02 August 2020

People are the problem, People have the power!

August is the month of a lot of really painful anniversaries for me; murder, death, divorce, hard stuff.  Here we are.

The US is enduring genocide at the hands of the man in the White House.  It's been exposed as intentional genocide and no one has done anything.  He hasn't been arrested.  Not a word from Congress.  Nothing.  Genocide!

What is wrong with people??  We know what's wrong with people.  We know about the dumbing down, the poison food air and water, the toxic electronica, the toxic "entertainment", the political maneuvering to trick people, voter suppression, etc.

Did you know that watching murder is the biggest entertainment in the US?  TV shows and movies all exalt violence, especially violence against women, especially at the hands of men of color. What does it do to people to see that stuff? Over and over...

This is a very sick society, and the problem is people! Smart people, stupid people, nice people, mean people, people are the problem.  Without people this planet would be paradise for all the other life forms here.

I'm not saying we should get rid of all the people.  I'm saying that we the people need to learn to behave decently.  Greed and selfishness seem to be the guiding forces for much of humanity in modern times.  The uber wealthy/greedy are more concerned with their hoards than with the well being of their planet and their species.  That is mental illness.  That's what it all boils down to.  Whether it's a religious war (greed for the souls of people) or oil war (greed for money) or the oppression of women (greed for control) or the genocide of political opponents (greed for power) or any of the other ways we manifest greed, that is the big problem.

I don't have the answer.  I don't know what "the fix" would be.  I do know that the greedy few in power must be brought down, and no one allowed to achieve that kind of despotic power again.  Putin, Xi, Trump, Bolsonaro, Johnson, Orban, Duda, Zelensky, Sanchez, and more, should all be deposed and imprisoned for crimes against humanity.  They all oppress and repress the people of their countries.  They practice racism, sexism, ecocide, and wealth hoarding. How can this be acceptable?  How can it be OK that these men, notice they are all men, are allowed to lie, cheat, steal, murder, rape, and destroy, and nothing is done?  They are not held accountable?  It's appalling.

I don't believe in "hope" anymore.  Obama destroyed that word for me by using it to lie to us.  I do believe in possibilities, however, and I know it is possible to create a world that is just and fair and peaceful.  It's got to be!

For anyone out there waiting on divine intervention, YOU are the divine intervention!  You want a miracle?  Look around you at Life.  There are your miracles.  Now, be divine!  Act with the common good in mind.  Help alleviate suffering.  Be your best self!

05 July 2020

Here is why racism is not a mental illness

I’ve been thinking a lot about this question, is racism a form of mental illness? I work in psych so this is something I am thinking about lately, especially.
On the one hand we cannot excuse racist attitudes and actions, even if they are the result of mental illness, and at the same time we want to address mental illness AND racism as societal problems.
I have seen people in a psychotic episode say horrible hateful things including racist things. We have obviously seen people NOT in a psychotic episode saying hateful racist things. So where’s the overlap? And why do some people say those things when they are psychotic but not when that are NOT psychotic, and why do some people say these things when they are NOT psychotic?
I think hating someone because of the color of their skin is the sign of an unhealthy mind. I can’t imagine anything else. It is learned, it is part of unhealthy power/over indoctrination, and it’s based in fear and lies.
The term “mental illness” is so broad, it covers a lot of territory. But back to the question, are racists inherently mentally ill in some way? Is racism a manifestation of some kind of mental illness?
What I am arriving at is that racism can exist in people who both are and are not mentally ill. A mentally ill person who has learned racism might express their racism through their mentally ill behaviors, but the mental illness does not cause the racism. Likewise a person with no discernible mental illness can learn racism and be a racist covertly or overtly not as part of any psychological syndrome.
What are your thoughts?

19 May 2020

Death is personal

Last night I watched on my computer screen as my oldest brother died.  He was in the hospital with Covid, experiencing organ failure.  Our other two brothers and their families were there too, on Zoom.  Adam was unconscious but we talked to him and played some of his favorite Jazz in the background for a couple of hours, then the nurse extubated him, and then he died after a few minutes.

I've been through the deaths of my parents, closest friend, other close friends, lovers, clients, colleagues, and animal friends.  Grief has always been present in my life.

When someone has always been part of your life and then they die it's world changing.

When someone you love is murdered it's a special kind of trauma.  When someone you love is murdered in a genocide perpetrated by the President of one's own country, well I don't have words for that yet.

04 May 2020

More about fascism...

The sight of Trump, and the words he said, at the Lincoln Memorial on May 3, were completely 100% lies and self aggrandizement; all the usual garbage we have come to expect from Trump. What made it especially rancid was the setting which was selected for dramatic impact. Presenting such gaslighting as he did in front of a memorial to an honest man, causes such cognitive dissonance as to throw people further off balance. This is an essential aspect of nazification. Hitler did it, Mussolini did it, Trump is doing it. It’s obvious, it’s recognizable, and we know what it is.

When we name what is happening we weaken its power. When we name Trump for what he is, a toxic narcissist Hitler-wannabe, we put him into perspective and that offsets the unbalancing effects of his actions. His actions are designed to horrify and disgust, to put people into a state of emotional reaction that makes them less effective in resisting the fascist agenda. We do not have to fall for this.

When we name the power behind the throne, Charles Koch, as a wealthy white man, disconnected from the world, surrounded by wealth, raised by nazi sympathizing parents, we put him into perspective.

Etc etc. Putin, Xi, MBS, all people who pull Trumps strings, all need to be named, recognized for what they are, and to have their power weakened by being seen. The nefarious thrive on being able to operate in the shadows. Shine the light on them. Show them for what they are. Gradually people will see, and will stop co-operating.