I know there is such a thing as real depression; however, there’s sometimes a damn good reason to be depressed. A reason kinda like the stuff mentioned in the OP. People tend to conflate the two, which isn’t helpful to either type–I’m sure you get people who tell you your depression is due to the world or your personal situation, and not a real physical problem. I got the reading that Indygrrl’s “depression” was situational, in which case, telling her to take medication seems kind of insulting.
I don’t know I guess I’m just sick of people telling me to take a pill cause I get angry about crap like mass murder and people getting their civil rights taken away. Maybe I can take a pill for that.
I wasn’t telling her to take a pill. I was suggesting she look for a way to deal with it, and very briefly mentioned medication, if that’s what she needed. She might just need someone impartial to listen to her talk for an hour or two or three a week.
I get pissed about those things, too. I get pissed about those a lot. There’s nothing wrong with getting pissed about those things, but when it interferes with everyday life, and I’m not saying it is interfering with her everyday life, then it might be necessary to look for some sort of solution.
It was a passing comment - I’m the one who tries to talk my friends out of anti-depressants when at all possible, and suggest therapy to them. Someone, I think featherlou, introduced me to cognitive behavioral therapy, and that’s been something that I’ve found some good things in.
Indygrrl, I’m sorry if I offended you with my suggestion. That wasn’t my intent. I hate seeing others sad, and having had a few of those feelings myself lately, I may have read too much into what you said.
It’s a shame that some people have had bad experiences with police. Personally, I get along with them fine, in part because I act for self-preservation. If I am stopped, I pull over, turn the radio off, put my window down, and keep my hands in plain view. If I am asked for a license or anything else, I tell the officer where it is before moving my hands to get it. I don’t give them any reason to think I’m going to do something stupid, and it has consistently worked, even to the point of getting a warning when I could have been cited for excessive speed.
IMHO, it’s how you respond to a situation that sets the stage for how it turns out. Not that all LEO are perfect-I’m not alleging that. The majority of them are however, and behind the badge is an ordinary guy or gal like you or me, trying very hard to do their job and do it well.
Oh, yeah. I’ve never had any real bad experiences with cops, either. Oh, sure, they act all tough and mean, but I’m fairly sure they’re supposed to. Speeding is wrong. I do it, most of us do it, but it’s still against the law and getting caught isn’t supposed to be a pleasant experience! What should he do, give you flowers?
And yes, I always say, “Just a second it’s in my wallet,” or “I’ll have to get it out of the glove box.”
Well, currently, I would assume you would rely on governmental police forces. In a better world, though, you would either provide for your own defense, hire someone else to do it for you, or go undefended if you so chose.
It’s good to know that something I passed on has helped someone else. Sometimes it seems like all we’re doing is whistling in the breeze on these Boards.
/very small hijack
Anaa, I would like it very much if they gave me flowers instead of speeding tickets. I think that would be an excellent way to go.
Indygrrl, I agree with you that the nimrod who made the “thinning the herd” crack is 200 pounds of crap in a 10 pound sack.
R.e. beanbags, I remember an incident in a local community college in this are a few years ago. A guy was in the parking lot threatening people with a hatchet so the police were called. The news cameras were there as well. Police cleared everyone away, surrounded the guy and fired at least two beanbag rounds into his chest as the cameras rolled. Neither one seemed to have much affect - the guy looked annoyed but that was it. He finally decided that he’d had enough, put the hatchet down and gave up. I’m glad that it was ended that way, if the police had nothing but bullets the guy could have wound up dead, but obviously the various “stun rounds” aren’t a 100% certainty.
R.e. general opinions of the police. I’ve had good and bad experiences with them myself and I’m an average-looking white guy. I’ve been hassled and I’ve had them come to the rescue. I’m sure that there are mean, bigoted, undereducated police officers but frankly I think that they are in the minority (IMHO). My cousin is a police officer and he’s smart, well-educated and even-handed. I was interviewed by the PD before he was even admitted to the police academy and they are pretty thorough with the background checks. They were really trying to make sure that he was squeaky clean, wasn’t involved in anything fishy, wasn’t predjudiced, etc.
