Better Than Drudge

recent posts

about

Boy Set on Fire in Brutal Revenge Attack

By Selwyn Duke

In one of the most heinous
crimes imaginable, a 15-year-old Florida boy was set ablaze by five other teens
in a revenge attack stemming from a dispute over a video game.

The victim, Michael
Brewer of Deerfield Beach, suffered mainly second-degree burns on 65 percent of
his body and is currently hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s burn
center in critical condition.

The
youths charged in the attack are Jesus Mendez, 15; Steven Shelton, who will be
16 on Thursday; Matthew Bent, 15; and two brothers, Denver and Jeremy Jarvis,
15 and 13 respectively. The boys are accused of dousing Brewer with rubbing
alcohol and then igniting it with a lighter. All five are charged with
aggravated assault, and Mendez, who is said to have set the victim ablaze, is
also charged with attempted second-degree murder. Writing about the events
leading up to the vicious act, CBSNews.com tells
us:

Read the rest here.

Posted in , , ,

24 responses to “Boy Set on Fire in Brutal Revenge Attack”

  1. yoyo Avatar
    yoyo

    I made the mistake of clicking your link. Urgh!!
    Horrible crime, sad outcome, and disgusting writer trying to profit off the body of a burnt young man.
    leaving aside that distaste, his arguments are so stupid as to be comical. By his argument if the attackers were Christian it wouldn’t have happened, for a start does he know that they weren’t regular church goers? Of course not.
    Secondly, he implies that the idea of both crime and punishment is static, fixed, eternal since the christian bible. Sorry to point it out but even within the new testament it’s not. Somethings are crimes when one group commits them and OK when jesus or his followers do so, punishments likewise vary.
    So his basic premis is self serving, gratuitous and wrong.
    What I took from the incredibly sad story, is that young men have very little impulse control and can be incredibly cruel. Dont you remember “Lord of the Flies”? I agree they should be punished harshly but I would add 12 months working in a burns unit so they really understood what they have wraught.

    Like

    Reply
  2. Petro Avatar
    Petro

    Yoyo, you are right.Children are are what they are.They shouldn’t be punished. It’s a sad fact that the majority of children today and their ideals have changed of necessity,some because of their parents and upbringing.Some children may have their own ideals spawned from their education but you are right, in history christians are hypocrytes.What has christianity to do with it? Its the upbringing of the child. Where did those chidren get their ideals?

    Like

    Reply
  3. Walt Avatar
    Walt

    Please enlighten us Petro. How do you connect children burning another with Christian upbringing? Please, please, please explain your wisdom.

    Like

    Reply
  4. petro Avatar
    petro

    If you read correctly and can understand the content of what I said “children’s attitudes are the result of their up bringing” we only have ourselves to blame.Why should christianity for whatever it means have anything to do with it

    Like

    Reply
  5. John Avatar
    John

    petro, the reason is simple. The religion someone has affects how they will raise their children. Or are you saying that the parents’ beliefs have no effect on upbringing? If so then I suppose it doesn’t matter if the parents are Nazis, communists, libertarians or Buddhists. Upbringing just magically is what it is no matter what the parents’ believe.
    It’s important to think before forming opinions.

    Like

    Reply
  6. yoyo Avatar
    yoyo

    John, that didn’t make a lot of sense logically, if you had ANY evidence that the children of christians are better behaved feel free to post it. the moronic writer of the article has no idea what the religion of these boys is.
    The main issue is that somehow these boys have lost the ability to empathise with others causing them to inflict extreme pain on a peer. It has NOTHING to do with christianity and the stupid authopt of the article just looks like Tammy Fay Baker trying to skim some sucker $ from the christian market.

    Like

    Reply
  7. John Avatar
    John

    yoyo, the writer Selwyn Duke [who is a lot smarter than you] didn’t talk about Christianity really. He was discussing philosophy. Have you ever heard of it? He was talking about relativism vs. the idea of absolutes. Try reading the article next time.

