15 replies to this topic

[anubis]

I usually accept that politics don't belong into a game development forum. Especially remembering heated debates on flipcode, that resulted in endless battles. This topic however i feel crosses the line of what any person should accept by so much, that I it should be discussed.

What I'm referring to is the case of Jose Padilla, who has been in solitary confinement for over 4 years now, although the term solitary confinement is an euphemism at best. In reality he has been totally depraved of any sensory input for at least two years. (This means no hearing, no vision, no physical contact with anybody. not even when he was washed or they cut his nails).

As a result he may have been brain damaged, as sensory deprevation for extended periods of time (even days) causes severe hallucinations and is known to cause psychotic disorders. This man however was subjected to it for years instead of days. Even without any knowledge of the neurological effects it should be clear to anyone that this must be one of the most terrible tortures anybody can go through.

Jose Padilla was arrested for aiding terrorists but no real charges have been made against him in court until recently. Today he was found guilty, on what grounds I don't know, but that shouldn't matter anyway. There is nothing one person can do to deserve the utter destruction of one's mind.

Allthough this example might be an extreme, it is declared to be legal and it is hard to judge how many people have been subjected to similar horrors.
Living in democracies as most of us do, there is nothing that can absolve us from the responsibility to fight against such barbarism.

Thank you

[TheNut]

Truth is, this has been going on for centuries (ie: barbarism). It's in our very nature to be destructive. The best we can do is try to live out our lives the best way that we can. For people like Jose, he should have lived his life rather than the life of others (ie: militants, terrorists). For that, it cost him is life. I'm not commenting on his punishment, only that he decided to cross the border which ultimately led to his fate.

[anubis]

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Truth is, this has been going on for centuries (ie: barbarism). It's in our very nature to be destructive.

True. If anything we enjoy a unique amount of freedom compared to any other time in history. But to me it seems that that puts all the more responsibility on everybody, since there is the real option of acting. without having to fear for one's life.

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or people like Jose, he should have lived his life rather than the life of others

The problem is that he was detained for years before any charges were made against him. His life was destroyed before anybody could know if he was gulity. He might have been completely innocent as well (like Murrat Kurnaz from my hometown, who spent years in Guantanamo).

[rouncer]

Hell is waiting for us all, not just him.

[inigo07]

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Hell is waiting for us all, not just him.

That's a happy outlook on life. Really believe that?

[rouncer]

I met this guy, he got into a bit of trouble with an
armed robbery, which was a mistake, he got 3 years
in jail for it, he told me for the first 6 months he counted
the days until he lost count.
And that was enough emotional torment to make him
borderline suicidal for the rest of his life.
His wrists are decorated with slits now.

We are fragile creatures, we can only take so much
before we break.

It can happen to anyone, idiots reign supreme in the
world we live in, and we are powerless to stop
any of it.
No-one cares.

"locked in body syndrome" where some part of your brain dies
and your stuck in your body but you cant
move your limbs all you can do is lie there screaming
in your head until you die.

Thats pretty much hell isnt it?

You can lose all your health with an illness, because ANYTHING
can go wrong in this life... and if you think gods going to save
you, you are sadly mistaken.

Just to put the sugar on the cake->
Most people just think happiness is a result of dopemine
in your bloodstream, and its caused mostly by bodily
functions.
So if you have schizophrenia, the doctors and nurses put on you that your
bodily functions are sending you crazy, and if you didnt quite
understand or get it, too bad, youll get pumped full of experimental
antipsychotics which kill the brain as they supposedly help you.

My little life at this time, was about living whilst dealing with the horrible
bad with the stuff you like to do, and trying to be less naive and turn
into a more wiser person.

Wishing you were never born is a really common thing to wish.

[anubis]

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It can happen to anyone, idiots reign supreme in the
world we live in, and we are powerless to stop
any of it.
No-one cares.

That seems to be the credo of our time. "Nothing you can do". But that can't be true. Otherwise we'd still be stuck with kings, slavery, child work and sixteen hour days in factories with no health care for anyone. Things have been achieved by struggle and I don't see, why it can't happen again.

The big lie that has been driven into our minds is that the guy next to you probably doesn't care about what's going on, which may even make you despise the rest of society, but the truth is that most people care and just think that nobody else will, so they remain silent and disillusioned with the world.

[anubis]

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So if you have schizophrenia, the doctors and nurses put on you that your
bodily functions are sending you crazy, and if you didnt quite
understand or get it, too bad, youll get pumped full of experimental
antipsychotics which kill the brain as they supposedly help you.

That is sad but true. I have had two friends, who were commited and they both have been mentally destroyed by the medical institutions. There was nothing known about their conditiond or how to help them, so they were plainly drugged, so that they couldn't cause any trouble and mostly left alone, maybe even strapped to a bed, if they didn't feel like cooperating.

[rouncer]

Drugged without a definite diagnosis... sounds about right...

No matter what I face, I guess I have to be strong and optimistic, but
how strong I ended up having to be was phenomenal compared to how hard
I thought it was going to be...

When all the antipsychotics that are out now are outlawed in times to come,
like shock therapy (which was stumbled apon in FLUKE!) which isnt outlawed,
but some institutions dont do it anymore, i guess we have achieved
something.

Strapped to beds, dragged around, injected in the butt... how can people even like having these jobs, being fascists in the true sense of the word.

People still join pyramid schemes(MLM), absolutely thinking in the
complete whitest of truth, its a decent way to make money and its not
just taking someone elses money and putting it in your pocket, if I had enough distributed transfer programming experience I could set up a little
thievery network on the internet... So these people are dangerous! and absolutely think in the whitest of truth that they are doing GOOD for the
world.

Possibly it will change, if we start caring about the individual instead of the majority.

Every life ruined counts.

[anubis]

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Possibly it will change, if we start caring about the individual instead of the majority.

I think the individual should start to care about the majority. At least in the sense of doing no harm to others. After all it's still individuals wiping out nations with the stroke of a pen.

But dude ... you need to take a lighter outlook on life. You seem seriously depressed ! Sure the world is not a pretty place in some areas but humans are capable of so much love, empathy and compassion for one another, you shouldn't lose hope in that way.

[rouncer]

Just wait till you slowly disintegrate, with noone to understand your problem.
With everyone to want to help you, but help destroy you.
Life is drop the lamer when he falls behind.
And im not happy about that.

[inigo07]

Well, I can't say that I understand your views on life. I am a happy person. I'm glad I'm happy. I don't have a pessimistic view on life.

But what you think is your business. There's no way for me to convince you otherwise. Sure, there's evil in the world. But isn't it just as evil to let it destroy us? Don't you think there's something possible to be done to *stop* from being part of it all?

[Nodlehs]

rouncer said:

Just wait till you slowly disintegrate, with noone to understand your problem.
With everyone to want to help you, but help destroy you.
Life is drop the lamer when he falls behind.
And im not happy about that.

I would suggest maybe standing up and doing something with your life instead of bemoaning the fact it sucks. If you are so outraged at these injustices, find, or start, a group that combats these problems. Be a force of change instead of whining about it. I say, don't whine, because you don't offer solutions, all you do is rag on society.

[darksmaster923]

seriously you guys all i can say is live your life to the fullest.

[inigo07]

Nodlehs and Darksmaster both have a very good point. In a nutshell:

1. If there's something wrong that you have no control over, don't whine.
2. If there's something wrong that you DO have control over, do something about it.

[anubis]

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Nodlehs and Darksmaster both have a very good point. In a nutshell:

1. If there's something wrong that you have no control over, don't whine.
2. If there's something wrong that you DO have control over, do something about it.

Agreed !