if they allow comments - I could then quote and link this so that they could be aware of it. I probably should but I figure he can tell them himself. It's not my job to take it from this site into another community but they should probably be aware that he's just using them and doesn't actually care for the movement, for free software, or even for freedom. I believe another quote was, "I'd take your guns, I hope to do so someday." Not, "I'd support stronger legislation to ensure greater safety and hope to do so someday." No, he'd take your freedom and hopes to do so someday. At least he's being honest about something at this point.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  83. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    Dude... what language is that even ? If your goal was to prove that something (I'm guessing anti-government idiots like Vanilla ISIS up in Oregon) are not crazy... you achieved exactly the opposite with that incoherent rant.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  84. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    No. Sometimes we are fucking nuts, othertimes we are fucking pussies, or assholes or, most often, our palms.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  85. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 2

    I did read the thread and expanded it and it is *very* obvious that the post you quoted was flagrant sarcasm.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  86. Re:I talk about it openly by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    Well minor correction -even the conversion from private to public property is not a requirement - it's merely a common factor in many (but not all) forms of socialism.
    Socialism exists whenever the workers own the means of production. Every worker-owned co-op in the world is an example of working socialism in action - those include the biggest robotics company in the USA (geeks and worker-owned/democratically worker-managed industry is a perfect fit it turns out). But so is most New York cab drivers socialists (if they own the cabs they drive) no matter how fervently most would deny that (seeing as very few people have any idea what the word means).

    One could argue that kickstarter is in many ways a form of anarcho-socialism - taking capital-owners out of the process of creating new products by letting consumers directly fund the creation of products they want.
    There is nothing about socialism, as defined, which requires a government or state, nor does a particular type of government or state need to be in place - you don't even need a particular set of laws or economic system.

    Such things could be argued would be ideal for making socialism widepsread, some may argue it is required to achieve that - but they are nevertheless auxiliary to what makes socialism socialist - which has nothing to do with any of those things. That's a debate, at best, about marketing the idea - not about the idea itself.
    From a look at history - I am actually of the opinion that socialism works best when it happens organically without state interference. When the workers simply save up over time and buy the business from the shareholders so they can own and run it themselves. It's the slowest, most painful, most legally fraught and riskiest way to do it, but it also doesn't leave any dead bodies behind and worker-owned coops that start in this manner are remarkably successful with a success rate far higher than normal capitalist-style investor businesses. In Argentina after the economic collapse thousands of abandoned factories were taken over and ran by their former workers in this manner and became successful - there are still over 20-thousand of them today (by far the largest sector of the country's economy).
    All of these businesses were successfully run and made profitable as worker-owned enterprises in the same economic conditions where they previously as top-down-hierarchical investor-owned businesses had failed. Wisdom of crowds seems to work very well for managing a business in tough economic conditions.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  87. He was brutalized by police doesn't matter? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    By posting this and not mentioning events in his twitter stream, you are completely ignoring the fact he was beaten up by the police. In all likelihood, if he hadn't been beaten up by the police, Ian Murdock would be alive today.

  88. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    Did you not read his follow-up posts? 'Cause you're free to reach those conclusions but yeah... I'm pretty sure when he doubles down on it - it isn't sarcasm any longer. But, one of the great things about freedom is that you're free to interpret it how you want and it's not likely that any effort I make will help you change your views. I'm okay with that just so long as we're open and honest about.

    He goes on to tell us how *his* freedom is more important than that of other people and, by freedom, he means safety. We can debate the various definitions of what is and isn't cowardice and what is and isn't proper motivation for restricting liberties but that's immaterial. What is salient is that the comments are there to be read by anyone wishing to do so. It's hard for me to see sarcasm when he goes on to double down on it. I wanted to see it that way, I wanted to think it was flippant, I wanted to believe I was not understanding - he indicated that I was not. Those are his words, not mine.

    It's not up to me to say anyone other than my interpretation and to give the actual data to support the interpretation. Expand the thread, read the thread, and draw your own conclusions but I sincerely suggest you read the rebuttal. It's not like I've a vendetta, I'd love to be wrong. I'd love to say, "Yeah, maybe if we look at it like that then we can see it as something different." That was *really* tempting to do until he doubled down on it. If you want to believe it's sarcasm, if you can believe that, then all the more power to you.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  89. Bah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perens was the same guy who made the post about tech guys being abusive of women. How do we know that he and Ian didn't have some kind of feud going on, with Perens using some kind of social justice view as a weapon? How do we know the arrest wasn't somehow tied into that? After all, Perens here is claiming that Ian died of mental illness, with no proof whatsoever, essentially damning him after death without giving him any benefit of the doubt.