    Like

    Reply
  8. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    Actually, as tragic as the story is, the analysis of the psychologies that led to the event are very astute. It is unfortunate that the author tainted it with the word Christianity, as that is not at all germane to the primary argument of social narcissism. It applies only in the sense that without a concept of something higher than “self”, then the individual has not adequately developed a self-regulatory system. I am too tired to expound. I may re-visit this later. A very tragic event, an excellent analysis…and a sad commentary on what we are becoming.

    Like

    Reply
  9. John Avatar
    John

    Savant, I respect your intelligence and pretty much agree with your opinion. But I do think you’re letting your prejudice influence you. The article is not ‘tainted’ with the mention of Christianity. This is not just because such a mention wouldn’t taint it. Here is the only thing the author said about Christianity-‘Why, it’s so bad that one poll showed that even a majority of Christians believe morals are relative (while I won’t treat this here, this renders the very basis of Christianity, the sacrifice on the cross, incomprehensible).’ Duke was simply painting a picture of how bad relativism is. When you have Christians believing it then it is pretty bad. You do know that Christians are supposed to believe in absolute morals don’t you?

    Like

    Reply
  10. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    To be honest, I could barely keep my eyes open when I wrote that response, and took in the article in ‘gulps’, rather then really studied it. I got the jest of the psychological underpinnings and merely saw the word Christianity. I do plan to re-visit the article and comment in greater depth.

    Like

    Reply
  11. JonnyVain Avatar
    JonnyVain

    This is a good comment. Selwyn (as am I) is a Christian. Christians have moral absolutes. As far as people calling Christians ‘hypochrites’ in society, just because someone claims to be one doesn’t make them so. People use what they can to gain power, and religion is one of the things used, as are government and other ideals.
    Most religions have a sense of what is right and wrong. Selwyn’s point is that in our society, we are coming to a point where you cannot speak your mind about what you feel is right or wrong without offending others. And the incident in this article is the result.

    Like

    Reply
  12. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    Do you feel it? It’s everywhere. On television. In the newspaper. At any public gathering. In any discussion – even among friends. It’s a feeling of mistrust. Nervousness. Suspicion. Even rage. Mostly, it’s just under the surface. But more and more it’s bubbling to the top. Political debate is breaking into outright war. Just say the words, “I don’t believe government should do that…” and the war is on. Take a side. Feel the heat. Tolerance is a thing of the past.
    There is an all out, vicious attack on anyone who doesn’t respond properly. Ridicule. Intimidation. Public shunning. Destruction of careers. Removal from public meetings. All await those who express thoughts outside the politically-correct box.
    Property owners seeking to ask questions at city council meetings about a new regulation that may affect their land are denied the microphone – sometimes even bodily removed from meetings by armed guards.
    A pickup truck in Shreveport, Louisiana, is pulled over by a cop. When asked why, the cop simply points to the bumper sticker on the back of the truck that says “Member of the NRA.”
    And then there is the beauty queen, Miss California, USA, who was asked about her views on gay marriage – by the openly gay blogger and activist Perez Hilton. Her answer – very honest and very middle of the road.
    She said, “Well, I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”
    For that answer she was attacked in headlines across the nation, calling her a bigot, a dumb bitch, and sarcastically and mockingly calling her “biblically correct.”
    And then, just a few weeks ago, at a town hall meeting to discuss the health care plan with his congressman, a black man, Kenneth Gladney was beaten by union goons and sent to the hospital for disagreeing with the Obama plan.
    Why? Why the hatred? Why the venom? Why the intolerance to what used to be called a “personal opinion” or political debate?
    The fact is we are witnessing an all-out drive to impose thought control that seeks to ban the ability – the right- to think or speak for one’s self. Thinking is becoming a crime.
    Today, there is one acceptable idea – government is the answer. Stray from that premise – even a little, as did Miss California, — and there will be no mercy for you. Your life will be destroyed. There are forces in this nation who want total power to dictate their agenda and they will stop at nothing to achieve it. For them there is no compromise or polite discussion or differences of opinion. The wants, needs, desires of your life, your family, your home, are not to be considered.
    Some describe their efforts as a conspiracy. If so, it isn’t very secret. The goal has been outlined in detail many times.
    In the UN’s report on Global Governance; in Agenda 21; in various programs of UNESCO, like its International Baccalaureate program, which teaches global citizenship in a global village; it was in the Biodiversity Treaty; the Kyoto global warming accord; and it’s in the Cap and Trade initiative. It is most certainly in Obama’s health care bill.
    All of these policies are blatant in their intent. Top down control; no sovereign, independent nations; no individual thought; no private property; no self defense; no morality; no personal pride of achievement; no questions. Anything that goes against the plan, anything that would cause anyone to hesitate in moving toward the agenda, must be eliminated or neutralized. Ever since Bush signed on with UNESCO, the minds of our children have been being re-shaped in our educational system.
    Educate, indoctrinate, intimidate. Above all, destroy reason and control the ability to think. Independent critical thought is not to be tolerated as it exists oftentimes in contrast to the “communal consensus”, to the global acceptable truth.
    We see the outcomes in behavior, and many progressive liberals exemplify these behaviors. In every single instance I have tried to engage a Liberal in any form of communication, I am attacked. When I post a chart straight from the CBO itself to prove my case, it is ignored and I am attacked. When I ask a question, it is ignored. Its fascinating on one hand to watch, and it is utterly appalling on the other hand when one is aware enough of the agenda that drives this regime, and what the ultimate consequence of it will be (which is not lurking to far off around the corner anymore).

