do leftist politics attract emotionally unstable people?

[gorillafuck]

or is it just that a fuckload of people are secretly emotionally unstable?

[Ostrinski]

Leftist politics attract emotionally unstable people, but no more than any other political persuasion. Emotionally unstable people of all political stripes have done some fucked up shit, and there are plenty of examples to substantiate this.

[citizen of industry]

I think everyone is emotionally unstable, it's called being human. Leftist politics are based on a pragmatic assessment of economics, history, philosophy and the world around us. Religious zealots and right-wingers are far more unstable.

[Ocean Seal]

I would argue that leftists are generally the most stable types of people. Often they are able to set aside conflicting interests like race, sex, nation, and work together towards a rather abstract goal that they have no idea how it will turn out. Many white working class leftists are willing to give up white privilege, many male leftists male privilege and so on. I would argue that this would be far more difficult with emotionally unstable people.

Nationalists on the other hand, I find are emotionally guided and often quite unstable.

[Prometeo liberado]

Or are leftist emotionally unstable because they see and accept what many will not or can not?

[#FF0000]

or is it just that a fuckload of people are secretly emotionally unstable?

a fuckload of people are secretly emotionally unstable.

[¿Que?]

It depends on how you define emotionally unstable. What I've noticed, though, is that in the west, most of the lone wolf, senseless violence that characterizes emotionally unstable people at their worst, is seen on the right. From the plane guy in Texas, to the Arizona shooter, to the Norwegian massacre, these people have all been pretty sympathetic with the right.

EDIT: And I can only think of the black bloc as anything even comparable coming from the left, and that's a pretty far stretch as it is.

[Lobotomy]

What I've noticed, though, is that in the west, most of the lone wolf, senseless violence that characterizes emotionally unstable people at their worst, is seen on the right. From the plane guy in Texas, to the Arizona shooter, to the Norwegian massacre, these people have all been pretty sympathetic with the right.

Don't forget Timothy McVeigh.

[¿Que?]

Don't forget Timothy McVeigh.
Right, I mean the list goes on and on.

[Veovis]

Emotionally unstable? How illogical. I have undergone the kohlinar and know not of what you speak.

Live long and prosper, comrades.

[Elysian]

In a capitalist society, it'd be a miracle not to be emotionally unstable.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

a fuckload of people are secretly emotionally unstable.
Hex-code Red hit the nail on the head. Everyone's "crazy". Some are just a bit better at hiding it.

[NewLeft]

Every leftist suffers from oppositional defiant disorder and MUST get on meds, how dare you question capitalism, anyone who does so is doing it out of irrationality!!!

[The Douche]

I think a lot of people in this society are emotionally unstable, and I think the farther down the line of economic inequality you go, the more emotionally unstable people you will find. Where you whole life is a struggle, you're likely to become emotionally unstable, and the more dispossessed you are, the more likely you are to be attracted to communist positions.

[Искра]

I'm stable. Fuck off.

[GoddessCleoLover]

The left attracts a better type of person than does the right. I was watching CNN today and noticed the American Hitlerjugend and the CPAC conference howling and baying for The Newt. Disgusting. Todos esos hijos de putas deben irse al peleton de fusilimiento.

[Искра]

The left attracts a better type of person than does the right. I was watching CNN today and noticed the American Hitlerjugend and the CPAC conference howling and baying for The Newt. Disgusting. Todos esos hijos de putas deben irse al peleton de fusilimiento.
This is bullshit. It's not about moralist "better type of person" arsehole.. it's about people and their interest. People need to realise that communist society is their interest and not that it will make them better and other Chatolic bollocks.

Fucking hell you piss me off...

[GoddessCleoLover]

It's about both. In addition to class interest there is also the fact that historically the far right has attracted sadists, sociopaths etcetera. These elements come from both the petit-bourgeoisie and the lumpen proletariat as well as the bourgeoisie. Sorry to piss you off, but not all Marxists view matters entirely through an economic prism. Have you ever read any of the writings of Antonio Gramsci?

[NewLeft]

I don't know if leftists are emotionally unstable, but I will say that reading leftist books has made me think. Sure it wasn't the leftist bit, but the whole actually thinking for once bit is a huge change from doing absolutely nothing. I'm not trying to say that it made me a better person or that my life is so much better or some other bullshit, but it has kept me preoccupied in a way and that seems to stabilize. Nowadays, I go on revleft just to rant/cry/screak/be fucking annoying, especially when I'm "emotionally unstable." It's just that revleft is kinda therapeutic.. Probably because of the people on here, far more understanding and empathic.

[Искра]

. Have you ever read any of the writings of Antonio Gramsci?
Yes. He was an anarcho-liberal wanker. Long live Bordiga!

