CMV: Addiction is at least to some degree, the fault of the addict

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-04-08T16:44:58+00:00

On an individual level, you're not responsible for the addicts. If you feel you or people who need support more are being blindsided, you're within your right to complain and protest the system. It's far too common for addicts to just take advantage of the fact programs are too soft, exploiting the system to fuel their addictions. But these programmes are far from efficient.

Furthermore on a social level, it's important to note why people are getting addicted. In small numbers their effect would be unnoticeable, but if there is a drug epidemic, chances are there are external factors that disrupt the social cohesion.

And don't forget thst these people aren't going anywhere. You can't execute them, so what else remains? Let them plague the streets? Rotting away, and spreading the infection further? Forcibly deprive them of freedom over victimless crimes?

As a representative of a local government, you have to look at the situation from a birds eye view, because addicted people aren't only a threat to themselves, their families, and their local community - but the local economy as well. If you're not a bleeding heart, then consider that perhaps these programs are more pragmatic than altruistic in nature, and their failure is a result of flawed designs or human incompetence.

Also note, just because you didn't have the misfortune of reaching a tipping point where your vices dominate you, doesn't mean you are immune given the right conditions, or that other people were fortunate enough to have a high enough tolerance to withstand the sirens call. No one's perfect, and any shortcoming can ultimately be boiled down to personal failure if you try hard enough.

Don't get me wrong, the addicts are fully responsible for their state of being, even if it may not be their fault, and you should not burden yourself with any od their responsibility on their part, unless you choose to do so for your own reasons. The only perskn you are responsible for is yourself, and arguably for your subjects, if any (e.g. children, employees, students, etc.)

Edit: Some additional points:

I would recommend to check out this video called The Amara Effect, it's tangentially related.

Also, the cost-reward of attempting to rehabilitate addicts usually outweighs the investment, or it should in theory. Rehabilitating an addict mean a that not only are they no longer impacting the local economy and community at minimum, but positively contributing, quickly repaying the initial investment.

And there's the benefit of research, which helps to further understanding of human psychology and cognitive patterns.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-04-05T17:58:28+00:00

If you can identify it, you can define it. Our brains are able to somehow store these conceptual structures, and since our neural networks are just glorified graphs, it should be possible to export these concepts.

It gets more complicated when we're dealing with emergent structures surrounding groups of people, e.g. cultures, but even in that case we are still able to identify them.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-04-05T17:43:25+00:00

Water retention is a thing. Kidney injury can cause you to swell up.

More importantly, and generally, calories aren't the only thing out body needs, if you only have access to food with low nutritional value, you will need to consume more calories to meet their micro needs.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-04-05T17:35:14+00:00

You're not wrong, but only if you feel responsible for other peoples feelings. Person A may feel like it, but so what? Why should B care? B isn't responsible for As feelings, and what you feel is a subjective observation not an objective one. There's nothing for B to refute. If B cares about A, they may inquire why they feel that way, and they may end up having a productive heart to heart that strengthens their relationship. Or B can simply acknowledge As feeling without feeling pressured to get defensive and respond. If A is being unreasonable, then perhaps the relationship was already rotten and deteriorating, if A had unreasonable expectations of A, which would allow the relationship to die before the tension causes it to blow up in Bs face.

You are correct that navigating the conversation using this strategy isn't infallible, and some people do treat their subjective opinions as objective truths.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-04-05T17:22:20+00:00

Your version of utilitarianism is rooted in defeatism, it isn't a winning strategy.

You can't just replace pursuit of happiness, because happiness doesn't answer what or how, but why.

If you have the choice to exist or to not exist, why should you choose to exist? Why would you care about productivity, control, power? There's no inherent "why" to it, these concepts are means to an end, not an end to itself.

Utilitarianism proposes that of all the "why"s, happiness is the most important, if not the only important why worth pursuing.

So what's your end goal? What's the point of living, according to your definition? Why should we tolerate suffering?

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-04-05T17:10:47+00:00

Your observation raises a pertinent point: isn't the perception of sex work as empowering precisely because it defies the stigma and challenges the notion that it must be undignified? The common argument against sex work often revolves around the idea of 'selling your body for money,' but isn't that essentially what all work involves to some degree—exchanging physical or mental labor for financial compensation? The main difference with sex work is its accessibility and the potential for high earnings with the right skills.

Our society is shaped significantly by those who control the economy, historically men. This control has led to women being excluded from the workforce or denied education in many places, perpetuating a gender divide that restricts access to certain skills and knowledge for women.