    Like

    Reply
  13. Shaun Avatar
    Shaun

    I think these needs to be put in the thread right above this one where Selwyn is discussing small gov vs. big gov. Otherwise, this is an excellent observation and a well written post. The one thing I would ask though Savant..is what was it like before my generation? I’m 28 now and so my personal reference is somewhat limited. I agree completely that America has become a house divided, but I have to hear from others what America was like a generation before mine. I think most people, if asked when division in our society came about, they would say the 60’s and the radical social revolutions then sprung out of the campuses and now infiltrated mainstream. Any insight on this?
    I’ve said it before that it doesn’t take a great mind to see where this ship is heading. America has become a complacent society with deep seated social grievances. If hard times came to our country I have little faith in America’s ability to hold itself together.
    Shaun
    UCA

    Like

    Reply
  14. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    I am off to bed now, it has been about 2 days with no sleep…and I am not best qualified to answer this question from a historical perspective. The 60’s were in large part an outcome of the invention of The Pill. From a psychological perspective; without delving too deeply into the ‘rights or wrongs’; the birth control pill had maintained a balance between the nature of man and the nature of woman when viewed from an organizational perspective…the “hunter/gatherer” dynamic. This basic dynamic is immutable, inasmuch the genders are uniquely organized biologically, phsysiologically, psychologically, and anatomically to be opposites that are beautifully complementary to each other. Power/Love. One no greater or nobler than the other, equal in every way…merely opposite. (from a psychoanalytic perspective, one can view all human mal-adaptiveness thru a paradigm of Power and Love, our 2 basic organizing principles)
    Sexual promiscuity was not nearly as rampant, for fear of unwanted pregnancy tended to hold too much promiscuity in check. There was fear of being ostrasized from friends and family to have a pregnancy outside of wedlock. (understand, a counter-argumement to all I say here can be made in such things as ‘women were oppressed’ etc etc….but I am only speaking from a psychodynamic perspective).
    The Pill gave women the freedom to have sex as freely as men. The “Free Love” movement followed. In the 50’s, television came into the scene, and by the 60’s, pretty much every home in America had one. Free Love and advertising pushing consumerism exploded on the scene pretty much simultaneously
    …..(to be continued)…sorry…i can’t go into this now…Nor do I think it is right to monopolize the Host’s thread with this answer…i can see it is going to have to be rather lengthy. It will be a few days until I can fully answer this for you…and when I do, I will post a link to where you can find the answer, so as to not clutter up Sewlyn’s space…

    Like

    Reply
  15. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    Without answering your SPECIFIC question with a SPECIFIC answer, I have made some posts that will at least shed a little bit of light onto the answer you seek, our perhaps serve to focus the question down a bit. Here are 2 links to specific articles, and while there, you may find other matters of interest as well:
    http://recyclewashington.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/233/
    http://recyclewashington.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/progessive-liberalism-is-regressive-immaturity-part-1/