[The Douche]

It's about both. In addition to class interest there is also the fact that historically the far right has attracted sadists, sociopaths etcetera. These elements come from both the petit-bourgeoisie and the lumpen proletariat as well as the bourgeoisie. Sorry to piss you off, but not all Marxists view matters entirely through an economic prism. Have you ever read any of the writings of Antonio Gramsci?

Yeah the left never attracted people like Mussolinni, Stalin, Kim Jong Il, Pol Pot, or any other sadists or sociopaths...

[GoddessCleoLover]

Of course the left has attracted sadists and sociopaths, but the left as a whole tries to speak to our better instincts. The right as a whole celebrates our worst aspects and not merely attracts sadists and sociopaths, but ideologically encourages them. The ability of the likes of Stalin and Pol Pot to rise to revolutionary leadership ought to be a sobering lesson in the evils of authoritarianism. Concentration of power in the hands of a "vanguard" is dangerous to a movement that seeks the liberation of the masses of workers.

[The Douche]

Of course the left has attracted sadists and sociopaths, but the left as a whole tries to speak to our better instincts. The right as a whole celebrates our worst aspects and not merely attracts sadists and sociopaths, but ideologically encourages them. The ability of the likes of Stalin and Pol Pot to rise to revolutionary leadership ought to be a sobering lesson in the evils of authoritarianism. Concentration of power in the hands of a "vanguard" is dangerous to a movement that seeks the liberation of the masses of workers.


The left has just as many nutjobs associated with it, historically, as the right does. Your position is just silly. Bad people will manipulate ideas in order to achieve their goals, sometimes this means they manipulate ideas of the left, sometimes they manipulate ideas of the right.

[SHORAS]

If you're not manic depressive (in this society) there's something wrong with you ;)


...According to Marx, the accumulation of misery has an objective cause. This is the regulation of the process of capital accumulation as a whole. It also has subjective effects. Marx mentions overwork, the sense of no freedom, ignorance, brutality and mental degradation. If Marx meant by “mental degradation” that it would become increasingly difficult for workers to act in a class-conscious way towards each other, then it is an interesting hypothesis that workers’ intellectual and emotional capabilities are more limited now than in the 19th century.

Fear and despair limit workers’ intellectual and emotional capabilities by making them preoccupied with their distress. In other words, despite higher rates of pay, workers feel increasingly miserable. They are vulnerable to being drawn into the mental health system of oppression. According to the World Health Organisation, one in every four people worldwide develops one or more mental disorders in her or his lifetime. Mental illnesses are more common than cancer, diabetes or heart disease...



From a good recent Weekly Worker article http://cpgb.org.uk/article.php?article_id=1004693

[GPDP]

If you're not manic depressive (in this society) there's something wrong with you ;)



From a good recent Weekly Worker article http://cpgb.org.uk/article.php?article_id=1004693

You should post this every time someone suggests we should hope for capitalism to become more oppressive so people will rise up and revolt. Without organization, all that will happen is people will despair more and focus more on making ends meet just to survive.

[Quail]

Left wing politics are in the interests of the people who have it worst in this society, so that section of society are going to be more likely to suffer from emotional problems. A lot of emotional problems might have genetic causes, but it usually takes something to trigger them, which is more likely to happen if your everyday life is a stressful struggle.

Another thing is that your political views affect the way you see the world. When I look around, I see a world which is unfair and full of unnecessary misery and suffering due to the economic system. That's pretty depressing, and when I'm already feeling low reading the news just makes me despair.

[MotherCossack]

yeah but..they do say that history is always written by the winners!
and since most victors in history are sadly on the wrong side of the middle, [ie the right]
they just call the guys they thrashed all the abusive names they can think of.....
eg : "well... so and so deserved it.... they was just a delusional , mad, loony anyway!!!"

[Misanthrope]

If the left attracts unstable people... what in dear god's name do we call what the right attracts?

[ellipsis]

either we are all crazy or nobody is crazy, I am inclined to believe the former.

[Jimmie Higgins]

After more or less 15 years working customer service (on and off - sometimes I got to work in offices!) anecdotally I feel pretty certain that leftists are no more emotionally unstable than most - and may be a little better in that they might have a little more perspective on problems in the world than most people.

I've seen leftists do and say crazy things, but I've never seen a Marxist or anarchist tell off a barista or supermarket checker over some petty shit like a coffee order mix-up or whatnot.

So on the daily level of interactions, radicals are probably more sane than other people. That being said, you have to be a little crazy to fight for revolution in non-revolutionary times - or constantly having to deal with the gap between what is and what we know could be causes a little mild craziness. On top of that I think generally capitalism is just stressful and causes people to be cranky, depressed, and so on. For radicals we have to deal with this stress just like all other workers but then we also spend a chunk of our free-time on real emotionally draining and stressful work. There are a lot of emotional ups and downs in any movement and it does take a toll on people which is why I think organization is important and having people who can step in if you are beginning to burn-out and need some personal time is important.

