Today in psychology we watched "Girl, Interrupted" a film set in a mental institution. I'm not here to talk about the film, suffice it to say that Angelina Jolie plays a socio-path called Lisa. As I watched I realized that I envy socio-paths, socio-pathy is not an affliction but an ideal state I wish I could inhabit. I cannot help but have at least a modicum of care for the well-being and even opinions of others, no matter how much I loathe my own mind for it.
Every day I find new things to hate about society, yet I cannot escape it. Almost everything gives me the desire to do something cruel and yet no matter how hard I try I cannot bring myself to act on these desires. I can explain it best using Freud's tripartite personality, my mind is totally ruled by the Id, but somehow I cannot remove the influence of the superego on the actions of my body. I am incapable of doing the things I wish for fear of how others will perceive it, a pathetic notion I know.
If you are a socio-/psychopath (and lets be honest they're the same thing with different names), you are unlikely to care but oh well I'm saying it, then I idolize your view of the word, in fact I share it, and wish I could act on the impulses of my mind in the way you can. No matter how much I may wish too I cannot force myself to live up to my full self serving potential.
I realize that there will be people coming up with things like "but they have to work so hard to fit into society" "why would you want an illness" etc etc. But I don't want to fit into society and it isn't an illness. With, true, full on socio-pathy the fitting in issue would be gone, and so there would be no struggle.
There are people who will disagree but I do have basic human compassion. I just don't want it.
Wednesday 11 January 2012
Friday 6 January 2012
SOPA-Closing the borders?
You'e made the effort to read a blog, you don't need a lecture on the massive impact that the "Stop Online Piracy Act" will have on the free culture of the internet. So instead I'm here to talk about how I think it will impact the international subculture of nerds and webtroverts that inhabit sites such as Reddit, most of which are based in the states.
All of the greatest sites that have user generated content join an entire world together, allowing people who are likely to never meet to share their interests and views with the world, and some of this will inevitably involve the use of copyrighted materials. The only way that SOPA could police this content is with an entire shut down of the site, or a minimum of censorship that would cripple the site beyond recognition.
But the thing that worries me the most is how this will close off the nerd world, I know it sounds like a petty social issue but we are a group who gets everything from the net, the sites that are at risk from SOPA are often an invaluable source of news, political; religious; entertainment; any topic really that's the beauty. Taking these sites down will not improve life for billion dollar media companies, but it will greatly impact the lives of the international community, especially those who are able to use the internet to make their money. If the bill is passed it will force the United States onto the road that China has been on for a while now, setting a precedent that will allow the right wing nutters to slowly bring more and more crippling acts to the American government, one step closer to losing your free speech is one step further than you should ever allow.
On this side of the Atlantic I can do nothing to prevent the bill, if you read this and are American I implore you, pester your senator, badger your congressman, beg your friends and family to do the same. SOPA is anti freedom, fight to stop it.
All of the greatest sites that have user generated content join an entire world together, allowing people who are likely to never meet to share their interests and views with the world, and some of this will inevitably involve the use of copyrighted materials. The only way that SOPA could police this content is with an entire shut down of the site, or a minimum of censorship that would cripple the site beyond recognition.
But the thing that worries me the most is how this will close off the nerd world, I know it sounds like a petty social issue but we are a group who gets everything from the net, the sites that are at risk from SOPA are often an invaluable source of news, political; religious; entertainment; any topic really that's the beauty. Taking these sites down will not improve life for billion dollar media companies, but it will greatly impact the lives of the international community, especially those who are able to use the internet to make their money. If the bill is passed it will force the United States onto the road that China has been on for a while now, setting a precedent that will allow the right wing nutters to slowly bring more and more crippling acts to the American government, one step closer to losing your free speech is one step further than you should ever allow.
On this side of the Atlantic I can do nothing to prevent the bill, if you read this and are American I implore you, pester your senator, badger your congressman, beg your friends and family to do the same. SOPA is anti freedom, fight to stop it.
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