R.e. the 13 year-old and Amadou Diallo. Tragedies, both of them. Utter waste of two lives. Does that mean the police set out to kill somebody? No, I don’t think that they did. Not trying to excuse those deaths but rather to understand better the exact circumstances. Diallo especially tragic if the reason he was reaching for his wallet was because he didn’t understand the officers.
Sorry, I’m stealing your wheelchair lady but it was your choice to go undefended. Oh, don’t give me that “But I’m 82!” excuse. You shouldn’t have blown all your money on prescription pills.
About the same thing that would happen today if the government decided they wanted my house and sent their hired thugs to evict me, except a. Mr. Gates would be breaking the law, and b. it wouldn’t be against the law for me to resist.
I’ve had nothing but good experiences with cops, but I live in a zero crime area. We just had our first murder in something like twelve years. Most arrests are for breaking and entering or possession.
Still, it’s not hard to imagine that there are asshole cops. In higher crime areas it’s probably a lot more likely. Sorry you’ve had rough experiences Indygrrl.
If it helps improve your day, you’re insanely attractive.
So what if he broke the law? Who’s going to try and arrest him? He can hire far more ‘security forces’ than anyone else who cares. And how are you going to resist if he send 3 tanks and a company of soldiers to remvoe you? Are you fucking Rambo?
In all likelihood, Mr. Gates would find it cheaper to simply buy me out than go through the hassle of launching a military expedition. But assuming that he did steal my house from me, I would launch a civil suit against him and recoup the house plus damages.
How much is your house worth? $100,000 maybe? Hell, I bet $20,000 would be more than enough to hire a dozen thugs with guns to evict you. Afterwards you can file all the civil suits you want. Without a government police force to enforce the court’s ruling its as meaningless as a U.N. resolution.
Oh but Pochacco, at that point, it would probably be cheaper for Bill to buy him out and rent his property back to him for some sort of return-of-labor arrangement. Let’s see…yes, I have it! Bill Gates will provide all the security you need if you, in return, work his lands and provide a small percentage of the total goods back to the lord of the demesne…err, wait, I mean…Bill Gates.
Hmmm…I’ve heard of this type of arrangement somewhere before…
Hey, you can hire the company my friend Carl worked for. You know, Carl, the guy who they showed a 45 minute video tape then gave him a loaded gun and sent him out to “protect?”
Yeah, those private security firms all staffed by ex-Mossad, expert markman types. Well, at least in your world.
I don’t own a house, and likely never will – this entire discussion is hypothetical.
You don’t need police to enforce governmental decisions.
Indeed. It’s called feudalism, and I have no problem with it whatsoever. I also have no problem with non-hereditary slavery and serfdom – if someone wants to sell their life’s labor, that’s their business.
Indeed, for certain heinous crimes – murder, rape, and the like – I think the most effective punishment would be for the perpetrator to forfeit his freedom, and become the property of the victim or his heir, to be worked, sold, or freed (but not killed) as they saw fit. This is part of my belief that restitution is the only proper punishment for crime; if the criminal cannot pay what is ordered, then he can make it up with servitude, and for certain crimes, there can be no effective monetary restitution – servitude for life is the only effective repayment.
So you’d actually like to be worked into an early grave by an oppressive overlord who takes the fruits of your labor in exchange for meagre food and shelter and a uninforcable promise not to kill you on a whim?
Umm … okay … .
And if you’re imagining that you’re going to BE that oppressive overlord … dude, you don’t even have the resources to buy a house. No way you’re going to wind up the lord of the manor. If rule of law breaks down, you’re gonna be the BITCH.
This point of view is so insanely ahistorical and naive that I don’t know where to start. Feudalism could never, ever work in today’s world. All it would do would be to plunge the world into perpetual internecine war forever. The world would look like medieval Europe, only a thousand times worse, because now we have guns and aircraft and nuclear arms.
Actually, serfdom and belonging to the land and the overlord is manorism. Feudalism has do with liege lords and pledgeing yourself to someone as one of his “knights” and then you’re given part of his land to rule over yourself, and then you divide up your land among your lieges, or whatever.
