# Another One for smith537 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 29, 2005, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184 "2005-11-29T06:01:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/61 "2005-11-29T23:46:48Z")
> [@](#): > > So if someone has a verifiable disease which cannot be treated properly and which governs their personality and mode of thought… they’re to blame for it? Maybe I should get angry at my senile grandmother when she forgets things? > > I’d wager that anybody who has suffered and struggled with chronic depression and tried every medicine known to man without any real gain would maybe not be totally down with the idea that they could just “do something” and “snap out of it.” Having a psychiatric disease does not absolve you of the fact that you can treat people really poorly. If you had perchance taken the time to read my reply above you would have admitted responsibility for being a horrible cunt to my parents while being treated for depression. My father has done the same to the rest of our family. And having been on both sides, I agree with **msmith** that it can be really frustrating. Maybe he shouldn’t use words like “insane” vs. “sane” because that’s incediary but for as long as I’ve been reading his posts he reminds me of that robot Bender. It’s the way he talks/writes. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/62 "2005-11-29T23:55:30Z")
uh, “I” was a horrible cunt to my parents while being treated for depression. I apologized for it later and was forgiven. My father still chooses to behave this way instead of getting treated for depression. Is the idea that it is/can be hard to put up with someone with a mental illness and that people in their lives also deserve sympathy really such a horrific idea? > [@](#): > > The people who have to endure their ranting and mood swings and “you just don’t get it’s”. Having to constantly endure their abuse when they accidently set them off because they weren’t sensitive to their “special needs”. I have seen this so many times. Honestly, you all must all know some saintly-ass depressives because I know plenty of people who are not above extreme theatrics and manipulating people based on their problems. ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/63 "2005-11-30T00:07:37Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > Having a psychiatric disease does not absolve you of the fact that you can treat people really poorly. If you had perchance taken the time to read my reply above you would have admitted responsibility for being a horrible cunt to my parents while being treated for depression. My father has done the same to the rest of our family. And having been on both sides, I agree with **msmith** that it can be really frustrating. Maybe he shouldn’t use words like “insane” vs. “sane” because that’s incediary but for as long as I’ve been reading his posts he reminds me of that robot Bender. It’s the way he talks/writes. You are missing the point of his post, I think. The point was holding people entirely responsible for some of the more irrational things their depression can make them do, is stupid. And, while your point was completely valid, it bears little to no resemblence to **msmith’s** “suck it up, pussy” attitude. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/64 "2005-11-30T00:18:26Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I upset a crazy person. Now go back to playing with your 70 cats, you psycho. > > The problem with insane people is that they don’t see the world like the rest of us do. You know who I have compassion for? The sane people in their lives who actually care about them. The people who have to endure their ranting and mood swings and “you just don’t get it’s”. Having to constantly endure their abuse when they accidently set them off because they weren’t sensitive to their “special needs”. Imagine the frustration of having \*\*faithfool \*\* rant at you “I CAN’T GET HELP!! I’M DEPRESSED!!!” whenever you tell him/her to get some help. > > \*\*faithfool \*\* is the emotional equivalent of a guy in a wheelchair who snaps and curses at everyone around them, bashing people with his chair if they don’t get out of the way fast enough. “Oh that’s all right. He had some bad luck” people say as they walk on eggshells. Everyone else sees a poor wheelchair-bound cripple. I see a prick in a wheelchair. > > I’m sorry you’re depressed, but I don’t care. I’m not your friend or your family member and I don’t need to put up with your misplaced anger and abusive posts. Again, there really is no need to say anything when this fucker speaks for himself. All I’ve got to add to this is that the burden of proof is on you to show anywhere on this board, even one time, where I’ve gone off on someone before you. Because, you know, it ain’t there. No one has inspired me so. So I’ll wait for you to post anything truthful about my situation (hell, even if you’d read any of the posts in any of the threads would be nice – but I’m sure that’s asking too much along with the comprehension thing), then a retraction and apology shouldn’t be too much further behind. Right? Yeah, and I’ll expect the US to forego Christmas this year. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/65 "2005-11-30T00:18:37Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > Maybe he shouldn’t use words like “insane” vs. “sane” because that’s incediary but for as long as I’ve been reading his posts he reminds me of that robot Bender. It’s the way he talks/writes. Someone (forget who) said that they superimpose the voice of the 80s guy from that one episode of Futurama on **msmith** ’s posts. I have to say, it really fits. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/66 "2005-11-30T00:19:05Z")
