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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: August 22nd, 2023

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  • She’s a gender critical feminist. But in a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is a gender critical feminist that questions the validity of the concept of gender without ever wishing harm to people (actually trying to see what’s helpful to all) and 10 is the raging transphobic lady that belittles and wishes harm to trans people, J. K. Rowling seemed to have moved from 2 to 6-7 (and she probably keeps moving).

    This is a very controversial topic as many people think that all gender critical theorists or sympathizers are in the 10. I don’t think so, but those who are transphobic are definitely louder.


  • I personally do not care that much about the survival of entire species (including ours); I care more about the lives of the individuals. To illustrate this, it saddens me when we cause extinctions, but a little more because of the animals that suffered in the process and a little less about the whole “loss” of a form of life. Yet, it all is sad.

    How do I deal with this climate change sadness? I guess I don’t see it separately from other sad things from humanity (and existence, but let’s focus on humanity). I have accepted the fact that most human beings are morally questionable in my book, this causes the world to be worse for everyone in it, and no amount of reasoning with most of them (about the benefit for them and others of being more conscious about their lives) will change it for now.

    At some point, some have felt that a better society is just a step ahead of us because it’s relatively easy in material terms, but now I feel it much farther as the social factors are not as easy. I guess I have surrendered to a certain idea of psychological determinism. If we imagine a person has an object we want at their reach, while it’s out of our reach, and we could get it if they only cooperate, we can feel frustrated when they don’t. “Why do they make it so difficult? It’s as simple as reaching for the object and grabbing it for us. Just do it! Why are they waiting for? Ugh!”. But if we start from the idea that there’s a chance they won’t help us because they simply can’t be bothered (different reasons as to why), and that’s probably not fixable, we won’t feel that level of frustration for their inaction and we will strategize differently how to get that object.

    By the way, I don’t think selfishness or self-centeredness or whatever is individualism, nor that altruism is communitarianism. I’m inclined to individualism, but that’s what makes me think that just as my life and freedom are valuable, so are others’. I do not like societies that are communitarian because they drown the individual (in false responsibilities, in fear of ostracism, etc.), and I hate that. We have one life and only one and we should be as free as possible, even if that means being unattached, different, whatever. The only rule for that freedom and for everything is ethics. And that’s the difference for me, that’s how I see it. Not individualistic people versus communitarian people, but people that live without an interest in being ethical (whatever that ends up meaning) and people who do.

    So… I think I see a lot of these people and I don’t get as frustrated as before. I sigh and continue my day. Reading this last part, it reads a little stoic (learning that I cannot change these parts of society and focusing on the ones we can change). Stoicism is like the ibuprofen of life; paracetamol is pyrrhic skepticism. I’m bad at analogies, lol, but you get the point (I hope).

    Prioritizing my health (including my mental health) has helped a lot. Good levels of everything in my body do wonders for my energy, but also my resilience, my mood, etc. Emotional regulation skills, combating stress… I know these are just common recommendations, but I don’t have more.

    I’m sorry that you’re feeling down. It’s been a hard time…







  • That’s true. Even with all the evidence now available, current experts cannot diagnose A. Hitler with 100% certainty. He seemed to have some issues that remind us of narcissistic personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, among others. We can only speculate (as with D. Trump).



  • I think you are being too restrictive with the concept of “distress”. The description in the image is about such distress.

    Vulnerability in self-esteem makes individuals with narcissistic personality disorder very sensitive to criticism or defeat. Although they may not show it outwardly, such experiences may leave them feeling ashamed, humiliated, degraded, hollow, and empty. They may react with disdain, rage, or defiant counterattack. However, such experiences can also lead to social withdrawal or an appearance of humility that may mask and protect the grandiosity. Interpersonal relations are typically impaired because of problems related to self-preoccupation, entitlement, need for admiration, and relative disregard for the sensitivities of others. Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder can be competent and high functioning with professional and social success, while others can have various levels of functional impairment.

    Extracted from the DSM-5-TR (2022); emphases are mine. Their distress revolves around self-esteem. As you can see, NPD can manifest in different ways too.

    A person can suffer from NPD while, unrelated to it, they might hold questionable political views. Those two things are not mutually exclusive; if they were, all people with NPD would be irreproachable.

    The sad part is that they are assholes, as you put it, but perhaps in some cases we failed them helping them not become who they became.