• Re: What for?

    From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Sat Apr 12 16:41:18 2025
    So here's one of the myths that have been pushed on us for a long time: There are "the rich" and "the poor" and people stay in those groups.

    You're right, and it is a myth, but there's a better word for it, something like "brainwashing." Poor people need to realize that there are ways to get out of poverty, and all they need to do is change their attitude and be ambitious. Narratives have some people fooled into thinking that it can never change, and that they're destined to eat bread heels for the rest of their lives.

    My point is that if a person is stuck in a job where they must rely on Socialist Security for retirement, that's their fault.

    Planning ahead is smart, but sometimes people have to take things one day at a time. If they're broke or in debt 100% of the time, there's simply no such thing as "saving for the future." They've got to (and I'm one of these people) find a job that offers a future in the first place.

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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Aaron Thomas on Sun Apr 13 17:25:02 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Dr. What <=-

    You're right, and it is a myth, but there's a better word for it, something like "brainwashing." Poor people need to realize that there
    are ways to get out of poverty, and all they need to do is change their attitude and be ambitious. Narratives have some people fooled into thinking that it can never change, and that they're destined to eat
    bread heels for the rest of their lives.

    And they are brainwashed into a counter-productive culture (like stabbing someone because he dissed me at a game) that not only keeps them poor, but ruins their chances of getting out.

    Planning ahead is smart, but sometimes people have to take things one
    day at a time. If they're broke or in debt 100% of the time, there's simply no such thing as "saving for the future." They've got to (and
    I'm one of these people) find a job that offers a future in the first place.

    They've got to take control of themselves. If they are broke or in debt all of the time, what are the odds that they drink and smoke, or possibly do weed? Pretty high, from what I've seen.

    I don't know how many relatives I've heard complain about not having the money to do necessary-thing-1 or necessary-thing-2, but they always seem to have plenty of money for their cigarettes and to go the bar.


    ... I'll get to it on the 2nd Tuesday of next week.
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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Mon Apr 14 05:58:58 2025
    Planning ahead is smart, but sometimes people have to take things one day at a time. If they're broke or in debt 100% of the time, there's simply no such thing as "saving for the future." They've got to (and I'm one of these people) find a job that offers a future in the first place.

    They've got to take control of themselves. If they are broke or in debt all of the time, what are the odds that they drink and smoke, or
    possibly do weed? Pretty high, from what I've seen.

    I think most people can balance weed, alcohol, and a checkbook. The people who are constantly broke and are high, I think they're high on something else.

    I don't know how many relatives I've heard complain about not having the money to do necessary-thing-1 or necessary-thing-2, but they always seem to have plenty of money for their cigarettes and to go the bar.

    The bar thing is something that I can't relate to. Why pay more when you can get it at Walmart way cheaper? I liked drinking with other people when I was younger, but now days I drink alone, at home, and rarely.

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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Aaron Thomas on Tue Apr 15 07:15:48 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I think most people can balance weed, alcohol, and a checkbook. The
    people who are constantly broke and are high, I think they're high on something else.

    They lack self-control and the ability to understand that decisions of consequences that they have to take.

    The bar thing is something that I can't relate to. Why pay more when
    you can get it at Walmart way cheaper? I liked drinking with other
    people when I was younger, but now days I drink alone, at home, and rarely.

    I had too many relatives who died of cirrhosis of the liver from chronic alcahol. So my family never really did the drinking. By the time I could explore for myself, it wasn't something that interested me.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Tue Apr 15 06:13:00 2025
    I had too many relatives who died of cirrhosis of the liver from chronic alcahol. So my family never really did the drinking. By the time I
    could explore for myself, it wasn't something that interested me.

    Most people are better off without alcohol, but some people rely on it as a psychiatric medicine. I used to be one of them. It's not ideal but it works as an emotional pain killer.

    I know how people look when they're drunk, smelling like piss, all skinny,
    and asking people outside the gas station for money. But I can say with certainty that some of them aren't like that by choice.

    And here's where politics plays a role in it: Psychiatrists are university-bred leftists, and they're loyal to pharmaceutical companies.

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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/1 to Ron L. on Tue Apr 15 09:37:16 2025
    Ron L. wrote to Aaron Thomas <=-

    They lack self-control and the ability to understand that decisions of consequences that they have to take.

    Addiction is real. To expect a truly addictive personality to weigh their consequences is a little naive.

    I know people who manage addiction. I wouldn't say "beat" addiction, as
    they learn that they can't start the addictive personality, otherwise
    they won't be able to stop. That takes an incredible amount of
    introspection and self-examination, as well as a lot of inner strength.

    There's more than one type of addiction. I've seen people that behaved
    in self-harmful manners that could change direction. For them the
    addictive behaviors were more of a habit, I'd venture to guess. Change
    the environment, change the habit, and the behavior changes.


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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Aaron Thomas on Wed Apr 16 07:17:54 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Dr. What <=-

    I know how people look when they're drunk, smelling like piss, all
    skinny, and asking people outside the gas station for money. But I can
    say with certainty that some of them aren't like that by choice.

    They are **all** like that by choice. They may not have made a conscious choice, but they did choose.

    And here's where politics plays a role in it: Psychiatrists are university-bred leftists, and they're loyal to pharmaceutical
    companies.

    Ya, but they usually focus on the medical field to create the addiction/dependance.


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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Wed Apr 16 08:16:48 2025
    And here's where politics plays a role in it: Psychiatrists are university-bred leftists, and they're loyal to pharmaceutical companies.

    Ya, but they usually focus on the medical field to create the addiction/dependance.

    For sure. There are "experts" in every field.

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  • From Ron L.@1:120/616 to Aaron Thomas on Thu Apr 17 07:25:40 2025
    Aaron Thomas wrote to Dr. What <=-

    For sure. There are "experts" in every field.

    And that's nothing new. I remember reading a professional article complaining about the "amateurs passing themselves off as professionals".

    Then there's the usual problem of the Anointed Ones who assume that because they are an expert in Field 1, they are automatically experts in Fields 2, 3 and 4.


    ... Why do those that pay the least complain the most?
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  • From Aaron Thomas@1:342/200 to Ron L. on Thu Apr 17 04:34:18 2025
    And that's nothing new. I remember reading a professional article complaining about the "amateurs passing themselves off as professionals".

    That's funny!

    Then there's the usual problem of the Anointed Ones who assume that because they are an expert in Field 1, they are automatically experts in Fields 2, 3 and 4.

    Well you see, Bill Gates had an early 90s computer that was infected with a virus, so now he's a virology expert and he's intentionally mutating mosquitoes with a deadly virus, because every professional expert knows that in order to solve a problem, first you have to make it exponentially worse. ;)

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