# Enough with the "mentally ill" insults outside of the pit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177 "2011-08-18T15:16:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/21 "2011-08-18T16:16:15Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > If someone cut off my arm and I was spurting blood everywhere, it would probably be ok for a non-doctor to diagnose my problem. “Hey there, looks like your arm’s come off.” > > This person is clearly mentally ill. If someone states a fact about a person, that is not an insult. It is a fact about that person. > > If someone told me my arm was missing, and I was losing blood and should probably have it looked at, that’s not an insult - it’s actually pretty good advice. > > My point is, should I see a doctor about this missing arm? It smarts something fierce. A more fair analogy would be if you _posted_ that someone cut your arm off. We would have no way of knowing if it was actually true or not. Your point would be valid if you were speaking to her in person but a few of posts on a message board is not enough to go on. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/22 "2011-08-18T16:16:47Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Walk it off, you pussy. > > ETA: Directed at **Bob Ducca** ’s arm problem. Yeah, it’s just a flesh wound. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/23 "2011-08-18T16:28:02Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > A more fair analogy would be if you _posted_ that someone cut your arm off. We would have no way of knowing if it was actually true or not. Your point would be valid if you were speaking to her in person but a few of posts on a message board is not enough to go on. What if I posted and said “Need Answer Fast!” (In IMHO of course, I’ll still follow the rules!) To your point… If she was faking mental illness on a message board, then it’s still not an insult to call her mentally ill. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/24 "2011-08-18T16:29:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Cite? Reagan had an astrologer as a consultant. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/25 "2011-08-18T16:29:17Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > A fair point, but in that case I would ask to see a photo of your child. That wouldn’t serve any point. All delusions have built in delusions to support them. I would tell you that I don’t have a photo because the government, led by the Watermelon Farmers, took the photo and my child from me because they didn’t want me telling their secrets. How many times did she say, “You all think I’m crazy. I’ve heard it before, but I know the truth!” It was in GQ, and the only real answer is “You are mentally ill and need help.” Generally, I agree with what you are saying. If in GD a poster said, “I am voting for Michelle Bachmann,” then even if you think that is a very unwise choice, it adds nothing to the debate to accuse the poster of mental illness, as that would simply be an insult and not give a rational rebuttal as to why the poster should NOT vote for Michelle Bachmann. That is the whole purpose of debate. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/26 "2011-08-18T16:31:34Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > There are plenty of ‘sane’ people who believe that 9-11 was an inside job or that the government killed Kennedy or that astrology and aliens are real. The history channel has shows on all of this stuff and more. There are people who go into great detail about their abduction or how they are Elvis’ love child and they lead perfectly normal lives otherwise. Nostradamus, dowsing, fairies - the list goes on and the majority of these people go about their daily lives just fine. But she’s been institutionalized for schizophrenia so I don’t think that she has been able to live a normal life. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/27 "2011-08-18T16:32:15Z")
“The media told me” The “mentally ill” comment was definitely not an insult but a statement of genuine concern, whether accurate or not. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/28 "2011-08-18T16:34:34Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > A more fair analogy would be if you _posted_ that someone cut your arm off. We would have no way of knowing if it was actually true or not. Your point would be valid if you were speaking to her in person but a few of posts on a message board is not enough to go on. It’s enough to say that the person either needs a doctor or is trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/29 "2011-08-18T16:42:15Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > It is even possible that they ARE who they say they are, and are still schizophrenic making it almost impossible for them to prove. (there was some movie like that once… .Mel Gibson… name eludes me now). Conspiracy Theory. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/30 "2011-08-18T16:50:49Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > There are plenty of ‘sane’ people who believe that 9-11 was an inside job or that the government killed Kennedy or that astrology and aliens are real. The history channel has shows on all of this stuff and more. There are people who go into great detail about their abduction or how they are Elvis’ love child and they lead perfectly normal lives otherwise. Nostradamus, dowsing, fairies - the list goes on and the majority of these people go about their daily lives just fine. No there are not. The History Channel just feeds these idiots because they have already shown their gullible, and it is easier to sell to the gullible (via commercials). ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/31 "2011-08-18T17:04:48Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It’s enough to say that the person either needs a doctor or is trolling. That’s simply not true, there is not enough to go on. Several posters have claimed she is delusional. I never said she wasn’t. People who believe they can find water by dowsing for it are delusional as are people who think they can predict the future. People who believe that God has spoken to them or believe they have seen ghosts are delusional. That doesn’t make them mentally ill and in need of a doctor. In everyday parlance, I think she’s looney-toons but she hasn’t posted enough to dismiss her arguments with “this person is mentally ill, mods please close this to protect her from herself” type of comments. If you believe she is really crazy, report her. If you believe she is trolling or trying to sell books pit her. If you disagree with her make your counter argument in a polite way. This is an internet savvy person who has written and is selling a book, she doesn’t need the protection of SDMB mods. Nor from what I can tell, a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/32 "2011-08-18T17:08:05Z")
Even if people were wrong in evaluating her as mentally ill (and I don’t think they were), that still doesn’t mean they were _insulting_ her. It was an honest evaluation motivated by concern, not scorn. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/33 "2011-08-18T17:11:33Z")