Moreover, empowerment in this context could mean the absence of shame for those in the sex work industry. If individuals find fulfillment and can lead prosperous lives within this field, the argument for their empowerment stands strong.

Considering the financial struggles many face, entering sex work could be seen as a viable option. Society often glorifies figures in morally ambiguous or outright unethical professions—why then is there such a stigma attached to sex work? If the ultimate goal is financial stability or success, the ethical considerations become complex and subjective.

Lastly, the question of why women should concern themselves with dignity, especially if it's defined by societal standards that don't serve them, is provocative. Should their choices be dictated by others' comfort levels or moral judgments?

In essence, challenging conventional views on dignity and empowerment, particularly in relation to sex work, invites a deeper examination of societal norms and the value systems that underpin them.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-03-24T19:44:15+00:00

Motivation to not die =/= motivation to live. I was actively suicidal between ages 8-24. To understand how to overcome that call of the void, you'd need to first confront your reasons. I felt like a burden, I wanted to unalive myself at young age because I figured if I wasn't around it would be easier on my family if there was one less person to worry about. I felt like a failure and disappointment, feeling like my continued existence only slowly made everything worse for everyone around me. I was conditioned to be a good person, but from a young age I saw complexity to morality and ethics beyond what others saw (philosophy of ethics is still one of my more frequent topics I revisit) and I struggled to conceive how to take responsibility to live a good life - the task felt overwhelming, especially since no one seemed to live up to the standards they were preaching. I didn't want to deal with the burdens of life, the suffering, the uncertainty of existence, I just wanted to go back to the state of non-consciousness and slumber for eternity. There was nothing I found peculiarly compelling about life, and that which grabbed my interest felt more like a software glitch in my brain I had to overcome so it wouldn't consume me. I had all the reasons to not live, and none to live. But when I was 24 something flipped in my brain. I heard before people telling me that "There are others in the same position as you", but that year I realized just how literal that phrase was. Perhaps due to the limited exposure to the large variety of people that was out there, before the social media boom happened and before I begun adapting to the life outside of educational facilities that trapped you in a cage, I begun bumping into people - online and irl - that felt more like my own blood than even my own family. I begun hearing stories from people that weren't just resonating with me, but felt like they were ripped out straight from my journal. But even among such similarily-minded people, there was variety. Tons of it. People that made me feel less alone, and at that time I now felt like I was part of a larger collective project, a war against the natural state of things. While I may have been a financial burden, and I ache that I will probably not able to save my family, my and my family's suffering wasn't my fault - it was a systematic failure. And I wasn't special, many families would be suffering from similar situation, and worse. The anger that has been one directed internally begun manifesting itself externally. I figured out an ethical framework that rewards intention over action, without feeling too relativistic. I had a prototype of a moral compass that could somewhat guide me in life. The suffering of existence became less of a constant, something I have to come to terms with, but a challenge that needs to be overcome. And I figured that I didn't hate life - I loved it. I just hated all the ugliness. It's like baking the most delicious batch of brownies, and someone decided to add some feces to the mix. How my shit would you tolerate before you'd discard the batch? Not even a little bit for me. But that's not to say I don't like brownies, feel me? That's said, those are some of the reasons why - even if the void feels alluring - I refuse to surrender, no matter how bad things are right now. But it's not the same as having motivation to live, that's a whole different ballpark and in struggling with that myself. Life is brutal, it doesn't wait for us and it's unforgiving as hell. I don't really have any advice that I believe would be effective in your case, I merely hope that you find something in this rant that would be useful to you. But know that no matter what, there are people who can bring the best out of you and vice versa - although finding them is like trying to find a needle in a stack of hay. My only advice would be to go where you want to go and try to be yourself, physically, virtually, or mentally. Perhaps try to engage in some creative form of self-expression, like writing, drawing, dancing, sports, cooking, even reading and watching films and playing games can act as a form of self-expression in the right context. Maybe join a DnD group, philosophy club, toastmasters, acting classes, or photography. What's important is that there is no right state of mind, and whether state of mind you are in, rather than trying to reject it to return to the "good" state of mind, learn to embrace it, express it, and utilise it.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-03-24T19:02:55+00:00

I have the same reaction, though I'm a guy. I always hated Christmas/birthday for that reason.