[MotherCossack]

stones are stable ...but I dont wanna be a stone when I grow up!

[Lanky Wanker]

Go head over to Stormfront, then ask the same question...

[Lanky Wanker]

stones are stable ...but I dont wanna be a stone when I grow up!

Stones are indeed stable, that's why I like getting stoned whenever I can. :cool:

[GoddessCleoLover]

Anyone here remember Dylan's Rainy Day Women #12 and 35?

[ellipsis]

Anyone here remember Dylan's Rainy Day Women #12 and 35?

Verbal warning for off-topic post.

And yes we all remember one of the best known songs of one of the best known american musician.

[Lanky Wanker]

Verbal warning for off-topic post.

And yes we all remember one of the best known songs of one of the best known american musician.

We can get warnings for things like that...? I'd better watch what I say a bit more.

[workersadvocate]

Capitalism is crazy for most people to have to put up with.
Trying to put up with it anyways just makes us a bit crazier. Scratch a "normal" and you'll find holy-shit really barbaric and crazy underneath.
Sanest thing we can do is stop deceiving ourselves, stop letting others deceive us, and try to fight back and change this world, and try to find other working people who are "crazy" enough to make a fight back and dream of a fundamentally better world for all humanity.
Many "normals" will call you crazy...like they always do when people strive to change the world. Who's really crazy? Those who accept, tolerate and passively comply with a system that serves a very few, especially when they don't belong to that very few...that's whose fucking nuts!

[ColonelCossack]

either we are all crazy or nobody is crazy, I am inclined to believe the former.

Aren't they the same thing??? If we're all crazy what does "crazy" even mean???

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Aren't they the same thing??? If we're all crazy what does "crazy" even mean???
"Crazy" is an exaggeration of normal behaviors

[GoddessCleoLover]

IMO the stresses of living under capitalism in this era of economic decline and austerity exacerbates mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, affective disorders, anxiety disorders etcetera.

[MotherCossack]

Aren't they the same thing??? If we're all crazy what does "crazy" even mean???

we are crazy and we dont care
they are rich and its not fair
there aint no justice anywhere
at least we aint as bloody square
as them what have stole our share.

we all know the lies you tell
and see straight through your hard,fast sell,
you think you re doing very well'
and we're all under your corrupting spell
but mark my words you'll go to hell.
-----------------------------------------------
if sanity is towing the line
swallowing the poisonous filth
denying my spirit
ignoring my strength
searching for nothing and living a lie.
-----------------------------------------------
i hope i never come to my senses!

[MotherCossack]

cor!!!!
did i write that?
bloody good that third verse... even if i say so myself!

[GoddessCleoLover]

She is a poet and she didn't know it.

[Franz Fanonipants]

i'm pretty stable. but i do a lot of drugs to get myself there.

shit wait

[Lanky Wanker]

cor!!!!
did i write that?
bloody good that third verse... even if i say so myself!

You should write lyrics for me and my band!

[MotherCossack]

if words were bunches of grapes i'd be knee deep in beaujolais
if i had a gold coin every time i created a pigsty.......
whoa!!!
me would be some well rich fucking-mother

[Lanky Wanker]

if words were bunches of grapes i'd be knee deep in beaujolais

Scratch what I said, you should be a freestyle rapper!

[MotherCossack]

blimey...
this is more complementation than i ever was the recieverer of
iam flattelighted and ...
cant help taking the high and mikey out of meself
innit blad.

[Lanky Wanker]

BRRRRRRRRAP issa big man ting.

In your face, Americans, you can't understand our jokes. :cool:

[Yuppie Grinder]

Yes. He was an anarcho-liberal wanker. Long live Bordiga!

Bordiga is one of my favorite theorists, but Gramcsi's writings on cultural hegemony are brilliant. I don't agree with him on other things, but he's certainly not a liberal.

[Agent Ducky]

There should be a whole thread dedicated to MotherCossack's poetry skillz.

[Raúl Duke]

If you got that observation from revleft, I think it's might possibly be more accurate to say that "people who spend time in forums, etc on the internet" are more emotionally unstable. Than leftists as a whole. :p

[MotherCossack]

ME unstable?
just a label!
cards on table ...
let's enable
a future fable....
hang the rich with their cable.

i wrote the writing
on the wall.
we'll end up fighting
they will fall.
the gravy train ..they're all alighting
they better pray it doesn't stall
we'll end up fighting
they will fall
cos i wrote the writing
on the wall.

[gorillafuck]

If you got that observation from revleft, I think it's might possibly be more accurate to say that "people who spend time in forums, etc on the internet" are more emotionally unstable. Than leftists as a whole. :pyes, this is likely.