Hey guys, I think PlainJain might be mentally ill. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/34 "2011-08-18T17:14:48Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > That’s simply not true, there is not enough to go on. Several posters have claimed she is delusional. I never said she wasn’t. People who believe they can find water by dowsing for it are delusional as are people who think they can predict the future. People who believe that God has spoken to them or believe they have seen ghosts are delusional. That doesn’t make them mentally ill and in need of a doctor. > > In everyday parlance, I think she’s looney-toons but she hasn’t posted enough to dismiss her arguments with “this person is mentally ill, mods please close this to protect her from herself” type of comments. If you believe she is really crazy, report her. If you believe she is trolling or trying to sell books pit her. If you disagree with her make your counter argument in a polite way. This is an internet savvy person who has written and is selling a book, she doesn’t need the protection of SDMB mods. Nor from what I can tell, a doctor. It wasn’t a dismissal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/35 "2011-08-18T17:17:55Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > In everyday parlance, I think she’s looney-toons but she hasn’t posted enough to dismiss her arguments with “this person is mentally ill, mods please close this to protect her from herself” type of comments. Do you want me to go through the thread post by post and recap how obviously crazy her posts were? You might want to do it yourself, because if I do it, it will make you look really stupid. From a personal and moderating standpoint, I wasn’t sure if I should participate at all, but several posters were just telling her to get help. There is no way to read those posts and think **sannemoore** is rational and healthy. > [@PlainJain](#): > > This is an internet savvy person who has written and is selling a book She self published, which you can find out via Google or deduce by identifying the grammar errors on the dust jacket. She typed out a book and paid a publisher to make copies- that’s hardly proof she’s sane. Plenty of crazy people have been published by legit publishers, nevermind the cottage industry of self publishing. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/36 "2011-08-18T17:18:21Z")
Stating that someone who is displaying classic textbook symptoms of schizophrenia is mentally ill is not an insult. It is a statement that the person’s behavior (in this case, posts) fits a definition of a mental illness. It’s common that people with schizophrenia will believe that all kinds of coincidental current events relate to them, personally. The “facts” that this woman posted, while containing kernels of truth (dates and times of deaths, for example) indicate that she believes that random occurrences are arranged by the government to relate directly to her. That is a textbook example of a delusion. To call it so is not insulting her. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/37 "2011-08-18T17:31:17Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > [snip] > However, if I come on here and seriously claim that I fucked a watermelon and it spawned our lovechild which tastes like a mix between watermelon and white chocolate, then how are you going to respond to that other than telling me that when the authorities come, I should put down any weapons I may be holding? Our manager wants to have a talk with you. Bubbadog, Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals White Chocolate Watermelon Lovechild ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/38 "2011-08-18T18:06:16Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > \ > In everyday parlance, I think she’s looney-toons but she hasn’t posted enough to dismiss her arguments with “this person is mentally ill, mods please close this to protect her from herself” type of comments. \ I guess that’s where we differ; it looked to me like her delusions were going well beyond people who suspect that Big Pharma is out to screw us all over and straight into, “Yup, this person has a real mental illness” territory. {Off topic} Anyone else getting hungry for watermelon-flavoured white chocolate? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/39 "2011-08-18T18:13:37Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > People who believe they can find water by dowsing for it are delusional as are people who think they can predict the future. There’s a difference, though. My grandfather was a water dowser. I mean, he didn’t do it for a living or anything. He owned a grocery store. But he’d do it to help friends, and people around town knew that if you needed to dig a well, you should give him a call. I firmly don’t believe that water dowsing works, but, does the fact that he believed he could do this make him crazy? I don’t think so. He lived in a society and culture where the existence of dowsing was accepted, and that certain people could find water that way was just taken for granted by him and the farmers who lived around him. Now, contrast that with this woman, who believes she’s Jack Kennedy’s secret daughter because Jackie Kennedy died on her daughter’s birthday, and because JFK Jr.'s plane crashed at a time that had the same digits as a radio station she worked at. Do you really not see a difference between my grandfather and that woman? Do you really think that their incorrect beliefs are really equally reasonable to hold? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177/40 "2011-08-18T18:20:31Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > In everyday parlance, I think she’s looney-toons but she hasn’t posted enough to dismiss her arguments with “this person is mentally ill, mods please close this to protect her from herself” type of comments. If you believe she is really crazy, report her. If you believe she is trolling or trying to sell books pit her. If you disagree with her make your counter argument in a polite way. This is an internet savvy person who has written and is selling a book, she doesn’t need the protection of SDMB mods. Nor from what I can tell, a doctor. Jane, she thinks that John Jr. was killed at 9:39 to send a secret message to her because she was working at a radio station with the call number 93.9FM. This is classic schizophrenia, and yes, it is an entirely dismissible argument. I would agree that there’s no percentage in arguing with a person who one suspects is genuinely ill. I think reporting the thread for closing rather than trying to convince the person that she’s mentally ill is more productive. At least it doesn’t feed paranoia. Or maybe it does. I don’t know. But just letting her post unchallenged doesn’t help either, so I’d be inclined toward a mercy banning. I am mentally ill. It’s a thing, like left-handed, red haired, diabetic, fat or short. If those conditions apply to me (some do), then it’s not insulting to say so, even if it might be unflattering. Unflattering is different than insulting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-mentally-ill-insults-outside-of-the-pit/593177.md?page=3)