More stuff I think about

posted by The Vidiot @ 11:30 AM Permalink

Look at society as a whole. You can kind of it think of it as a large gooey mass with defined boundaries. Any goo that extends beyond those boundaries, while still technically part of the overall goo, is in reality outside of the boundary of that goo. So here we have this gooey society, and every now and then, someone doesn't fit into that society very well. That person is too nervous, or too wild, or deemed too violent, or challenges authority a little too much, or is just plain too different. What does society do? In its mildest forms, it shames that person into the
'proper' behavior. At its worst, it does its damnedest to take that person and reformat them, either with therapy, drugs, incarceration, or any or all of those things combined.

But is that person really too nervous or wild or violent or different? Is challenging authority really all that bad? Probably not. But society can't have these sore thumbs sticking out, so anything that doesn't fit is pathologized.

Therapists, psychiatrists, physicians, police, politicians, journalists, corporate media, armies, teachers, just about anyone in any position of authority are there for one reason and one reason only; to maintain the social order at any cost, the individual be damned.

Think there's something wrong with society? Well, maybe you should see a shrink. If that doesn't work, then you should take some pills. If you STILL think society is FUBAR, then off to the sanitarium you go.

But there obviously is something wrong with society. Just look around. There's extreme poverty, to the point where old men are picking open wounds while sitting on the street begging for pennies. There's extreme wealth, to the point where extremely wealthy people are disconnected from space and time, where they can go anywhere, be anywhere and do anything at any time with absolutely no consequences. There are people who perceive themselves in the middle, while seemingly far removed from extreme wealth, still identifying with the wealthy without ever realizing they're a momentary step from extreme poverty and a giant leap from wealth.

Should I be pathologized for even thinking this way?

Labels: capitalism, social control, sociology