    Like

    Reply
  16. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    Ok, I thought of a simpler approach to answer your question, just as an ordinary American without any particular slant to the answer.
    We were a country founded largely on Hebrew Law and Christian Principles. Our Founding Father’s were all deeply religious men and when they forged the Constitution of this Country, they offered thousands of notes in the form of memoirs, Federalist Papers, the Anti-Federalist Papers, etc etc in which they all forewarned that men without Virtue, Men without God, men without a Moral Code can never sustain a Government or a Country as they have envisioned.
    Here is a link to our Founding Documents and most of the more notable quotes from our Founding Fathers: http://patriotpost.us/historic/
    Our moral code, although routed in Christian Ethic, did not impose any religious thought or doctrine upon others; giving every individual in this country the freedom to practice their own Faith within the sovereign boundaries of THIS country, that had it’s own cultural, social, and religious heritage.
    To live in America is and has always been a choice, and a priviledge. We used to hold our culture in esteem, despite the many flaws that any groups of people would have. We respected our Country and its Principles. We gave Allegiance to our Country in our classrooms, at government meetings, etc. We formed organizations that helped to deepen the values of our unique American Heritage and it’s moral codes, such as the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.
    In the 60’s and 70’s a conflagration of social event’s all seemed to coalesce at once. We had the Free Love Movement during a time that Kennedy was assassinated. This darkened the spirit of America. Drug use became much more prolific during these times as well. Then came Johnson, presiding over an unpopular war. It was the first time in American history when American’s were so divided, the ‘pot-smokers free loving group’ and the conservative American’s. It was a time when the pot-smoking free-loving group RIGHTFULLY brought some awareness to American’s, asking us to challenge authority. Johnson was despised. The final straw was the betrayal of Nixon.
    Into a void created by the shock of the loss of Kennedy and the cynicism that followed, something devastating happened. Americans lost their Hero’s. We could not trust our leaders. Even if you did not have a religious bent, or even a belief in God…we still had our hero’s…there was something outside of “self” that “we looked up to”.
    Into the void poured the snake oil salesman, Lawyers and Politicians that offered the solutions to a ‘divided’ America. When there was no longer a unifying principle-guided leadership being offered, the “me” generation was formed. Well, there are a lot of unique individual “me’s” in this country, all demanding that their individuality, regardless of our heritage and principles, had an audience. Equal opportunity for all (which was the cornerstone to the Civil Rights movement), got vastly exploded beyond it’s intent and meaning as the Lawyers and Politicians exploited this to mean “we all should be equal”.
    Our heritage and institutions came under attack. The people were easy victims, having no hero’s above them, there was a perniciousness “meaninglessness” pervading the souls of most people, either consciously recognized or subconsciously buried. “False Prophets” arose to rally by each empty soul, to champion their individual cause.
    As the mistrust of authority spread throughout the psyche of the people, so too came the resistance to parental guidance, to educational guidance. We became a nation willing to sacrifice ALL principles, because of opportunistic greed by those that could in the words of Rahm Emmanual–“never let a good crises go to waste”.
    The exploitative nature of these ‘civil rights’ has become an outrage against any reasonable person’s sensibilities. I am not quite sure of the dates, I believe both these cases were around 1999, the ACLU made a defense and won the 2 following examples I will give you.
    1. A Japanese lady discovered her husband had been cheating on her. She took her 3 children and herself to the San Francisco Bay where she was to drown all 3 of them and herself. She succeeded in drowning her children and was stopped before she drowned herself. She was charged with murder, but was found innocent due to “cultural differences”. IN her particular region of the world, such loss of face would be met with this reaction she had. This was their sole defense, and using this defense, she won.
    2. An immigrant from Guatemala caught his 6 yr old son stealing a pack of gum from a grocery store. He took his son home and after beating him, held his hand over an open gas range fire and totally disfigured his offending hand. He was fined $100 and let off, due to Cultural Differences.
    This shows what America has become. Who the hell cares what it is that they do in their country? They are living in THIS country now! Are they not subject to the same laws that you and I must abide to as a member of this society? But God forbid if we are not tolerant and respectful of someone else’s culture!
    What was it like “in the good old days”? A handshake was your word. Never tell a lie. Respect. Goodwill. People were generally nicer and more respectful of others. A good example of what it was NOT like can be seen in an article of my personal experience. On Oct 5th, I slammed into a back of an auto transport truck at 60 mph in my Porsche. I did not even so much as touch the brakes…I hit at full force. Naturally, there is a story as to how this all came about, which I will not bother going into. This story broke on a local Southern California newspaper, and for whatever reason, received 20 pages and 192 comments. Most of them were disparaging of me, from people whom I had never even met. Again, to any “decent” person, the responses to this article is rather shocking.
    http://www.ocregister.com/photos/porsche-edington-car-2593574-carrier-driver?orderby=TimeStampDescending&oncommentsPage=1&showRecommendedOnly=0/pid2593576
    I jumped into the fray I believe around page 12-13.

