tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post1278667503421495762..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Rage against the EliteJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-43485984079746681732015-11-03T14:51:26.161-05:002015-11-03T14:51:26.161-05:00The people who compare Obama to Hitler and whatnot...The people who compare Obama to Hitler and whatnot are simply being sensationalists - they know that the more overblown their howling is, the more press and attention they receive for their own platforms. They don't really believe what they're saying and neither does their audience. It's all just a perverse, dischordant song and dance.<br /><br />But the problem is that this creates an atmosphere of constant negativity and hyperbole which sane people can recognize as rhetoric and (for the most part) don't truly take seriously, but which the mentally ill actually fully believe as true.<br /><br />The trouble with our society is that although in general everything works, we don't do nearly enough to compensate for the areas where the system breaks down - in particular, preventing and dealing with mental sickness. Time and again, our worst killers and criminals have been shown to almost universally be mentally ill, and their deeds could have been prevented if only they could have been identified and treated beforehand.<br /><br />But our mental health system is woefully inadequate, and our prevention systems are essentially non-existant. Being poor in America can be pretty miserable, and there's not a lot in play to prevent that misery turning into sickness. A lot of people don't have much in the way of either government assistance or even simple community to fall back on. They don't know their neighbors, they hate their job and their coworkers, and they can barely stand their dysfunctional family members. When misfortune strikes, they have nowhere to turn, nothing they can rely on, and no real option but to suffer through it the best they can on their own.<br /><br />I have to wonder if perhaps we don't see more violent outbursts simply because people feel hopeless and powerless to change things. Sure, you could grab a gun and shoot your boss, but nothing would change. Even if you somehow got away clean, you'd just end up with a new boss.<br /><br />Maybe the truth is that no single person can produce any impactful change on the system, and our extant culture is very effective at isolating discontented individuals and preventing them from grouping together to the extent that they become dangerous to the status quo. Maybe that's why voter turnout is so poor, and why our politics are more about like minded people entertaining and commiserating themselves than about producing meaningful changes.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.com