Does the medicine man communing with spirits in africa have a disorder?
Does the olympic athlete who spends 4 years 10 hours training for a 15 second event have a disorder?
Does the person who becomes a police officer who gets the odd rush giving out tickets have a disorder?
etc.
etc.
etc.
Gosh, the 'science' of psychology, which btw is less then 100 years old, could make a convincing argument for each and every person alive to be diagnosed with some sort of disorder.
You obviously know very little about psychology to have made the statement you did about it, so I'm going to ignore that except to say I hope no one in your life is ever affected by a serious mental disorder and has to deal with with your damaging opinion that their illness doesn't exist and that they should be able to overcome it easily and/or without psychiatric help.
What's really offensive about your comment is the "medicine man communing with spirits in africa" part. Do you think that Africa is some mythical place filled with primative tribes and mystical practices? It's an entire continent of diverse and developed countries, many containing cities and highly urbanized areas. You'd be more likely to find someone communing with spirits in your local church, synagogue, or temple in America than you are to find a "medicine man in Africa." I'm sure the type of person you're actually thinking of is a Shaman, which is just as if not more likely to be found among indiginous peoples of America than in Africa.
Bottom line: your already laughable point was not well-served in the least by spewing crazy stereotypes that paint the population of an entire continent as primitive and supersititous or by implying that such beliefs and practices could only take place in the non-western world. I suggest you stop talking out of your ass.
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Hubert88
12 years ago
In terms of over-diagnosing and disease mongering, yes, there is a great deal of that going on, there's no denying that. Unfortunately, when money is involved in these disciplines, these things tend to happen. Psychology is a true science (excluding the suspect diagnoses), in my opinion, in contrast to the pseudo-science called psychiatry. By the way, he never said that the whole of Africa is abundant in shamanic practices. I also find it ignorant that you deem those who partake in those practices and that way of life in general as "primitive."
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la_cinematheque
12 years ago
I was referring to the accepted western perception of certain culutral practices as primitive that the person I replied to was obviously drawing on, and putting that in conversation with how you can find those same practices all over America. Of course, referring to the acts alone without putting them in a faraway land doesn't evoke the same kind of ethnocentric sense of superiority.
Trying to insult me based on a misreading of what I wrote only makes you look stupid. Of course, your ridiculous opinions also do a pretty good job of that.
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Hubert88
12 years ago
I saw no such thing. You're seeing what you want to see, frankly. Just because he mentioned a medicine man from Africa as a simple example does not equate to him performing a generalization. Also, what you claim to believe is another story, but what you wrote is clearly indicative of the acceptance of shamanic practices as "primitive." E.g., in your own words, "Do you think that Africa is some mythical place filled with primative tribes and mystical practices? It's an entire continent of diverse and developed countries, many containing cities and highly urbanized areas." It's easy for one to see the contrast you establish between "civilized" aspects and "primitive" aspects of society.
P.S.
My "ridiculous" opinions, concerning the disciplines of psychology and psychiatry, I presume, may only be ridiculous if you can refute them. And, I was not insulting you, that's something you seem to do.
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