> [@anu-la1979](#): > > If you had perchance taken the time to read my reply above you would have admitted responsibility for being a horrible cunt to my parents while being treated for depression. And if you had perchance taken the time to look at the timestamps, you’d see we simulposted. > [@anu-la1979](#): > > as long as I’ve been reading his posts he reminds me of that robot Bender. It’s the way he talks/writes. But Bender is comic relief and he’s supposed to be an asshole. We laugh at him, because he’s an asshole. It’s quite different when a real person starts acting like a cartoon. Besides, as **Merc** points out, the issue isn’t that there are some depressed people who don’t seek treatment, but some who do and who still can’t “just deal with it.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/67 "2005-11-30T00:25:23Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Someone (forget who) said that they superimpose the voice of the 80s guy from that one episode of Futurama on **msmith** ’s posts. I have to say, it really fits. I’ve said that he reminds me of the jerk preppy guy from every teen romantic comedy made in the '80s. Which, if you think about it, explains a lot about him. You’d be bitter, too, if John Cusack kept stealing your girlfriends. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/68 "2005-11-30T00:28:46Z")
And since trying to dent the bubble this asswipe lives in has made me so tired, I may just read a bit of all the threads right now before commenting further. Although I’d like to add many, many thanks to those who’ve been supportive towards me here and any who attempt to understand that mental problems aren’t just simple black and white equations. There’s much more I’d like to say but I’m afraid that currently it would just sound like mush. To everyone who has shown up (but not our honoree because he just phones that shit in), I appreciate you all. Hopefully I’ll be able to post coherently before too long. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/69 "2005-11-30T00:32:00Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > Someone (forget who) said that they superimpose the voice of the 80s guy from that one episode of Futurama on **msmith** ’s posts. I have to say, it really fits. **UrbanChic** , I believe. It does fit, and it’s really rather funny to see someone who’s proud of being a walking, talking anachronism. At least, it would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. I know a guy quite a lot like **msmith**. I haven’t talked with him for about 5 years, but I’m assured by people who see him around that he is exactly the same person he was 5, 10, even 15 years ago. I could probably pick up the exact same conversation we had when we last saw each other. He has fewer and fewer friends every year. Why? They grow up, change as people, outgrow him. He will never grow. He’ll stay adamantly one dimensional his entire life. When I think about him, I pity him a little. How terrified do you have to be of life to completely refuse change on every level? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/70 "2005-11-30T00:39:56Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The problem with insane people is that they don’t see the world like the rest of us do. You know who I have compassion for? The sane people in their lives who actually care about them. The people who have to endure their ranting and mood swings and “you just don’t get it’s”. Having to constantly endure their abuse when they accidently set them off because they weren’t sensitive to their “special needs”. Imagine the frustration of having \*\*faithfool \*\* rant at you “I CAN’T GET HELP!! I’M DEPRESSED!!!” whenever you tell him/her to get some help. > > \*\*faithfool \*\* is the emotional equivalent of a guy in a wheelchair who snaps and curses at everyone around them, bashing people with his chair if they don’t get out of the way fast enough. “Oh that’s all right. He had some bad luck” people say as they walk on eggshells. Everyone else sees a poor wheelchair-bound cripple. I see a prick in a wheelchair. > > I’m sorry you’re depressed, but I don’t care. I’m not your friend or your family member and I don’t need to put up with your misplaced anger and abusive posts. Out of curiosity, did you read what I posted this morning? If not, let me recap. The reason I didn’t get help 13 years ago is because **I called every single clinic, hospital, and doctor’s office I could find and possibly afford on the island of Oahu which includes the city of Honolulu. Every single one of them said they couldn’t treat me if I wasn’t an alcoholic or drug addict.** It had been less than 6 months since I was first hospitalized. I needed and wanted help badly and I was fighting as hard as I could to get it. I was turned down every place I turned and even today, I’m still angry about that. I had less support and fewer treatment options than a junkie. A few years ago, I decided I needed some help getting into better mental shape. It wasn’t like finding a gym when I decided I needed to get into better physical shape. **I had to call six therapists before I even found one who was taking new patients, and that was with good health insurance.