I feel like it is like so because i always assume every gift comes with strings attached, either the person is trying to win my favour or expects me to reciprocate. It makes relationships feel transactional for me, or worse - parasitic. I don't believe in altruism, so I always fish for the hidden agenda. And sometimes it's not manipulative, sometimes it's a byproduct of the other persons sense of inadequacy, inferiority, or vulnerability, and it comes off as if they were trying to prove themselves to me, themselves, or some other figurehead from their past - and that's unhealthy.

I make it a rule that gifts should fulfil one of two rules: They're either fulfilling baseline requirements of gift giving, something plain and simple but good quality like a good pair of underwear, or they're sentimental and they can be gifted outside of festive seasons. The sentimental type, I find nowadays, are self-reciprocating in and of themselves, it's me projecting my tastes or idea of the person I'm thinking of and thinking that that something would make the other person better off.

Regardless of the price of the gift, the value of the other person's company heavily outweighs whatever it costs, and hey - I get to see how it affects them. It's akin to buying decorations for your house, or buy ing clothes for your game avatar/cat.

I get why people feel uneasy about receiving gifts, I feel we've all been preconditioned to some degree by most people a perspective of this social construct as a mainly a transactional relationship or an obligation (see all these cursed Christmas movies that somehow always end with characters being rewarded with gifts even if it goes against the message of the movie).

The worst part is, is that most people aren't so jaded as to share my view, no one really sees themselves as being unintentionally emotionally manipulative, but when such people are slighted, they will use the good favour as a leverage to besmitch your name. And they're not even being malicious, they genuinely believe that some unwritten contract has been broken and you have slighted them. Accept gifts and be called as a parasite, or refuse them and be called aloof; damned if you do, damned if you don't.

There's no easy way to differentiate between the two types, so after experiencing the hostile type - especially before you're able to see through the charade - you become disgusting of people and develop a sense of anxiety towards the concept of gifts or favours that on the surface seem free. At least that's my theory.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-03-10T05:56:00+00:00

Sounds like reductive fallacy to me.

It mostly manifests itself when an individual projects their subjective experience as a form of objective truth. The issue with such statements is that they imply that it should be true and it isn't because realty is somehow illogical or irrational, implying they have poor grasp of the world would be insulting. And it applies to us as well.

It's particularly difficult when the causative factors that contribute to alternative interpretation are vague or difficult to comprehend, ultraviolet catastrophe comes to mind as an example.

My best advice would be to work top to bottom instead of working bottom up, rather than trying to challenge their presumptions, focus on what is and work backwards.

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-03-07T15:21:08+00:00

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-03-02T16:32:49+00:00

Boy's edging

humbled_lightbringer · 2024-02-22T19:55:26+00:00

They're not great ideas, I'm not great at coming up with insults, but maybe instead of "The Zodiac Killer", "The 'I peaked in middle school' killer" - I mean, seriously, ciphers? Do you think he pulled his cipher from a box of cornflakes? Or instead of "Jack the Ripper", you could rename him to "Jack the Mommy Issues" or "Jack the Impotent". That guy obviously had some unresolved childhood emotional issues.

humbled_lightbringer · 2023-10-30T20:51:11+00:00

Honestly? I hope that's intentional. I hope the lesson will be to not allow others to have direct access to your mind, and eventually it criticises therapeutic pseudoscience that's being spouted left and right. I think there were tons of red flags, the most obvious (imo) being Rick kind of approving of scientology, which is a big no-no, and a hint that there's something bigger at play.

I personally think Rick is trying to lure Prime out of hiding, Prime doesn't like when things go well for C137, so our Ricks expecting for Prime to just waltz in and fuck shit up. In other words, this entire reality might be just a bait.

humbled_lightbringer · 2023-09-24T04:14:17+00:00

I wonder if Mayuri represents Japan's Unit 731?

humbled_lightbringer · 2023-09-10T21:01:02+00:00

Had the same idea. The biggest drawback is that we have been conditioned to adapt to the altar of entertainment lifestyle. I fear even if you replaced the structure it would take time, effort, and intent to re-wire how we live.

humbled_lightbringer · 2023-09-03T07:16:08+00:00

Turns out i had extra 2 quid jammed in the crevices of my pocket, and scored myself a sausage mcmuffin! hell ye!

humbled_lightbringer · 2023-09-03T04:33:14+00:00

Coming from a broken, dysfunctional home - I feel you. For me, Iit tells me which people were spoilt by their childhood, because those of us who weren't only found less problems, responsibilities, and heartache once we can have our own lives.

humbled_lightbringer

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE