# 'Conservatism' is mental illness. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 24, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083 "2013-08-24T20:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/81 "2013-09-05T18:10:39Z")
> [@anonymouspost](#): > > sorry, but I think they are not just stupid- they are mentally ill. mental illness has proven to affect intelligence. > > also , profile a troll. you’ll find that they are conservatives as well. they’ve already researched and profiled trolls. their profile exhibits conservative traits. narcissist would be another example which of course is a personality disorder which also can be passed down genetically. they cannot handle constructive criticism or complex context/speech. their memory is too poor to maintain a lengthy discussion with related interwoven material and ironies. they attack constructive criticisms with immature, random, inaccurate comments which are usually violent. but, most importantly, they do not have the ability to empathize genuinely. they just know how to mimic it. a person has to be intelligent to empathize. and, an intelligent person has to be without a debilitating mental illness to function properly in an industrialized society…which is complex in itself. this is why you’ll find that they mock anything lengthy or complex. they cannot handle it outside of what they memorized via rote from a person or book. it takes critical thinking skills to recognize knowledge, recall knowledge, apply knowledge all at applicable moments so that what was stated can be rationalized and is in fact logical. conservatives cannot do this. it’s a studied fact. they simply use standby tactics like projection, lies, and invalid random insults. and, they are never wrong. they can’t handle it. I think you’re painting all convservatives with too broad a brush. I will admit that extreme conservatism does correlate highly with the things you are saying. However, much of that can simply be a result of ignorance and/or lack of education. ---
**Author:** ![anonymouspost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@anonymouspost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anonymouspost)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/82 "2013-09-05T18:23:07Z")
Also, and very importantly, how do I know that conservatives are the aggressor and instigators? my life alone proves it. I couldn’t have been more neutral in all settings in my life. I could have made a comment here and there when asked. Such as, “Do you think we should go to war?” Well, I would give my comment. Simple as that and I would go about my day treating no one differently regardless. You didn’t even find me picketing or lobbying or striking or anything! I don’t even vote anymore. So, technically there is no political threat I may offer to a conservative. Even though I know I should vote, I am making a point here. Now, if conservatives disagree with me about the war, for example, then all they had to do was intelligently give me facts, stories, evidence and documentaries and I would peruse that while considering their stance. Well, they just did not do that. They literally attacked my life like I needed a regime change myself. This multiple times has cost me financially and employment-wise. I just really don’t think I did anything to merit that. Seriously? That kind of tells me all I need to know about conservatives and their “claims” of oppression, fear, and the need they have to “defend” themselves. If they make this mistake with me, then they can make this same mistake with a country which is MORE complex than one individual. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/83 "2013-09-06T01:39:11Z")
> [@anonymouspost](#): > > sorry, but I think they are not just stupid- they are mentally ill. mental illness has proven to affect intelligence. Since when? Many great minds in the past have suffered mental illness - Nikola Tesla, Howard Hughes, Sylvia Plath, Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemmingway, Edgar Allen Poe, etc. That’s not to say that being mentally ill is a _good_ thing, but it doesn’t make one stupid. ---
**Author:** ![anonymouspost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@anonymouspost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anonymouspost)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/84 "2013-09-06T03:33:35Z")
I don’t think all of those great minds harassed others like conservatives have harassed me. we are talking about conservatives and mental illness within that context ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/85 "2013-09-06T03:43:47Z")
Could it be they’re just not getting enough oxygen to their brains? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083/86 "2013-09-06T04:40:32Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > Oh, thank God. That means I don’t have to read the rest of this… And now, since you posted it again, you don’t have to read it twice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservatism-is-mental-illness/667083.md?page=4)