Because someone who is "healthy" and/or "well" does not wish to go out of their way to harm themselves or others. This really should not be a contentious point. No one is stigmatizing mental illness.
The entire accumulated human history argues against this being true!
"You don't have to be insane to kill someone. You just have to think you're right." - Yoko Taro.
I've argued this before in similar threads here.
We act according to what we think the world is, so while insanity can cause you to go off in bad ways, perfectly sane people can do horrible things, simply because they are wrong about basic facts.
Mass bombings, shooting churches, burning down abortion clinics, or flying a plane into IRS building, can seem like not only sane and reasonable, but the only moral course of action, if your world view is badly enough out of phase with actual reality.
Just checked and a firing range at a camp using semi-automatic rifles would be illegal in Massachusetts for instance.
I don't think there's any doubt that if this guy had been homeschooled and trained in dangerous chemicals and paramilitary skills by fundamentalist Muslims. attended a pretty fundamentalist mosque and espoused a political framework based on those right wing ideas online there'd be any doubt what his motivation was.
Yeah, but MA sucks for gun laws, and besides, even in Texas, if you’re not the right kind of church the Feds will besiege your property and eventually help burn you out.
To make a more ontopic conversation: I think this bomber was a major asshole and I think reading into his upbringing or 6 year old political ideas is kind of pointless
Dead Legend on
diablo III - beardsnbeer#1508 Mechwarrior Online - Rusty Bock
Because someone who is "healthy" and/or "well" does not wish to go out of their way to harm themselves or others. This really should not be a contentious point. No one is stigmatizing mental illness.
The entire accumulated human history argues against this being true!
"You don't have to be insane to kill someone. You just have to think you're right." - Yoko Taro.
I've argued this before in similar threads here.
We act according to what we think the world is, so while insanity can cause you to go off in bad ways, perfectly sane people can do horrible things, simply because they are wrong about basic facts.
Mass bombings, shooting churches, burning down abortion clinics, or flying a plane into IRS building, can seem like not only sane and reasonable, but the only moral course of action, if your world view is badly enough out of phase with actual reality.
In this case, however, it appears he made no attempt to justify his actions, even in the confession video.
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Because someone who is "healthy" and/or "well" does not wish to go out of their way to harm themselves or others. This really should not be a contentious point. No one is stigmatizing mental illness.
The entire accumulated human history argues against this being true!
"You don't have to be insane to kill someone. You just have to think you're right." - Yoko Taro.
I've argued this before in similar threads here.
We act according to what we think the world is, so while insanity can cause you to go off in bad ways, perfectly sane people can do horrible things, simply because they are wrong about basic facts.
Mass bombings, shooting churches, burning down abortion clinics, or flying a plane into IRS building, can seem like not only sane and reasonable, but the only moral course of action, if your world view is badly enough out of phase with actual reality.
In this case, however, it appears he made no attempt to justify his actions, even in the confession video.
Not really relevant one way or the other.
Just because he has made no attempts to justify himself has no bearing on his mental wellbeing.
The point is, that you do not need to be mentally ill to do something like this.
Edit: before we get into another discussion about mental illness, someone should pm Elki to see if what we know about the video confession qualifies as sufficient evidence. I'm on mobile
Paladin on
Marty: The future, it's where you're going? Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Because someone who is "healthy" and/or "well" does not wish to go out of their way to harm themselves or others. This really should not be a contentious point. No one is stigmatizing mental illness.
The entire accumulated human history argues against this being true!
"You don't have to be insane to kill someone. You just have to think you're right." - Yoko Taro.
I've argued this before in similar threads here.
We act according to what we think the world is, so while insanity can cause you to go off in bad ways, perfectly sane people can do horrible things, simply because they are wrong about basic facts.
Mass bombings, shooting churches, burning down abortion clinics, or flying a plane into IRS building, can seem like not only sane and reasonable, but the only moral course of action, if your world view is badly enough out of phase with actual reality.
I've thought about this before, and I think it might tie into a general sense of anger and helplessnes as well. Violence will often feel like the only real option if you want to make even the slightest impact on the world, especially if you belong to a disenfranchised group, or even just FEEL like you're disenfranchised. Which is not at all helped by media or community personalities who inflame this kind of sentiment in their supporters, knowing full well that most people will never act on it, but there's always going to be a handful in the crowd who are angry and bitter enough to actually go through with it. And despite what pop culture might tell you, you dont need to be some Unabomber weirdo to resort to this kind of action, it can fester ANYWHERE.
The term for the concept you're discussing is Relative Deprivation. The idea being that an individual or a group will use violence to achieve an outcome based on their perception of being deprived of something they feel, rightly or wrongly, that they deserve. It doesn't have to be an absolute deprivation of something, only that it is less than that individual or group feels they deserve.
Edit: before we get into another discussion about mental illness, someone should pm Elki to see if what we know about the video confession qualifies as sufficient evidence. I'm on mobile
Sufficient evidence for signs of mental illness? Absolutely not. There isn't sufficient evidence to establish he is mentally ill or not anymore. Not to any real degree of certainty. I can say that this is a topic that comes up from time to time among mental health professionals. The general consensus is that evil isn't a mental illness. A warped world view does not make you mentally ill, and it is extremely unlikely that any mental illness would push you to violence of any form.
Edit: To be clear I am not trying to play back seat mod. I am trying to bring in the perspective of a mental health professional. When I say we absolutely cannot have a good discussion it is not based on forum rules, but based on ethical guidelines surrounding diagnosis.
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We act according to what we think the world is, so while insanity can cause you to go off in bad ways, perfectly sane people can do horrible things, simply because they are wrong about basic facts.
Mass bombings, shooting churches, burning down abortion clinics, or flying a plane into IRS building, can seem like not only sane and reasonable, but the only moral course of action, if your world view is badly enough out of phase with actual reality.
Yeah, but MA sucks for gun laws, and besides, even in Texas, if you’re not the right kind of church the Feds will besiege your property and eventually help burn you out.
To make a more ontopic conversation: I think this bomber was a major asshole and I think reading into his upbringing or 6 year old political ideas is kind of pointless
In this case, however, it appears he made no attempt to justify his actions, even in the confession video.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Just because he has made no attempts to justify himself has no bearing on his mental wellbeing.
The point is, that you do not need to be mentally ill to do something like this.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
I've thought about this before, and I think it might tie into a general sense of anger and helplessnes as well. Violence will often feel like the only real option if you want to make even the slightest impact on the world, especially if you belong to a disenfranchised group, or even just FEEL like you're disenfranchised. Which is not at all helped by media or community personalities who inflame this kind of sentiment in their supporters, knowing full well that most people will never act on it, but there's always going to be a handful in the crowd who are angry and bitter enough to actually go through with it. And despite what pop culture might tell you, you dont need to be some Unabomber weirdo to resort to this kind of action, it can fester ANYWHERE.
Sufficient evidence for signs of mental illness? Absolutely not. There isn't sufficient evidence to establish he is mentally ill or not anymore. Not to any real degree of certainty. I can say that this is a topic that comes up from time to time among mental health professionals. The general consensus is that evil isn't a mental illness. A warped world view does not make you mentally ill, and it is extremely unlikely that any mental illness would push you to violence of any form.
Edit: To be clear I am not trying to play back seat mod. I am trying to bring in the perspective of a mental health professional. When I say we absolutely cannot have a good discussion it is not based on forum rules, but based on ethical guidelines surrounding diagnosis.