** Getting help for mental illness isn’t like joining a gym or even finding a good primary care physician, at least not in my experience. For someone who’s already struggling hard against despair, at the risk of sounding trite, each rejection, each, “Sorry, we can’t help you” reinforces the notion that you’re not going to be able to get help and life is going to continue to be unbearably awful forever. I was in reasonably good mental health a few years ago. Even so, around the fourth or fifth turn down, I wondered if getting help was going to be worth the effort. It turned out it was, but if the therapist I found had been like the first bungler who misdiagnosed me and, in general, acted like the kind of psychiatrist who’s been Pitted all too often here, I might have quit rather than try another 3 or 4 or dozen. I wish getting help were as simple as picking up a phone and making an appointment. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been my experience. CJ ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/71 "2005-11-30T01:10:56Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > When someone is pitted and others come in and say that the pitting isn’t deserved because the pittee didn’t do anything wrong and blah blah blah and then the pittee shows up and reveals what an enormous fucktard he is? That’s golden. This post says what I was thinking better than I would have. I’m not sure that **msmith537** ’s behavior in the original thread was worth pitting, but his behavior in this thread sure is. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/72 "2005-11-30T01:16:52Z")
I used to work with **msmith537**. I thought he was a pretty good guy. Then again, people call me an asshole all the time too. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/73 "2005-11-30T01:30:36Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I used to work with **msmith537**. I thought he was a pretty good guy. Then again, people call me an asshole all the time too. To be fair, one’s internet persona and real life behavior often differ significantly. One can’t exactly punch you in the nose via the 'net. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/74 "2005-11-30T02:09:48Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > But if it’s any consolation, you did change my position regarding suicide…at least for some of you (LaurAnge, CanvasShoes, others…) Unluckily for you, I’m not suicidal nor depressed. And I **still** think suicide can be a valid option. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/75 "2005-11-30T03:33:39Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I used to work with **msmith537**. I thought he was a pretty good guy. Then again, people call me an asshole all the time too. You mean in real life? Did he ever say “suck it up” about your bipolar disorder? What would you have done if he had said the things he’s saying in this thread to you in person? What about if he said or thought them about you? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/76 "2005-11-30T03:42:58Z")
> [@davenportavenger](#): > > You mean in real life? Did he ever say “suck it up” about your bipolar disorder? What would you have done if he had said the things he’s saying in this thread to you in person? What about if he said or thought them about you? Well we would have certainly disagreed on that (I wasn’t diagnosed then) as well as some of the suicide issue. I go round and round with my (now grown) baby brothers with the same thing though. It is a pretty common (mostly misguided) viewpoint but I never get tired of fighting with people about it. I guess I am just less shocked by that type of thing than others and I realize the outspokeness is just part of a message board. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/77 "2005-11-30T03:52:15Z")
You know, I’m really sick and tired of the argument around here, “But so and so is really nice IRL!” So? We’re not interacting with them in person, we’re interacting here on this board. So it’s how they behave HERE that counts, not at some annual Dopefest or even in their every day life. Joe Cool and Jersey Diamond were said to be “very nice in person.” Didn’t mean they weren’t jackasses of gigantic proportions! ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/78 "2005-11-30T03:53:54Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I guess I am just less shocked by that type of thing than others and I realize the outspokeness is just part of a message board. Now go forth, and spread the word. I’m a little surprised msmith537 (or any longtime poster with his posting style) still elicits this type of _emotional_ response from people, but, sadly, I’m not. You guys need to chill the fuck out. ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Sweet\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/79 "2005-11-30T03:56:04Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Did I personally insult anyone? Did I call anyone names? Nope. Hmmm… let’s see: > [@msmith575](#): > > I upset a crazy person. Now go back to playing with your 70 cats, you psycho. You tell me, dipshit. Let’s give you the benfit of the doubt here, and assume that was your only direct personal insult. It doesn’t change the fact that your crass manner on the subject is an insult not only to anyone who has suffered from real clinical depression, but to decency in general. Given how much you apparently pride yourself on being a base, boorish ass, to whine about someone return the personal jabs you dole out is, in fact, ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184/80 "2005-11-30T04:25:58Z")
**UrbanChic** , it certainly took me a few years to realize that everything he says is uniformly objectionable and to stop paying attention. I think we have a temporal advantage on many people in this thread. Eventually they, too, will learn to not give a fuck about what he says. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-one-for-smith537/333184.md?page=5)