    Like

    Reply
  17. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    I posted your question on Facebook, and one person responded in a way I think you might find interesting:
    “Gary you are so right of how it ‘use’ to be,,you didn’t talk back to your parents with disrespect,,you did as you were told without question,you respected the elderly without question, it was yes ma’am ,no ma’am,yes sir,no sir…you didn’t have to worry about being sued for something you said…you didn’t have to have everything ‘signed, notarized,etc…your word actually ‘meant’ the same thing..it was serious and you were trusted. When you were told something you could actually believe it the majority’ of the time. You didn’t have the Gov trying to take your life or your rights away! Every morning before school you stood up with your hand over your heart and said the Pledge of Allegence and even had prayer and nothing was said because it was just part of your every day schooling! History was actually ‘taught’ the way History actually happened, not how they wanted you to hear it! For the most part Lawyers, Judges etc. actually used the Bible as their handbook per say. Nothing was said about the 10 commandments being displayed in public, there was nobody raising cane about it, it was the norm!,You didn’t hear about children of 10 yrs old or younger back talking adults,doing drugs,drinking,carrying dangerous weapons,or joining gangs. We were allowed sometimes, or even expected after chores to play outside all day long and we knew it was time to come in when the porch light came on. We weren’t afraid to walk miles to a friends house to visit,or walk to the store without being kidnapped or assaulted. It’s a shame that the laws have changed so much that now if you discipline your child you get arrested..therefore you don’t have many options to do this and have your children brought up like our generation! I’m not talking about ‘ABUSE’, but spankings that taught the value of right, and the consequence of wrong. I was taught manners, to be trust worthy, and respectful because I knew if i didn’t there would be reprecussions …there was a certain (for lack of better words) fear of knowing if you didn’t act right what would happen when you got home, therefore you did what was right and gave me a conscience! Now you see children killing their parents as young as age 8,,doing drugs,joining gangs,NO RESPECT FOR ANYONE ETC. It may have been a tougher time…but in the long run..it was a happier time and we turned out to be a better generation of trusting and respectable people for the most part!”