    There are a ton of questions that have NOT been answered.
    1. Was that actually Ian posting?
    2. What happened, and what were the background details?

    At this point, I don't think that Perens is a source we should be using.

  90. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    It looks sarcastic and ironical, and really badly phrased and not followed up. I can't imagine him using the word "freetard" seriously.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  91. Re:I talk about it openly by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    Oddly enough, the Soviet Union discovered a mental illness that was almost the exact opposite.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  92. That's communism by rsilvergun · · Score: 2

    Not socialism. The difference is really simple. Communism is public ownership of the means of production. Socialism is govt regulation of income inequality to prevent abuses, slavery by wages and ensure a minimum and humane standard of life. Don't fall for the propaganda. We can make the world a better place for everyone.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  93. Re:Who has never, ever, suffered from mental illne by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    A certain amount of geekiness may be Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is considered a mental illness, and not a curable one, although smart people with ASD can learn to fake normality. If I cared to be evaluated, I think I'd likely get an ASD diagnosis, but at this stage of life I see absolutely no benefit in such a diagnosis.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  94. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    No, it's followed up. For some reason, Slashdot doesn't expand them all.
    http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  95. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 1

    Of course it was sarcastic. I reject the concept that to be an Open Source or Free Software evangelist, I also must stand for your "Freedom" to put holes in everyone around you with your guns, which obviously deprives them of their freedom.

  96. Mod Parent Up! by muridae · · Score: 1

    Someone who speaks rationally about mental illness on the internet? Sir, if I had points, I would break the system to give you all of them.

  97. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    More context:
    http://slashdot.org/comments.p...
    Bruce Perens is a pseudonym for King George.
    His comments about open source had no bearing on the topic other than to say "No, I'm not that man you thought I was. I hate freedom, why don't you understand that?"

  98. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    what about others freedom not to be surrounded by neighbors who are black?

    You don't have that freedom. A handy little rule of thumb: when you believe you have the freedom to force others not to do something that does not effect you, you do not actually have that freedom.

  99. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    Of course it was sarcastic. I reject the concept that to be an Open Source or Free Software evangelist, I also must stand for your "Freedom" to put holes in everyone around you with your guns, which obviously deprives them of their freedom.

    Why then, the pejorative and the consistent message that you are no longer associated with open source?
    Regarding our "freedom" to put holes in everyone with our guns... That's not the freedom we have. There are laws against that, just like there are laws against putting holes in everyone with our knives, swords, baseball bats, cars, explosive/flammable materials or any other object that can be used in a dangerous manner. In the United States, we have the right to possess and wield weapons (bear arms), not the right to use them indiscriminately.

  100. Re:I talk about it openly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You should seriously buy a large cache of firearms then.

  101. Fixed mistake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My mistake. The 1st line:
    "... I'm mentally ill and don't give a fuck ..." is a quote from the grandparent comment and should have been in an italic font.

  102. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    That sentence was sarcasm - only you think the other posts were related to it. Every sane person reaches the opposite conclusion: the *reason* he made that sarcastic post was to tell you how stupid you are for conflating your gun-nuttery with freedom - and especially with software freedom.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  103. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by KGIII · · Score: 1

    That's an interesting perspective. A comment to me, from a reply by me, is not related to the comment made to me. What a peculiar thought process you must have. It's even more curious that you'd attempt to control the narrative by using a pejorative.

    I don't know much about you but I'd speculate that you don't really understand freedom or, more importantly, liberties. I'd be happy to explain them to you but, judging by your predisposition to use pejoratives, it's fairly easy to conclude that you'll not be swayed regardless of any information presented. (There's a name for that type of behavior, I suspect you claim to despise it, even if you exemplify it.)

    I did note that Slashdot does not seem inclined to show the response - you might actually be missing that. However, I suspect you'd hand-wave that away too. Dismissal, with a pejorative, and with little ability to actually understand the concepts. It's okay, I've been afraid of things too. I used to have a nonsensical fear of the bats when I was a child. I'm quite positive that I let that fear impact my life to the point where that fear was clouding my emotions and preventing me from doing otherwise enjoyable things. I even went so far as to insist that friends who visited stay inside when they came over - lest I go out just after dusk and face those bats.

