Abnormal Psychology and the Mentally Handicapped

[Charon]

This is something that really, really irks me.

There's a certain group of kids in my school, the ones that are mentally handicapped, and it really annoys me how people treat them. It's not like anyone's kicking and punching them, but they talk to them as if they're dogs with their high pitched voices, slow speech and elongated commands. Pretty much everyone does this, it's not exclusive to the students. What annoys me most is that I've talked with them like I would with my friends (albeit with less coarse language) and they understand and respond just fine. People criticize me for using the word "retard", but those same people treat the mentally handicapped ignore them, or even treat them like full out crap.

I might be taking this the wrong way, but this kind of belittling treatment is common.

Discuss this and other mental and psychological "abnormalities", and where the line is crossed from normality to insanity.

[Rolina]

Technically speaking, EVERYONE is abnormal, some moreso than others.  Abnormal, according to psychology - is anyone who previously or currently has any of the abnormalities listed in the DSM.

That's a LOT of abnomalities.  In fact, their definition of 'normal' is basically 'perfect', which dosen't actually exist in reality.  As such, if you consider anyone who can be considered abnormal as 'crazy' or 'retarded', then EVERYONE is crazy and/or retarded.

So, you can choose to embrace your inner insanity like me, or you can choose to be a fool and live in denial.  Your choice, really.

[Charon]

I think the big problem for it comes from the fact that society wants to accept normal people, and reject abnormal people, when in reality they are exactly what you stated - Normal doesn't exist, abnormal is everywhere.

To one person a behaviour is abnormal, and to another it is not. The problem arises when the one who is labeled abnormal is mistreated, which can eventually lead to severe psychological conditions.

[Rolina]

Well, MOST of society.  Apparently you've never been to Austin, where our motto is LITERALLY "Keep Austin Weird".  The strangest thing you'll find here is a person who acts according to society's normal.  One of our cities icons is... get this... a cross dressing hobo.  Totally weird, but there was a candlelight vigil held for them when they showed up at the emergency room last week.

[Salanewt]

Oh, yeah. I agree that everyone is abnormal. However, when many people use the word "normal", they might not mean perfect, but just what they consider normal (and if they are abnormal, then they will think that they are normal).

For example, one or two of my classmates at my old school used to call me "half bird, half human" because of some neat tricks that I can do. Also, when I first moved to Toronto... Well, at my first school there, several of the abnormal students (according to my standards (so for all I know, I could be the abnormal one), although there were a lot of normal students in my class too), they were talking about fruit. However, fruit to them means adults only stuff, so... Very strange.

By the way, when someone asks you "What's up on the grill dog"... Can you even understand that? I thought that they wanted me to BBQ my dog.

Anyway, I basically find all people around my age a bit more abnormal than my standards, but this is because I like to hang around older people (who tend to be normal, in my opinion). Anyway, the Mentally Handicapped are not really different from those with supposedly normal minds. It is just that they have cells that create protiens that prevent them from using their minds fully.

Also, it is these things called "abnormalities" that make people who they are.

Have a nice day.

[Charon]

Well, MOST of society.  Apparently you've never been to Austin, where our motto is LITERALLY "Keep Austin Weird".  The strangest thing you'll find here is a person who acts according to society's normal.  One of our cities icons is... get this... a cross dressing hobo.  Totally weird, but there was a candlelight vigil held for them when they showed up at the emergency room last week.

D:

Sounds like I would love Austin. Where I live, I'm called a paranoid schizophrenic because I confuse birds by imitating their calls for lulz.

[Rolina]

Should you add Crossplay to your list of weird things? :P

[Salanewt]

Well, MOST of society. Apparently you've never been to Austin, where our motto is LITERALLY "Keep Austin Weird". The strangest thing you'll find here is a person who acts according to society's normal. One of our cities icons is... get this... a cross dressing hobo. Totally weird, but there was a candlelight vigil held for them when they showed up at the emergency room last week.

D:

Sounds like I would love Austin. Where I live, I'm called a paranoid schizophrenic because I confuse birds by imitating their calls for lulz.

OOH! Awesome! Another birdcaller! I myself have not confused any birds yet, but I have gotten close.

Anyway, why would they can you paranoid for that? People never called me paranoid for my birdlike whistling.

Have a nice day.

[Charon]

Should you add Crossplay to your list of weird things? :P

Of course. There's only one cosplay I've made that WASN'T crossplay ^-^

[Rolina]

You'd fit in really well here.  So why aren't you here? >_>

[Charon]

Because I live in Michigan, surrounded by catholic-zealot antisemitic creationist freaks.

*note the word Zealot.

Anywho, I was honestly really depressed last year, to the point of considering my own self destruction at one point, but I learned that by having even one good friend with whom you can be on a regular basis can change all that. Last year, I began to find out event after event that my "friends" really didn't care about me and I was only there to listen to them when they wanted me. This year, I met a great person whom which I befriended almost instantaeously. She's the first person I've known for a long while that I can talk to without worrying about her just cutting me off -  I'm quite happy the way I am now, even though I was depressed last year. It's just that for many associating with someone like me is a death to their "clique" relationships...

