Total Loss of Control
Inspired by Bill Cosby – he is making a big toot about the irresponsibility of his fellow black people. Rather than lump a race into the same bucket – we should probably consider behavior rather than color. We have some literature that is not of our making. This literature has been copied and copied again. It apparently had value to someone.
Total Loss of Control – what are the attributes:
1. Accepts no responsibility.
2. Has continuous flow of ‘criminal’ thoughts from the time he gets up.
3. Is concerned only for self. Their purpose is power and control.
4. Does not see self as being a bad person – sees self as a good person.
5. Seeks to promote self at the expense of others.
6. Relationships are self serving and exploitative.
7. Criticizes others, claims injustice, blames others when things don’t go as planned.
8. Sees being nice as a weakness.
9. Overconfident. Won’t stop trying to beat the system.
10. Has no consideration for others – no remorse for harm done. Likes to antagonize.
We put the word ‘criminal’ in quotes because I do not like the word. It has lost its value as a descriptive word. The word ‘criminal’ is now a word that is used prejudicially to justify treating other people as ‘less than human.’ It is like the word ‘nigger’ – it carries connotations that justify poor treatment.
Our prisons are full of people who are not ‘criminal.’ Yes, they have broken the law – many of these laws did not even exist fifty years ago. Cocaine was reduced to powder form in 1850, Heroin was synthesized from opium in 1898, Methamphetamine was crystallized in 1919. Refrigeration has spread alcohol to every nook and cranny of rural America. Science has created a world that civilization does not yet understand. Science has run away from our ability to formulate new ethics.
Most of the people in prison, if born 200 years ago, would have been responsible farmers that took care of their children and their families. Many of the traits listed as Loss of Control is the product of addiction to powerful and unforgiving drugs.
Drug treatment facilities have not kept up with the latest advances in treatment. Many treatment facilities operate out of old ‘criminal thinking’ models of the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Never the less – it becomes the responsibility of individuals to take control of their own lives, even if that means taking control back from insidious drugs. It is the responsibility of individuals, no matter their family of origin or color of their skin, to take control of their own lives – to participate in the world of civilized man.
Thank you Bill Cosby for bringing these issues to the forefront.
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Comment by joe on 21 October 2007:
Ohg,
Bill Cosby takes alot of heat for trying to bring to light that people do have influence in taking conrtol in thier own lives. I commend him for that, and you for being one of those who notice. I take issue with your comments on the definition of criminal. People are now criminals for breaking new laws? Yes. Just as people are not criminals for taking part in activities that were at one time outlawed, such as drinking and selling alcohol and abortion. Alcohol has been made in backwood stills and bathtubs in this country since people figured out how to do it. You can thank August Busch himself for the spread of a specific brand of beer throughout the country, he is the one who figured out that you could put beer in ice-coooled railcars and have ice restocking facilities along the rail route. The drug issues are the same problem different day, that will never change. You can go back as far in history as you want, we as a society have to do what we can to prevent use if possible and help those addicted. Society has to roll with what its delt, adapt as needed. If we want to compare today to 200 years ago, those same responsible farmers would be farming on thier own without government subsidies and dealing with health issues in a much different way than we do now. The threat of death in a case of pnuemonia for example was severe, where as today a quick doctors visit and some medicine will have them up and running in days. The office visit itself and the medicine is relativly inexpensive, but the insurance costs alot. The scrifice is that I have spent time working where I may not enjoy, not having things I may want. You get what you pay for, corruption aside I don’t really care if the cost is great for health care if the advances provide my child life, or help keep me around long enough to send them out on thier own. Science is as much to blame for the cost of health care as corruption and greed. The amount of money it costs to produce one drug that works is staggering. I read once that the average cost to produce one drug that works is roughly $800,000. That is one that works. They test countless numbers before ever finding one that works and it may wind up working for something that it was not intended for. I’m ranting but out of time. Point is you do have to take control of your life and hope you make the right choices. Will check back, thanks, Joe
Comment by Ohg Rea Tone on 21 October 2007:
Joe,
I am sorry that you and others miss my point about criminals – it serves no civilized purpose to criminalize a medical condition fostered by scientific advances. You have closed your mind to the idea that perhaps our prisons are growing because society is doing something wrong – We keep locking people up and they keep coming back – so we blame them and never once consider that there might be something wrong with the system. Just call them ‘criminal’ and then we can justify the brutality of prisons. Keep doing the same thing expecting different results – and then blame someone else when the system continues to fail society.
Your use of history to justify the present immorality of our system of justice is grossly abominable.
I implore you – stop and think – the term ‘criminal’ immediately sends you off on a vindictive tangent that does not serve you well. The term ‘criminal’ segregates people into a sub human class. With this attitude we will never root out the real problems of humanity and civilization.
Ohg.
Comment by joe on 21 October 2007:
I dont disagree that we may be doing things wrong, but that could be debated forever. Our population is growing, and due to medical advances people live longer. When population grows, so will other things (should I expect a rant about my closdmindedness after that comment?). My mind isnt closed, and I am glad that some can be rehabilitated, people deserve every opportunity. I have certainly had my problems to deal with and have been fortunate in some situations and unfortunate in others. Provide me with a way to help that works, and I will gladly change my opinion. Try and try again right, laws change as society changes and we should be willing to open our eyes, but it isnt possible to help everybody. The present immorality of our society is in part to blame for overcrowding of prisons with people involved in crimes against themselves. I am completely against the government criminalizing things people choose to do themselves, that have no immediate effects on others. The laws that criminalize these medical conditions you speak of were intended to prevent or scare people from doing these things. They clearly are not working, but niether is the threat of death or permanent health damage. If you can come up with the right solution to solve these issues, please post it. You write within the same post about the reponsibility of the individual and thier role in the civilized world, but then want society to carry thier burden. I have never been in an alcohol or drug abuse program but do know many who have. Some have worked and some have failed, but the inividual shoulders the reponsibility. The system failed my father in law, but he took control afterward and quit using alcohol. You are onto something with individual responsibility but I would like to see people offer options and ideas rather than just critisism of the current system.
Comment by Ohg Rea Tone on 21 October 2007:
Holy Cow Joe,
Had your read my entire post you might have noticed the condemnation of current practices in treatment modalities. The ‘criminals’ coming out of our out-dated ‘treatment programs’ who are successful at rehabilitation, that means successful at taking control of their life, would have been successful without the treatment – they were determined to change. The humiliating treatment offered by ‘criminal based’ programs destroys the willingness to change – in fact they promote the idea that the criminals are inherently criminal – possessed by the mythology of ‘addictive personalities’ and the best they can hope for is a regulated life of endless 12 step meetings in the basements of churches, whining in their coffee about the bad hand dealt to them by GOD!
Your message implied that I support the dysfunctional programs of bumper sticker shallowness that are obviously not working. I have more posts coming on what I think would be better treatment modalities – and they are not just my ideas. The scientists who created the problems have found solutions – but they are having great difficulty in breaking down the walls of prejudice in the existing systems. Prejudices fostered by the injustice of lumping humans into sub-human categories like criminal and nigger. How disgusting and embarrassing.
Fifty years from now society will look back with the same embarrassment that we look back at the treatment of schizophrenia and other mental health disorders.
The social scientists of today, and no – I am not talking about existing, poorly funded, community mental health centers, have found that new ideas of treatment take about twenty years to implement on the front lines of treatment programs. New approaches to helping people are proving effective – but are rejected by the very people working in health care that are charged with helping. I will be writing more on this later.
Ohg