    So, I understand what it's like to let cowardice cloud my judgment and make me try to stop others from enjoying themselves. The difference between you and I is that I'm no longer afraid of bats and I understand the idea that freedom carries with it inherent risks and that liberties are something to be preserved. I've also seen laws like the Patriot Act passed because people are afraid. I've seen what a group of properly motivated, fearful, people do in the name of protecting themselves against extremely low probabilities.

    You can be a coward. That's okay. But you can't be a coward and claim to stand for freedom. The two are diametrically opposed. It's not my failing that has resulted in your unwillingness to grasp this and no amount of effort on my part is going to alter your views. No matter how much effort I put into it, no matter how much data I pull up, no matter how many times I show the faults in your logic - you will not budge. It's an internet debate, you'll not adjust your views one bit, no matter how much data is given to the contrary.

    Again, you can be a coward if you want - that's your right. Your fear is not justification to take away the liberties of another. You can not speak of freedom while still a coward any more than a blind man can describe a color. A coward is not a free man. The goal should not be to entice others to join you in your cowardice but to rid yourself of your fear - by accepting that there are inherent risks in all activities. There's a huge swath of difference between "reasonable regulation" and "take them from you."

    Yet it is I, the one using sound logic and reason who you're calling a 'nutter.' You're calling the person who is expressing the need to preserve our liberties a 'nutter.' You're using a pejorative to refer to the person(s) who are concerned with liberty while declaring that you too speak on behalf of freedom. I don't think the insane person is the one you think it is. It's remarkable that you're able to do that sort of mental gymnastics and keep a straight face. "I'll take your rights. I speak for freedom."

    I stand by what I've said, I stand by my interpretations, I stand by my beliefs - because I am not coward. Fortunately, nobody with any power is ever going to listen to you. Hopefully, we'll get some sane enforcement of existing legislation and adequate mental health care. Probably not - the actual gun nuts have too much power. Thankfully, you're powerless to control the actual narrative because some of us will continue to speak up and ensure you do not control the narrative. Don't worry, we're the same ones that speak up when the real "gun nuts" speak up and try to control the narrative.

    There's a new public firing

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  104. Re:I talk about it openly by NEDHead · · Score: 1

    The poster who said he gets 'free' drugs, gets prepaid drugs. That's all. No ambiguity.

  105. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You have the right to bear arms, not "weapons". Not tactical nukes for instance.

  106. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by MobSwatter · · Score: 1

    World is complicated, if you can't follow along then you are exactly where they want you, the short bus. Me, I will be following along trolling the gubbermint about Russians having more rights than US citizens do because they haven't been made stupid so a batch of inbred banksters could stay on the ball.

  107. Re:I talk about it openly by matfud · · Score: 1

    And that his/her experience of the US health care system suggests that it is broken. When the cost of common drugs is inflated 10 fold there is an issue. Other places with national health care systems can control the price of some drugs. Is that advantageous? That depends on if you need them. In the UK the NHS has massive purchasing power so aspirin does not cost $10. Prescription drugs are limited to £8.20 probably about $10 or $12 dollars. http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/H....
    Yep that is paid for by all of us as a tax. Not all drugs cost that much. Some cost far more. But nothing like the seriously odd amounts you seem to fork out in the US.

  108. Re:I talk about it openly by matfud · · Score: 1

    I said that "Not all drugs cost that much. Some cost far more". They do but not for the recipient. It lets people with ongoing problems not worry to much about medical costs. Oh yes a trip to hospital will not bankrupt you. Free health care. It is paid for as many seem to think it is a very good idea.

  109. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    It's not personal risk that is the problem. If that was it, then it would, indeed, be a matter of liberty. Nobody has the right to stop you taking risks.

    What we most certainly *do* have the right to do is to stop you from subjecting *other* people to risks without their consent.

    That is the *opposite* of liberty.

    --
    Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
  110. Re: Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    Oh, and I have no fear of guns, I was actually championship shot in my younger years.

    But I've never been, nor will I ever be, a gun owner. On those occasions where I wish to shoot a gun for fun - it is so much safer to hire one. Having one in my house is insane, but not nearly as insane as not being concerned if my neighbour has one.

    Unfortunately the NRA has one fact exactly backwards: the vast majority of gun owners are irresponsible idiots with penis-size issues.

