THIS. I don’t understand why people continue trying to engage and convince him. It doesn’t work, has never worked, can’t work.
I’m willing to believe he’s on the autism spectrum. I’m also convinced he’s a pretty arrogant person. Nobody, you see, understands Eastern religion, sociology, psychology or anything else as well as he does. And every time someone replies to his posts, they enable him. This is not just bad for the SDMB but bad for Machinaforce as well.
I really, really wish people would ignore him. It’d be a kindness to him as well as the board.
Why can’t he be both sincere AND a troll? There’s no law that says they have to be mutually exclusive.
I personally think he’s an extremely messed up individual who’s also a bit of an attention whore. He’s been told to get therapy, but he usually ignores it, or claims his therapist can’t help him with his questions. Make of THAT what you will.
And after arriving at the exact same place that all of his threads get to (I want to stop worrying but I can’t!) he opens a new thread that’s covering the exact same ground and is going to end up in the exact same place. He’s a broken record.
I still think the guy is incabable of understanding social cues and is incapable of manipulating people the way some here think that he is. He is simply as thick as he seems.
Machinaforce has mentioned in the past that he is gay and struggles with his own sexual identity. I don’t think he meant it in a negative context as in “pray away the gay”. I used to think the guy is a troll but have reconsidered. I think he’s a reasonably intelligent guy that struggles with mental illness, possibly some sort of autism, that leads him to obsessive thought and nihilism. That’s my take, anyway.
Why not, Machinaforce? (I know you’re lurking, checking this thread) You might want to go all in this week… I mean, the Easter bonnets are stunning.
But seriously, like the last post said in your latest thread (I blame myself for its closure…)(jk!), I assume you’re getting professional help. If not, start. Listen to them. Stay on your meds.
Buddhism and Heterosexuality are not going to fix you.
Oh leave him alone. I find his ponderously obsessive contemplations annoying but I will defend his right to be a an annoying and ponderously obsessive person insofar as no, he is not a fucking danger to anybody on this planet, whereas people who are in a hurry to diagnose and medicalize every difference that they don’t like are.
I feel for Machinaforce, and don’t think posting here does him good (but may do him harm). His answer to every reply is “Yes, but” or “No,” so there’s no point in responding.
Also, I thought he was supposed to contain discussion of Buddhism to one thread, but he doesn’t seem able.