why was the usa the only one to go to the moon?

[Noldi400]

Noldi, that's why Charlie Chaplin wouldn't respond after people who had seen The Great Dictator asked if he was himself Jewish.  He said it wasn't the point, and if he denied it (because he wasn't), he made it look like he was accepting that calling someone Jewish was insulting them.

That was my reaction - it was so irrelevant I was at a loss as to how to respond.

It reminded me of the time when I was having a conversation with one of the Paramedics who worked for me about his (lack of) ability to work and play well with others.  He was listing his virtues and at one point said "I've always tried to give all my patients the same level of care, no matter if they were Democrats or Republicans."

He actually said that. And he was serious. And I looked at him, I suspect, as if he had suddenly turned green and sprouted tentacles from his ears. The thought processes of some people are just beyond me.

[Mag40]

Gillian, don't you enjoy a little meaningless chatter now and then?

Has anybody reached Saturn yet?

[Echnaton]

Sure.  I just don't think unproductive chatter is worth it.  What's more, "why they believe the way they do" always involves someone making claims about mental health that shows that the person doesn't know anything about psychology.  This, for what I think are obvious reasons, really bothers me.

I just find it interesting because it gives an incite into the poster, not because of incites into the topic.

[gillianren]

There are some assumptions that are hurtful to me that get made a lot when discussing mental illness.  The only insight they've ever provided to me is that the stigma lives, and I don't need it discussed here to know that.

[Andromeda]

Sure.  I just don't think unproductive chatter is worth it.  What's more, "why they believe the way they do" always involves someone making claims about mental health that shows that the person doesn't know anything about psychology.  This, for what I think are obvious reasons, really bothers me.

I just find it interesting because it gives an incite into the poster, not because of incites into the topic.

Please remember that some of us do know something about psychology, even if we don't discuss it much here.

[Noldi400]

There are some assumptions that are hurtful to me that get made a lot when discussing mental illness.  The only insight they've ever provided to me is that the stigma lives, and I don't need it discussed here to know that.

You're quite right, and we here should probably avoid making assumptions about any poster, especially when it approaches anything resembling a  medical diagnosis.

I think it's just difficult for many of us to comprehend how someone with normal mentation can put out some of the things HBs come up with.  My own personal experience is that is is entirely possible for "mentally healthy" (for lack of a better term) people to hold very strange views (see my previous post).

[gillianren]

I'm assuredly not a medical professional, but I am a well-read amateur and an actually mentally ill person.  Some of the statements I read in "why do they believe that way?" threads are ridiculously ill-informed and paint me with a brush they certainly never intended to.  I get furious when I read people talking about being afraid of the mentally ill; we're more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators of it, and when we are perpetrators, our victims are usually other mentally ill people.  But I have yet to read a thread discussing mental illness that doesn't caution people to be careful around "those people."

[Laurel]

But I have yet to read a thread discussing mental illness that doesn't caution people to be careful around "those people."

And people who say that are assuming that everyone's mental illness is visible and that "those people" are easy to recognize. That's just not true. Lots of people with mental health issues are high-functioning and/or getting effective treatment and one can easily interact with them and not realize they have a problem.

[gillianren]

I was in a discussion once where someone both maintained that you can always detect someone's illness from their posts on a board and that he hadn't known I was mentally ill until I said something.

[Al Johnston]

"Insights" shurely? Incites is something else...

[Echnaton]

"Insights" shurely? Incites is something else...

Ah well.

[Donnie B.]

"Surely", surely?

[Chew]

"Surely", surely?

Shirley you can't be serious?

[Al Johnston]

Don't keep calling me 'Shirley'!

[PetersCreek]

Roger, Over.