    Like

    Reply
  18. Philip France Avatar
    Philip France

    I wish to elaborate more on Shaun’s question of “what was it like before this generation?” but first, I wish to commend and applaud Savant for his postings. Sir, you have a beautiful and healthy mind. You express yourself cogently and decidedly. It is a pleasure to take in your thoughts, much as it is those of Selwyn Duke. Thank you.
    In his highly recommended book “The Nuremberg Trials: Last Tragedy of the Holocaust” Professor Ellis Washington lays the roots of moral decay in the United States and Western Civilization at the feet of four individuals: Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud and Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes. To analyze all four right now would consume weeks and pages so I will attempt to summarize how these individuals, brilliant minds one-and-all, sowed the nefarious seeds of moral decadence that now permeates our civil society and culture.
    Marx: Marx’s philosophy was political and economic. It led society away from rugged individualism and toward collectivism. Of course, this is impossible because regardless of government and political mandate, we remain individuals. This is why Marxist-Communist-Socialist regimes must rule through violence and oppression. The violence and oppression must be concealed through deceit, misinformation and outright lies. In Savant’s post, he suggests that this occurred around the late 50’s, early 60’s but its roots go back much further. President James A. Garfield was assassinated by an anarcho-Marxist. This was way back in 1881. A communist movement gained momentum in the U.S. during WWI, about the same time as the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. During the 1930’s the Communist Party, led by Earl Broward went after the trade unionists and simultaneously infiltrated our State Department. Communist malefactors such as Alger Hiss, Whitaker Chambers, Lauchlan Currie and John Stewart Service facilitated and enabled the communist overthrow of Chaing Kai Shek’s government in China by Mao Tse Tung (leading to the deaths of 60-70 MILLION innocent lives. This is the philosophy to which leftists and modern “liberals” are beholden. This is where it leads.
    Darwin: Darwin’s book, “On the Origin of Species” set about the moral erosion in that it suggested against Creation. It was among the first volumes that had a reasonable theory of how life came about and how it evolved. He was a brilliant naturalist and made some seemingly wonderful observations at the time. Time has proven that most, and nearly all of his theories have been discredited. Worse, the thought of evolution was only part of his intent. His true intents were eugenics. He was an outright racist. How many of the readers here know the actual title to Darwin’s famous book? Well, here it is: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life”. The word “struggle” in German is “kampf”, as in Mein Kampf (My Struggle) by Adolph Hitler. Now connect the dots.
    As for Freud, in a nutshell he paved the way for the association of blame away from the individual and toward external sources. While he also was a brilliant man and I am certain that many of his observation have been perverted over time, his influence on society produced more darkness than it did life.
    Holmes did the same in the realm of jurisprudence. He signaled a shift in American jurisprudence from Natural Law (moral law, that of nature and of nature’s God – which is codified in our Founding documents) and toward Positive Law, which is secular, humanistic and arbitrary. Professor Washington’s book, mentioned previously, elaborates on the evils of such jurisprudence.
    Savant is correct in identifying the advent of television, the proliferation of drug use and the “glorification” of illegitimate sex during the 60’s as when this trend toward moral decay gained great momentum. I will add one more thing to this and that is the media and the press. While “yellow” journalism has been around for about as long as journalism itself has, during this time it reached critical mass. Our press and our media are not just shading the news with bias. They are lying outright, they are covering up news that conflicts with the Leftist-Marxist agenda and they are fabricating “news” out of whole cloth. Add to this the West’s complicity in being so deceived and many of our friends (such as Yoyo) that accept appearances more readily than they do reality.
    Is it any small wonder that an inexperienced child who is drenched in Marxist philosophy and surrounded by Marxist acolytes leads the greatest nation on earth?
    America, America, God shed His grace on thee.

    Like

    Reply
  19. Shaun Avatar
    Shaun

    To both Philip and Gary, thank you both tremendously for the shared wisdom and insight on today’s matters. A single seasoned perspective often turns out to be more valuable than digesting a volume of books..Now though I find myself wanting to go book hunting to expand on some of the subjects discussed. It’s funny the more I learn the more I realize how much there is yet to learn. Anwway, thanks again.
    Shaun

    Like

    Reply
  20. Philip France Avatar
    Philip France

    Shaun,
    You are most welcome and thank YOU for your service in defense of our precious liberty.
    God bless you.

    Like

    Reply
  21. Paint It Black Avatar
    Paint It Black

    Where can I get more of Savant Noir? This guy is terrific! Where Selwyn Duke can plainly sink his teeth into a topic, Noir goes after it with fangs and claws. He has the huskiness of Michael Savage without the incessant self congratulations and promotion. And he can engage an audience without the effeminate histrionics of Glen Beck.
    I think we have a new kid prowling the block, taking lunch money and handing out black eyes. Given half a chance, the Savant has the potential to take all the marbles. At least for me when he’s posting here, SelwynDuke.com easily becomes the Savant Noir show. Better start looking over your shoulder boys.

