That doesn’t explain him embracing right wing politics. Plenty of people have to deal with brain injuries, and don’t embrace authoritarianism. And yes, it could be due to manipulation, but he could also genuinely believe in the BS he’s spewing. I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt of having at least some agency here.
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Maybe he’ll pull a hammie. I love Warnock and his elegance of speech. Walker should stick to what he knows best…running away.
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Quick mod note: We have a policy against assuming mental state here, though this time the subject admits to being diagnosed with a disorder. This fact, however, doesn’t somehow mean all bad behaviour is the result of their disorder, and therefore all is forgiven, though, nor that this gentlemen is incapable of making decisions (or indeed, facing the consequences for them.)
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Okay, this is getting ridicullous.
I am trying to say that Walker is almost certainly not responsible, given acknowledged and probable problems.
And that is unacceptable, while cheering for the demise of the horrible person (who may or may not be brain damaged) is not?
Which YOU DON’T KNOW for certain. You are not fully aware of what is going on behind the scenes in his campaign, unless you yourself are part of it and have some insider knowledge of it. So, unless that is the case, then you DO NOT know that to be the case. All any of us can do is see what he’s done and said IN public. He’s not a great candidate and he’s got some horrible policy positions. That has nothing to do with his diagnosis.
No one is advocating for his death here… they are saying he doesn’t need to be running for office, because of his policy positions. Not a single person here has advocated for him to be hurt or killed in any fucking way. I doubt that the same can be said of Walker’s supporters with regards to the good reverend he’s running up against. How many death threats do YOU think Walker’s supporters have sent to Sen. Warnock?
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We don’t condone cheering for the “demise” of anyone. But additionally, the idea that this individual is wholly incompetent to make any decisions on their own is a stigma that many who live with mental disorders are forced to endure every day. You remove the agency of every one of these people when you try to suggest that because they have a disorder, none of their decisions are their own.
Please do not do this. Worse, it lets genuinely bad people claim they are not responsible for their actions, while simultaneously creating the connection that those who live with these disorders are bad people.
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Blockquote
We don’t condone cheering for the “demise” of anyone.
Oh, come on. It’s obvious I was speaking metaphorically-- that he is vile and deserves what happens to him (at the very least, defeat in the election)
Blockquote But additionally, the idea that this individual is wholly incompetent to make any decisions on their own is a stigma that many who live with mental disorders are forced to endure every day.
As do I. And yet, it is not without truth. That’s the whole definition of mental illness-- if you don’t make decisions the way that the “normals” do, you’re mentally ill. It’s a failure to follow consensus reality. By definition, any decision that a mentally ill person makes is necessarily suspect-- otherwise, we wouldn’t consider them mentally ill.
Whether consensus reality is all that it’s cracked up to be is another question.
blockquote You remove the agency of every one of these people when you try to suggest that because they have a disorder, none of their decisions are their own.
Again, the definition of mentally ill does this, not me. If you accept a definition of mentally ill (and I do for myself, again), you must accept that you do not always have agency.
blockquote Please do not do this.
Why? Because it’s true and makes you feel bad?
blockquote Worse, it lets genuinely bad people claim they are not responsible for their actions, while simultaneously creating the connection that those who live with these disorders are bad people.
Horseshit. People who are genuinely bad don’t need this cover. Does Trump claim to be mentally Ill? Alex Jones? Roger Stone? Adolf Hitler? (there, I’ve Godwinized it!) None of them claimed to be mentally ill, or used it as justification. Even though they may have been, in fact, mentally ill. They don’t use it for cover.
No, because we choose to protect the rights of our members not to have to come to a forum and feel lumped in with killers and other bad actors against your right to do so. It’s that simple.
You are welcome to create your own forum where you decide on the guidelines presented. This event, this post, and this discussion are not about you.
If you do not agree with our guidelines, your remedy is not to post here.
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There must be a German word that describes the feeling of embarrassment for someone else before the embarrassing situation takes place. This debate just might prompt interesting critique and dissections of the public’s reaction rather than of the debate. I anticipate much wincing, horror, sadness, and sick humor.
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The title of this does lead me to a question. Walker has mentioned in his book that he absolutely has multiple personalities through dissociative identity disorder. These … identities… may come with memories that are real to those identities. It’s entirely possible that he believes he was an FBI agent and valedictorian because his identities actually have memories of being these things. His book has identities with stories that are definitely not true, but the memories behind them are as real as any that you or I would have.
So I guess since he’s a public figure and put himself out here with those assertions that it is okay to mock him for the things his identities have claimed to do, but aren’t we supposed to take people with potential mental issues at face value? It’s definitely easy to say someone who does not have a grip on reality or whose brain is creating false memories for its identities should likely not be entrusted with a senate seat… but it’s kind of harder for me to feel it okay to mock him for events that he truly believes happened. The question I have is how do we discuss the clear issues he himself has discussed without crossing the line? If he believes these things are true because they ARE memories of one or many of his identities, is he intentionally lying?
I certainly am not in the realm of defending him from his words and actions, and he’s ultimately responsible for them no matter what his identities experienced in the world of false memories, but it does feel weird to be mocking it.
There is an R by his name on the ballot, & that’s good enough for the FDCists.
They would vote for a friggin brick if that R is there.
From the FDC’s viewpoint, that makes Warnock one of the Liberal Elite That Is Destroying America.
Competence is a detriment, as far as they are concerned. So are facts.
No, he is simply a plain-spoken Man of the People, here to obey the bellowings of his Lord & Saviour.
No flowery phrases & pretty lies for him, nosiree!
Of course he will win any debate, and anyone who says different just cannot comprehend the depths of his superior intellect & is probably part of the Deep State, anyway…
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He is the one claiming to be mentally fit for office. As long as he remains in the race I see no reason we shouldn’t hold him responsible for his own words and actions.
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Is that how dissociative identity disorder works? Does every identity believe that everything that happened to every other identity really happened?
I think that a simpler word for what we are seeing with Walker is “delusional.”
The uncle of mine who had it (and had schizophrenic tendencies) had three different identities, all with their own backstories, histories, and everything. One even knew spanish while the other two didn’t. And in cases where the identities knew each other they all three believed what each of them said. The memories were, obviously, contradictory on the whole because you can’t be in three different places at once, but all of … him… believed all of him, yes.
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When your uncle was speaking as your uncle, did he (your uncle) say that he (your uncle) had done all of the things that the other two identities had purportedly done, or did he (your uncle) believe the other two identities to be entirely separate people who had done those things and later told him (your uncle) about them?
It was the latter. He knew he was those other identities, and also that they were separate people. Now, mind, this thing presents in different ways. It’s a mental illness. I absolutely wouldn’t wanted him to be a senator either, but it just feels weird mocking people for possible mental illnesses and taking a hard line against mocking people for physical issues (such as what Trump did to that one reporter.)
It’s absolutely enough to leave it at Walker is delusional, dangerous, and letting him have access to classified docs is dangerous.
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That sounds like rules lawyering.
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I appreciate the insight into the disorder, but I also do not think that we can chalk up every bizarre claim that Walker makes to dissociative identity disorder. In the end, we have only to judge his words and deeds for what they are. As for mockery, again, his words and deeds are what they are.
He may be a very disturbed individual, but he is not without agency. And no matter how you cut it, he is doing very stupid things.
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It. Doesn’t. Matter.
Mental illness is NOT the fucking cause of authoritarianism. FULL STOP.
Why the fuck is that so hard to grok?
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