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To: Windflier
Yep. And then there's the classification of indulging in self-destructive behaviors as a "disease."

I love macadamia nuts, just love them. But I'm one of the few folks who, when I eat them, break out in cold sweats, get horrible heartburn, and if I eat enough of them, feel pretty sick. So you know what I did? I stopped eating macadamia nuts.

If I hadn't, would there be a whole bunch of "resources" for me and my loved ones to "fight" Macadamiaism?

As it happens, I'm also one of the few folks who break out in handcuffs and fits of aggression when I get drunk. I've spent more than one night as a "guest" at the ol' Crowbar Hotel because of it. So you know what I did? I stopped drinking. It sure as hell wasn't easy -- but it was very, very simple. And you know what happened? When I quit drinking, all the symptoms of the "disease" alcoholism disappeared!!!! Imagine that!!!!

On a par with the "mental disorder" angle -- if alcoholism is a "disease," it's self-inflicted and self-cured. A person with a real disease, like polio or muscular dystrophy or type 1 diabetes, would LOVE IT if all he or she had to do was cease indulging a specific behavior in order to get rid of all the symptoms of their disease. But they don't have that option because their disease is for real, whereas the addict's disease is purely behavioral.

All of this is a way to remove personal responsibility for one's actions, and to invest it in some outside influence best monitored by a supposedly benevolent overseer. Blaming booze for an alcoholic's problems is like blaming the gun for a shooting. And blaming a "mental disorder" for a person who chooses to defy convention, hearkens to days when left-handed children were forced to write with their right hands.

29 posted on 12/13/2012 2:29:46 PM PST by Finny (Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. -- Psalm 119:105)
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To: Finny
All of this is a way to remove personal responsibility for one's actions, and to invest it in some outside influence best monitored by a supposedly benevolent overseer. Blaming booze for an alcoholic's problems is like blaming the gun for a shooting.

As usual, your analysis is heavy with logic, reason, and facts, Finny. Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks.

48 posted on 12/13/2012 4:08:59 PM PST by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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