Pondering with Gaddafi's mental state

[LionKing]

I read some of his so called green book, or quotes from it. I read some of his extremely interesting and intriguing short stories that didn't look liek any other satirical stories and commentaries I have read, I watched many of his weird stances...and durign the revlution, my colleagues and I would wait patientlessly for his speeches just to have a good laugh (heck we almost had a withdrawal syndrome when he was dead) .. and I thought the man is crazy. what I think he has is soem sort of Megalomania. I wonder if someone can give us a professional thought on this, but maybe couldn't be done because a full diagnosis should be made after interviewing him. 
There came a time lately when I thought that , perhaps becasue he is very much affected by the Bedouin style of life (thus the talk about animals and comparing them with humans), and because he is naive, he would act in certain ways, and not because he is crazy of any kind, for how can a crazed person rule for forty years? can it be that becasue his life he said was very different from ours that we think that he is crazy? or do you think he really has some sort of mental illness.

I remember pondering with that and mental illnesses as I remember  my neighbor's visit to us, talking complete nonsense. He has a university degree, divorced wih a son because he got bored from his wife (hahahaha all people would get divorced if they think likewise), and started speaking utter rubbish: he doesn't want his mother to live with him because if he wants to kill someone she would know and people start asking her, and she would deliver the news, for he works for the French and Lebanese army adn develops software for them. ..and on the roof there are huge spiders thta can harm his mother, and diseases are spreadign becasue of increased homosexuality, and so on...
now this is clearly different fro mhat Gaddafi exhibited (except it might be some sort of megalomania also saying that he works for the army) , but I still think that there might be something in the metal state of Gaddafi, not sure if I am right.

[gillianren]

I don't think any of us are qualified to make a diagnosis, and I think anyone who is would have wanted to, you know, talk to him personally in order to do so.

[Luke Pemberton]

I don't think any of us are qualified to make a diagnosis, and I think anyone who is would have wanted to, you know, talk to him personally in order to do so.

I concur. I have no idea what his mental state was, and am in no position to diagnose it either.

[LionKing]

unfortunately yes , we can't give a diagnosis but his actions were so different and weird..



at any rates, wish you all nice celebrations away from madness .. may the next year be better that this year for everyone.

[Luke Pemberton]

we can't give a diagnosis but his actions were so different and weird..

Possibly because he was made a pariah by the Western world and 'news' focussed on his idiosyncrasies. The view of Gaddafi was distorted by 'tabloid' media. In the UK, the Murdoch outlets portrayed him in a particular manner as they courted the Goverments of the day.

[gillianren]

at any rates, wish you all nice celebrations away from madness .. may the next year be better that this year for everyone.

Depending on your definitions, that's impossible for some of us.

[Allan F]

He just followed the standard dictator formula - get the power, let the people rot, collect all the money for yourself, random killings, opposition hunted and killed and so on.

Just like communist sovjet, North Korea, Iraq under Saddam, numerous african countries, China, South America.

[Luke Pemberton]

He just followed the standard dictator formula...

Exactly, and to that end he was satirised by his enemies for political gain. If anything he was portrayed as being slightly eccentric with a tendency to behave in an irrational way. This is not be confused with mental health issues.

[smartcooky]

He just followed the standard dictator formula - get the power, let the people rot, collect all the money for yourself, random killings, opposition hunted and killed and so on.

Just like communist sovjet, North Korea, Iraq under Saddam, numerous african countries, China, South America.

Thank goodness you stopped when you did. I was just getting ready to hand out one of these....

[gillianren]

Now, I won't deny that there's something wrong with some dictators.  I do not believe Idi Amin was a mentally healthy individual.  However, even in his case, I won't hazard a guess as to exactly what was wrong with him, because I don't know nearly enough about him as a person, just what he did.

[smartcooky]

Now, I won't deny that there's something wrong with some dictators.  I do not believe Idi Amin was a mentally healthy individual.  However, even in his case, I won't hazard a guess as to exactly what was wrong with him, because I don't know nearly enough about him as a person, just what he did.

Idi Amin (or more correctly, "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular" was likely suffering from systemic syphilis, and this particularly affected his brain.

With a self-proclaimed title like the one above, "megalomaniac" is one conclusion I could draw.

[gillianren]

Every time I write about Idi Amin in any kind of formal context, I include that whole title, because I love it so madly.  It also takes up a lot of space, which is helpful when I'm writing a review of a movie that I don't have much to say about, as has been the case once or twice.  But, yes, tertiary syphilis could explain a fair amount.  There's some historical speculation that it's also what was going on with Henry VIII toward the end of his reign, but the Crown has so far denied all requests to do analysis on the bones to find out.  Assuming there are bones left, which there might not be five hundred years later.

[LionKing]

well, Gaddafi once told the Saudi King in a summit: you are talking to the king of African kings and my global position doesn't allow me to reply to you..
it sounds like megalomania, but still can't tell for sure.

[gillianren]

No.  You can't.  It could be simple arrogance.  It could be political maneuvering.  It could be a joke, for all you know.  Which is why you don't get to make assumptions about his mental health.  You don't have enough information.

[LionKing]

No.  You can't.  It could be simple arrogance.  It could be political maneuvering.  It could be a joke, for all you know.  Which is why you don't get to make assumptions about his mental health.  You don't have enough information.

no in this context he wasn't joking at all..he usually says things like that and mean them