Man, was sophomore year such bull.

[Salanewt]

Hm... So they are against your talent? Wow, it seems like you live in a harsh community?

Have a nice day.

[Rolina]

Because I live in Michigan, surrounded by catholic-zealot antisemitic creationist freaks.

*note the word Zealot.

What are you talking about?  Most american Christians are hypocrites and blasphemers.  Only God has the right to judge people (for example, homosexuals), not man.  They seem to forget this, which is putting themselves at the same level of God - which is blasphemy.  Sadly, most US Christians are like this - total judgmental bastards.

I stand by the "I have no right to say" comment when asked questions about such things.  It's their choice to do what they want, so long as they do not break the laws of the land, then mankind has no right to judge them.

[Charon]

I mean I live in Michigan and I am surrounded by them. I didn't mean they're only in Michigan - I heard they're worst down in the southeast.

I agree. If a being like God exists (which I do believe, but some do not), He (or She :3) wouldn't just purposely create a being he didn't approve of for lulz.

That's a bit... cruel... to say the least.

Another thing I disapprove of with the whole God thing is the level that humans (males, to be more particular) are placed on the scale (created in his image). While I don't obviously believe that all creatures have the same intelligence as we do as a species, it can be quite obvious through observation how unique and powerful each species is in its own right.

This spawns the idea of how "animals don't have souls", which is STUPID because if people have souls (as is commonly accepted by these people) then there's no logical reason why animals shouldn't have souls. Maybe the soul is something found in all life, not just those in the animal kingdom. Heck, it could be what makes life life. Anyone who's ever had a pet or even observed wild animals for extended periods will notice their personalities - I've noticed playful games among crows, immaturity being punished by grackles, whole out sparrow army attacks on larger birds, blue jays working together to crack nuts... one cannot simply label their behaviour as "programmed". (I haven't seen enough wild mammals to talk much about their personalities - most of the time they're hiding)

I'm moving this to general discussion because there's no debate going on here.

[Rolina]

Heh, glad I'm in south-central. O.o

Anywho, you know those atheists, right?  I love several arguments against them, such as "That's okay, God doesn't believe in you, either" and my favorite...

[Charon]

The Bible Belt is an exceptionally... zealous thing...

I don't hate atheists (many are good friends) but in my opinion, God serves as a useful buffer reason for all the whys we don't have answered. He was indeed the buffer to explain the variety of animals until evolution came along (although some don't want to let go of that buffer >_>) If you're an atheist, you just assume that the answer will pop up one day... but there's not an answer to everything. It just feels like extremely uncomfortable ground to me.

[Rolina]

Not to mention that they try to use Christian Theories - like the big bang, which goes hand in hand with the opening chapters of genesis and SCREAMS creationism - as evidence against God.  Please, think before you speak next time, 'k?

Then again, many of the other Christians I've spoken to seem too stupid to understand that the Big Bang is literally what's in the bible, not to mention that they're not paying attention to history and how a Catholic Priest came up with the idea.  What was science's idea?  Right, the Steady State theory.

Ask someone on the street now what the Steady State theory was, and you'll get a resounding "the what theory?"

[Charon]

Although, the Big Bang does nor necessarily rely on a creator, the process could be part of the life cycle of universes themselves...

Lol Steady State.

[Salanewt]

Well, I do believe in some in these theories, like the Big Bang, but I believe the Big Bang theory to be created over millions and billions of years (there are some examples of that in other galaxies (and not the theory itself, but what is explained by it)). And at first, Earth was inhostpitable for pretty much anything but bacteria. Eventually, the bacteria started evolving. At first into multicellular organisms that were still too small to see, and then into creatures of the sea. Land life came much later than Sea life. First, the plants were formed, then the dinosaurs (of different periods). Eventually, most of these died/evolved into what we have today (sort of). Even some of the species that we have today have probably only been around for maybe 10 thousand years or so, but it can be harder to tell if you don't know for sure.

There was a time that I wanted to be religious, but that was a while ago.

Anyway... If souls exist (everyone has a different opinion), then most likely everyone and everything has them (perhaps even the large group of chairs in the cafe once had a soul before they were killed to be made?).

However, I find that Religion can be a touchy subject, considering you have Christianity, Catholisism, Buddhism, Muslim, Druidism, Islam... So many of them. Oh well, whatever floats your boat, right?

Now, as for the topic that we trailed off of... I think that there are more mentally disturbed people who are "normal" than the people who admit that they are abnormal. I am abnormal, and I love it!

Edit: I do not know why I forgot this:

Have a nice day.

[Rolina]

The problem I have is that they try to use it as evidence AGAINST religion... Just one problem with that.

The Big Bang theory is 100% compatible with religion.  Like I said, you can just look at the theory and pair it with scripture.  As such, it cannot be used as evidence against God.  Alas, people are just too stupid to understand something that simple...