A Psychiatrist Looks at Terrorism

Weekly Standard ^ | 3 Dec 2001 | Paul McHugh

[white trash redneck]

It's nice that this article doesn't go for a lot of psychological goo-goo explaining the "root causes of terrorism." Though personally, I'd like to apply the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" approach to Osama.

[Khepera]

[Gracey]

CHRISTMAS CAROLS for the PSYCHIATRICLLY CHALLENGED

SCHIZOPHRENIA - Do You Hear What I Hear?

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY - We Three Queens Disoriented Are.

DEMENTIA - I Think I'll Be Home For Christmas.

NARCISSISTIC - Hark The Herald Angels Sing (About Me)

MANIA - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town ... or Deck the Halls and Spare No Expense!

PARANOIA - Santa Claus is Coming To Get Me.

PERSONALITY DISORDER - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, then MAYBE I'll tell you why.

DEPRESSION - Silent anhedonia, Holy anhedonia. All is calm, All is pretty lonely.

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE - Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock, Jingle Bell...

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY - Thoughts of Roasting in an Open Fire.

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE - On the First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me (and then took it all away).

[Gracey]

ping

[Cool Guy]

You doing some shrink reading these days, Racey? LOL! Good one!

[Amore]

Very interesting.

[ChemistCat]

Extraordinary and all things I hadn't considered before. I intuitively believed that it was vital to smash all the terrorists we could, like vile body insects. I have had violently emotional reactions to any proposals that smacked of appeasement or negotiation with the terrorists. I thank this clear and excellent writer for giving me sounder reasons for the views I hold anyway.

Jump all over me if you like, but privacy rights are going to be impinged here for awhile. However, I think this is the right time for everybody who has two decent eyes, steady wrists, and a working conservative brain to CARRY.

Some of these ideas might apply to the most addicted FReepaholics, too. Now don't get sore! (My name is Chemistcat, and I'm...)

[Gracey]

You doing some shrink reading these days..

Yes. The irony of this was that near the moment this was posted and I saw it on FR, my mail box pinged and a freeper from Houston sent this "timely" tidbit. It was too coincidental. :-)

[thucydides]

Re overvalued ideas - Unabomber's manifesto was largely indistinguishable from AlGore's book on the environment.

[exmoor]

A Psychiatrist Looks at Terrorism...What..are they crazy or something..

[Gracey]

By implication, then, to stop terrorism, the American government should devote its energies to interrupting the terrorists' behavior in all its aspects. The government should use every reasonable method to apprehend individuals who could carry out terrorist actions. It should protect vulnerable sites and situations. And most crucially, it should alter the consequences of the September 11 assault: To our injuries it should promptly add injuries to those responsible for the attack.

Geez, it's nice to see a psychiatrist who is actually sane and says "KILL EM." My faith has been restored in this profession.

This is very WORTHWHLE reading, for all those wishing to understand the "mechanics" of a persons thinking processes. Unique thinking, IMO, but makes more sense than anything else I've read. I guess some of those Islamic Radical Clerics understand how to brainwash, effectively.

[Gracey]

P.S. I would bet that this psychiatrist is a Republican. :-)

[cajungirl]

McHugh doesn't believe in psychotherapy, is a biological psychiatrist, head of dept at Hopkins,,very smart guy.

[cajungirl]

McHugh has also been an outspoken critic of "memory recovery" treatment and thinks alot of the therapists induce false memories of sexual abuse while doing therapy. He got rid of all the psychoanalysts at Hopkins. He is a scientist and quite a man. He is not a psychologist.

[onyx]

Ping and mail received! PIMP!

[Starrgaizr]

There are other interesting analogies to individual abusive behavior. Domestic abusers, some with borderline personality disorder, etc., often project and blame their victims, accusing them of precisely that of which the abuser is guilty. The terrorists and their apologists are almost laughable when they call the U.S. and Israel terrorists (see Iran today, for example) -- except they are like the abusive spouse who is greatly comforted by the Big Lie and decides to believe it. Reasoning with such people is nearly impossible -- they will not shift back to a reality we view as normal. Only drawing limits and enforcing them relentlessly can train abusers to stop abusing. This is how to "break the cycle of violence."

[Doctor Stochastic]

You have reached the psychiatry help line. Please listen to all choices before selecting any.

If you are obsessive-compulsive, press "1" repeatedly.

If you are co-dependent, have someone press "2" for you.

If you multiple-personality disorder, press "3" "4" and "5"

If you are manic-depressive, don't press anything, it won't do any good.

If you are paranoid, we know what you need and we're coming to get you.

[gonzo]

"...McHugh doesn't believe in psychotherapy, is a biological psychiatrist ..."

Good-on-you, cajungirl, and good find, white trash redneck! The problems seem to lie in the DNA and in-breeding, thus limiting the gene pool.

America is the largest expansion/mixing of the human-gene-pool ever seen, and we're the most inventive people on earth, and probably the most agressive, when we need to be.

We, in America, are all, at some time in the distant past, 'Out of Africa', and we evolved to conquer the Northern climes, and spread throughout the world, developing farming, taming of livestock, and industry.

Those of Cro-Magnun-Man that stayed in Africa eons ago, became incredibly diverse, North-to-South, and East-to-West, but the DNA was limited to the original gene pool. As a result, their DNA is ancient, and internal change in their culture is rare, because there is no need for it! If you've got a problem, there's a 50,000-year-old solution for it, and it probably involves the sacrifice of some living thing!

.

When the Arabs and Jews appeared on the scene, Cro-Magnun was learning how to write things down, and we've got a sort of record of what they were going through - it's called the Bible, and the Wandering-Jews added to the gene-pool, and the Arabs stayed Tribal, and they wrote the KORAN!

There's a definative reason why Islam hates US so much, kids! WE RESPECT, HONOUR, AND CHERISH ALL WOMEN, and THAT PISSES-THEM-OFF, because that is an affrontery to their intended slavery and torture of all women!

The USA is indeed the melting-pot of humankind, folks, but in ways nobody ever conceived! Stay well and vigilant, folks....FRegards

[Gracey]

Thinking.... as usual, Gonzo. :-) Now there's lots to absorb and mull around in my meager brain. Ouch!!!

[Gracey]

McHugh doesn't believe in psychotherapy, is a biological psychiatrist...

And may I ask, what's a biological psychiatrist??? That's a new one.