No Glenn....you're weird!

[less lee]

Friday, October 29, 2010

Eleutrophobia part 2

I was more scared than a Libertarian trespassing on a private beach with a pack of guard dogs chasing him. Well, not really scared. I know insanity and I know it well; my brother and sister had it.
Back in the early 70’s, I had a friendship with the “neighborhood nut.” I did a couple of favors for him and he trusted me implicitly from then on. That is, until 1974 when he went off the deep end. He was a chain smoker and claimed he was a blood relative of Jesus Christ. I knew that something was wrong with him, but couldn’t identify what it was. One moment, he would be talking maniacally, and then he’d go into a trance and be totally incommunicado the next. It was quite strange. When he was talkative, he’d lecture me on international conspiracies. Mentally ill victims have a symptom called Graphorrhea. They are compelled into writing symbols, shapes, charts, and words simultaneously while engaging in discussion. They believe that the world thinks like they do and by recording or illustrating their points, those they are trying to impress can more easily understand what they are saying. This guy would get a pad of blank paper and, while lecturing me, would draw on a blank page and then show it to me. (I was so glad he didn’t use a chalkboard!) He would also enter into his President Nixon obsession. Like many of my contemporaries of the time, he hated Nixon. But his hatred was unhealthy. He claimed that Nixon and the CIA were out to kill him! Then, he would assume a character like that of a villain from the “Batman” comics. Villains like “The Joker” or “The Riddler.” He displayed this goofy, sarcastic demeanor so that, at the end of every sentence, he would emit a feigned laugh. He would say shit like, “Nixon poo thinks he knows me! Ha! Yeah! As if this room isn’t bugged! Ha! The government would never spy on its citizens. Ha! Nixon follows the law like a good boy! Sure he does! Ha!” He’d pace around the room while eating something and then rant between gulps. I could never figure out why those with mental illness like to eat in front of people.
He liked to keep journals on strangers. He thought that most strangers were working for Nixon. He kept one on the mailman. If anything about his mail appeared irregular, he’d be convinced that the mailman had actually opened all of it and read its contents. He thought he would outsmart the CIA by addressing letters to himself and then mailing them. Well, in 1974 he accused me of being an agent of Nixon! Shortly thereafter, he was institutionalized and I never saw him again. Later, I talked to his mother and she told me he was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. At the time, I didn’t know what meant. Then, when members of my own family were afflicted with the disease, I started doing research on mental illness. Eventually, I discovered that many celebrities had this illness. Actresses like Frances Farmer and Margot Kidder, among many others, suffered from this disease.
I’ve found that most mentally ill people are poverty stricken. During the Reagan administration, thousands of mental patients were pushed out into the street due to the closure of many government-run hospitals as a result of cuts to tax-funded programs. Schizophrenics are high functioning people that often remain a part of society. Some are very creative and become rich and famous. For some, this is a fate worse than death in that they self-medicate by using drugs and alcohol. Others turn to religion.
For some reason, many U.S. Americans view wealth as a direct result of intelligence and God’s blessings—regardless of the wealthy individual’s mental state. They are then astonished when, on one fateful day, a Schizophrenic has a psychotic episode and either kills others and/or himself. If the afflicted one is lucky, the police will get to him/her before they do either.
Often, I watch Glenn Beck on the Fox News channel. At first, I thought his was just a crummy act. He has admitted on television that he has Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.). This is a common brain disorder that can be managed by drugs. The more I watch his show, the more I’m convinced that his is no act. His behavior reminds me of the symptoms my friend mentioned above had. When Beck is in a low mood, he gets histrionic and religious. While in that state, he reminds me of a Catholic giving a confession, however, his humility seems so insincere. When he gets manic, he acts like the villain, “The Joker.” When he gets visibly paranoid, he starts to rant about George Soros. I know that defaming George Soros is part of the Right wing’s talking points, but Glenn acts like this old Holocaust survivor is out to get him. He refers to Soros as “The Spooky Dude.”
A lot of religious and political leaders have had mental illness--from Adolph Hitler to The Reverend Jim Jones. I think Glenn Beck might be suffering from Bipolar Disorder, of which A.D.D. can be a byproduct. If Beck were to read this piece I’ve written, he might think George Soros planted it! Mental illness is no laughing matter. If Beck is putting on an act, then shame on him for mocking mentally ill people!

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