    Like

    Reply
  22. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    LOL…thanks Paint it Black. To answer your question and hopefully not intruding on Selwyn’s hospitality, I have a political site I am running, but will not mention that here for it would seem like ‘solicitation’. So, I will offer my own little personally blog site that no one really knows is there, no one ever leaves a comment, it is just a place where I catalogue my own thoughts:
    http://recyclewashington.wordpress.com
    I can be found on Facebook under this same name, where various events that I may be hosting can be found.
    Philip…excellent post…There are so many ways to have answered Shauns original question, I was floundering a bit. I started to take the psycho-dynamic route, but that would have taken a tome and a half!
    Freud?? Tell me it is not true! Blasphemy! Freud is so thoroughly misunderstood. Many people have read ABOUT Freud, but very few people have ever read Freud. I disagree that he taught us to externalize blame. What Freud contributed to society was psychoanalysis; himself being a compassionate man and seeing how human suffering was not being alleviated by the “art” of psychology; sought to apply biological sciences into the mysterious world of ‘witch-doctor’ based psychology.
    All psychoanalytic theory is predicated upon the basic principles of biological homeostasis. Input-Retention-Discharge. In biology, a healthy organism maintains these balances: insulin-SOMATASTATIN-glucagon (as an example). A problem with the regulatory system (the retention aspects) would produce and imbalance leading to medical anomalies (diabetes).
    Input is the external stimulus..discharge is the reaction to that stimulus, but the tricky part, the birth of all pscyhologies, is in the “retention” How we think about our thoughts.
    Although a patient may ultimately freely associate and delve into childhood experiences that they feel influenced by, the Analyst is not in the least concerned if this event happened or not. In all likelihood, the patient’s recollection of these event’s is not in the least accurate. It make’s no difference whatsoever, because this is how THEY organized their behaviors, this is how THEY retained it. Our “discharges” are related to our “retentions”, and perhaps not at all in balance with the “input”. The imbalance between input and discharge is called Neuroses.
    After this extremely truncated look at Freud, the psychoanalytic therapy process can be more easily understood. Whereas in Psychotherapy, there is direct Doctor-patient interaction, typically 1 hour per week. In psychoanalysis, the patient comes 5 times a week and lies on the sofa facing away from the Analyst and says ‘whatever comes to their mind’. There is no encroachment upon their processing. This will extend over a time period of 3-10 years. The analyst rarely says a word, and will only make some gentle and seemingly innocuous intervention after enough data has been provided over an extended period of time to have rendered an ‘interpretation’ that the Analyst will gentle test thru the patient via a gentle suggestion that perhaps this might be looked at further.
    It is very very complex, which is why to become an Analyst, a PhD in Psychology, or an M.D. in Psychiatry, must have an additional 10 years of training to be a Psychoanalyst.
    The basic goal of Psychology is to help the patient become more adaptive to Society. The basic goal of Psychoanalysis is to have the patient become more fully themselves. It is interesting to note that Psychology is practiced in every society in the world. Psychoanalysis has been banned in every dictatorial country in the world. Not good to have “individualistic thinkers” in a Dictatorial society. It is interesting to note that under this current Regime, every effort is being made to erode individual thought and to supplant it with the ‘collective’.

    Like

    Reply
  23. Philip France Avatar
    Philip France

    Savant,
    Thanks for your compliment about my post. I will admit that Freud is the one of the four subjects of which I cited and I concede that you are far more learned in this field than I. It is also coincedental that Professor Washington did not elaborate as to why he included Freud on his list.
    Professor Washington is an intellectual whom I hold in high esteem. He is a frequent guest on Michael Savage’s radio show and is also Savage’s official biographer. His articles can be found by using the search tool at http://www.wnd.com and I enjoy every one of them. I have had personal contact with Professor Washington and I will ask him if he would be so kind as to elaborate on this point.
    Wishing you all a good week…

    Like

    Reply
  24. Savant Noir Avatar
    Savant Noir

    Great! I’d love to hear why he thinks Freud contributed to the erosion of self-responsibility.

    Like

    Reply

Let us know what you think, dear reader. We value your input!