Travis
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- Joined
- Jul 14, 2016
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- 3,189
Some of these cases could be exhibiting neuroticism of the Caulfield-type that is caused more by societies' indiscretions that of any personal shortcoming. It is quite natural for a person raised on Charles Dickens, J.D. Salinger, George Orwell, Ken Kesey—yet not the television—to be appalled by the behavior of most ruling classes and dominator cultures. I think being literate and introspective may be a prerequisite for this type of neuroticism, and also being honest and fair. Some people are simply 'better actors' than others, a form of 'behaviour deception,' and even the craziest people not feeling constrained to such—i.e. Ted Bundy, Richard Nixon—can appear perfectly normal on all counts. So in modern society, that type of 'mental illness' can be seen almost as badge of honor; it implies that you are honest, literate, and not entirely without moral standards.
Activities, trends, belief systems, memes, and even behaviours are pathologized by the same ruling classes that are threatened by them. Before actual physical force is used: those highly critical of ruling classes often accusing of lying, confabulation, and labeled as 'crazy' with intent of lowering the apparent veracity of their statements—a form of sociological gaslighting. Yet even before it's necessary to go that far: intelligent people who aren't exactly 'team players'—i.e. strong candidates for cultural change—are slapped with the neurotic label, a sort of preëminent strike against nascent threats to the power structure. This is not only punitive to the offender while also lowering their credulity, but also has the function of deterring other from such behavior.
I assume that J.D. Salinger, Ken Kesey, and Joseph Heller had all known this. All three authors had written a book in which the 'crazy' person by popular standards—Holden Caulfield, R.P. McMurphy, and Capt. Yossarian—had truly been the sane one.
Activities, trends, belief systems, memes, and even behaviours are pathologized by the same ruling classes that are threatened by them. Before actual physical force is used: those highly critical of ruling classes often accusing of lying, confabulation, and labeled as 'crazy' with intent of lowering the apparent veracity of their statements—a form of sociological gaslighting. Yet even before it's necessary to go that far: intelligent people who aren't exactly 'team players'—i.e. strong candidates for cultural change—are slapped with the neurotic label, a sort of preëminent strike against nascent threats to the power structure. This is not only punitive to the offender while also lowering their credulity, but also has the function of deterring other from such behavior.
I assume that J.D. Salinger, Ken Kesey, and Joseph Heller had all known this. All three authors had written a book in which the 'crazy' person by popular standards—Holden Caulfield, R.P. McMurphy, and Capt. Yossarian—had truly been the sane one.
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