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  111. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    Right... you care about rights and liberties... considering that within your first sentence you echoed the utterly irrational xenophobic fear of refugees and called them "bomb makers" (like you don't have plenty of white bomb makers in America already) I doubt the sincerity of that very much. After that though, your post devolved into a wholly incoherent rant of blithering paranoia. It isn't a problem of following along - the problem is you just basically made a word salad with no sentence structure. The fact that you replace practically every word with some slang variant spelling doesn't help either.

    Oh and *most* countries on earth have more rights than Americans - whenever Americans try to get those rights republicans convince them that letting people have those rights is taking away your "freedom".

    You sound like Donald Trump on acid and are about as fit to govern.

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  112. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by MobSwatter · · Score: 1

    Yes, you are right, I forgot rapist. So bomb making rapist buddies. Ask the German news reporter that was gang raped by these seemingly harmless refugees over new years. While you are at it, either pull your head from your sphincter or come out of the closet on being a pro Islam superstitious nut job, or maybe you are a Christian double dipped with Catholic guilt, either way to me you are a superstitious nut job, so come on lets hear it, "Alah Akbar!". Bypassing Congress on fundamental principles this country was built upon is Tyranny and that is not the same as consent to be governed, but it is a fucking awesome plan if they are competing with Russia on Russian recruitment, they will kick ass with no question on that.

  113. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

    So now you are, again, judging an entire group of people by the actions of a few.
    I will apply your logic and assume every American is exactly like those vanilla ISIS idiots in Oregon who were too dumb to take food along for their occupation and ready to shoot innocent people just for coincidentally having a job with the government.

    I'm anti-religion, period. I despise all religion as a concept - but it's the magical thinking I despise, I have nothing but pity for the victims of religion - whatever that religion may be. I also know that your conclusions about Muslims are mathematically impossible. I know that there are about a million Muslims fighting ISIS for every Christian. 8 Muslim countries for every Christian one are fighting them. I know that if 1.6 billion people were like the few nutjobs you think are representative then we would all be dead. Oh and I know that most terrorists aren't Muslim to begin with - not by a long shot. In fact, Islam is only number 3 on a count of belief systems by terrorists within it.

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  114. Re:Wll, the internet is full.. by MobSwatter · · Score: 1

    It is what it is any way you look at it, a bus load of retards that have been made stupid to accommodate the failing intellect of a batch of inbred geriatric banksters that have been playing god over the west and picking fights with Islam. If we don't want holy war then US leaders need to stop identifying the US as a Christian nation and we need to get a handle on the banksters and mafia. Now the Asians were about ready to remove the problem with the banksters recently within the last couple years but they have seen that there is a mathematical issue involving the federal reserve Ponzi scheme that is going to bring it all to a head and force the problem to be addressed.

    Personally I'd rather reduce the damage these pricks do by making a surgical adjustment to the gene pool because their system is crashing anyway and them pricks are the ones ultimately responsible for my great grandfather ending up on the bottom of Lake Tahoe around the turn of last century just like the Asian rail workers and California mother lode miners undoubtedly for the same reason, and when they repeated themselves with my grandfather in 12/1963 is when we all lost CIA SR/OXCART per my great uncle Jack in 1992, my grandfather along with about 5 mil they stole. The instigators of the terrorist business can be isolated to a couple of nationalist governments, they are Great Brittan and Italy and their list of victims includes Germany, South Africa and soon to be the US and rest of the EU. Rockafeller's are in China but that is a good place for them because I have begun to attack Tahoe for natural resources to extract damages done to my family over the last century as their setup that got at my father two years ago included people behind the shield, can't sue the mafia or the banksters but you can damn sure make them wish you could, going after the water is going to expose the bankster/mafia mess at the bottom of the lake.

  115. Re:I talk about it openly by smallfries · · Score: 1

    You seem to have claimed that people who have insurance get prepaid rather than free drugs. The AC did not miss your point, he corrected you. Insurance is only prepaid if it covers the whole cost, when it does not it is neither free nor prepaid.

    If there is any ambiguity it is that when you made your claim you mean "you" entirely literally - to refer only to the poster that you were responding to, and not people with medical insurance in general. That is a non-standard / unusal way if phrasing what you meant and if that is the cause then your point was indeed lost somewhere in translation.

    Either that or you were simply wrong and got corrected. It does seem in hindsight there is a little ambiguity about which happened.

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