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> These people have money to buy alcohol and cigarettes, and yet their kids go hungry and rely on school lunch programs, etc. Ah yes, let's blame people for th

by lbotos 8y ago

> These people have money to buy alcohol and cigarettes, and yet their kids go hungry and rely on school lunch programs, etc. Ah yes, let's blame people for their dependence on mind alterning chemicals that if abused build negative feedback loops. While at the same time, those chemicals are touted and lauded in mainstream culture. From rap's "popping bottles" to country's "whiskey makes my girl a little bit frisky". > For all of them, their personal issues overwhelm their ability to be functional adults. Doesn't this happen to EVERYONE at some point, temporarily? Where something overwhelms our ability to function. Can you imagine a structure where repeated incidents lead to patterns, and the societal structures we build are not helping to correct those patterns for individuals. Yes, some people will just always make bad choices, but also, some people have never had an opportunity to actually flourish and understand how their choices are not helping. Or even, maybe they are addicted to mind altering chemicals that have literally changed the way they think. > Let people face death, then see how they act. If we are sharing anecdotes, my partner works as a therapist with teens with substance abuse problems in the Bronx. I'll never forget the day she called me crying, because one of her 17 year old patients was scared he was going to be attacked leaving the office because he didn't want to join a gang. He was held up at gun point, had is phone stolen, and his life threatened. You better believe he wants to escape. Sure, his personal issues are overwhelming his ability to function, but we have to acknowledge that society is not trying to really help him in a serious way because therapy helps, but also economic opportunity as well. I am an extremely selfish person, and have had great success due to opportunities granted to me through privilege and access. It took a long hard look at myself, to look at someone else, even in the face of addiction, abusive behaviors and acknowledge their personhood and their struggle and say, you are a not able to function, but you are human, and we should try and help.

Domenic_S 8y ago
Helping requires some uncomfortable truths to be socially accepted. "It's all lie, lie, lie." the GP said, and he's right -- addicts in the throes of addiction lie. We have to be OK saying, this person is an addict and not really in their right mind. If we treat addiction as a mental illness, then we treat the illness and the lies start to melt away. Some people think addiction is a moral failing; others think it is an illness. I land on the illness side. Treatment works. We can help people, but it requires throwing away the blind judgement.
- lovehashbrowns 8y ago
  > Some people think addiction is a moral failing That is, at least in my experience, what leads to comments like these: "He did the world a favor and hung himself." What an incredibly harsh thing to say, especially for a situation that is rarely as clear-cut as "person A is bad therefore they should die." The uncomfortable truths you mention are like bubbles rising to the top. As a society, we're starting to think about things like alcoholism, drug addiction, childhood abuse, etc. and that will hopefully lead to having fewer of these clear-cut moral judgements. I think UBI will also help, because a lot of these mental traps (bad situation -> abuse -> drugs -> bad situation -> abuse etc.) are magnified by poverty. What's funny is that some of the pushback against UBI (and welfare) is that same moral judgement. "We shouldn't have UBI because some people will spend it on drugs and alcohol."

by lbotos 8y ago

Domenic_S 8y ago

Helping requires some uncomfortable truths to be socially accepted. "It's all lie, lie, lie." the GP said, and he's right -- addicts in the throes of addiction lie. We have to be OK saying, this person is an addict and not really in their right mind. If we treat addiction as a mental illness, then we treat the illness and the lies start to melt away. Some people think addiction is a moral failing; others think it is an illness. I land on the illness side. Treatment works. We can help people, but it requires throwing away the blind judgement.

lovehashbrowns 8y ago
> Some people think addiction is a moral failing That is, at least in my experience, what leads to comments like these: "He did the world a favor and hung himself." What an incredibly harsh thing to say, especially for a situation that is rarely as clear-cut as "person A is bad therefore they should die." The uncomfortable truths you mention are like bubbles rising to the top. As a society, we're starting to think about things like alcoholism, drug addiction, childhood abuse, etc. and that will hopefully lead to having fewer of these clear-cut moral judgements. I think UBI will also help, because a lot of these mental traps (bad situation -> abuse -> drugs -> bad situation -> abuse etc.) are magnified by poverty. What's funny is that some of the pushback against UBI (and welfare) is that same moral judgement. "We shouldn't have UBI because some people will spend it on drugs and alcohol."