Chaohinon

Come the fuck on guys. Let's flip the switch for a moment: "My girlfriend says she really wants to be beaten, and claims I don't love her if I'm not willing to beat her" "My black friend really wants to be called a nigger and says I'm a bad friend if I don't force him to do housework without compensation" What do you think of the person now? You're focusing on just abetting what the person claims to want, while ignoring that mental health is really what's at stake here. Conflicting values my ass.

Did we read the same story? Where did it say this guy was crazy or had a sense of failure or is "fucked up"? I didn't even see anything about how successful he now is in life. I also am confused because he was an orphan and then this couple added him to their family. He was then taken away and his pain seems to mostly be focused on that separation. If there was authoritarian or neglectful parenting, it would seem that came before he was orphaned. I didn't read a thing about these foster parents doing anything like that. In fact, they resisted spanking him when asked, which would be a healthy sign. I'm not saying I know if they were great foster parents or not. None of us do. But it's strange how people are projecting all these things onto this story that I didn't see anywhere in the story. My reasoning goes like this: wanting to be hit -> sadomasochism -> somebody done fucked this guy up.Sure they resisted hitting him, but what about their other kids? No one's curious what their experiences might have been like? Or the effect that witnessing those acts might have had on this guy? I fail to see much difference between this case and those of women who are constantly dating abusive men (or vice versa). Seeking out abuse = not right in the head, imo. I don't disagree that the state meddling in this family's affairs may have exacerbated things, but concluding the story there shows a serious lack of awareness and self-knowledge.

I actually agree with him. Just a little more napalm, agent orange, and dead babies, and we could've won the everloving fuck out of Vietnam. But that's entirely beside the point.

Odd. This article reminded me that, at some point in my early teens, I had wished my family had hit and screamed at me more in order to motivate me in life. And yet, a few years later, I concluded I needed to defoo them (before I discovered FDR, believe it or not), precisely because all their screeching and crazy-making had turned me into an overweight, cortisol-oozing, constantly-anxious, drug-abusing, introverted, basket case. Now I'm again wondering what the hell I was thinking way back then, and what the source of this guy's crazy might be. My best guess: a sense of failure rooted in the belief that motivation and self-love can only be applied externally from the powers that be, rather than grown internally and organically. Something that would no-doubt be a result of violently authoritarian and/or neglectful parenting (the tragic yin and yang that my parents were so great at). Sounds like this guy's parents didn't need to hit him to fuck him up. Mine certainly didn't.

As a long-term marijuana user (from about age 16 to now having recently turned 23) who finally quit recently, I'll tell you it's not that awesome. You'll have some fun in the beginning, but once your cannabinoid endoreceptors start to get used to it, game over. For the past 4-5 years it hasn't done a whole lot other than make me sleepy, lazy, anxious, and driven to masturbate constantly and eat a lot of shitty food. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for freedom of substance use, and I'm fully aware that weed isn't necessarily detrimental to every individual. But I'd liken it to playing WoW several hours a day. It won't destroy your life, but it does represent a boatload of wasted time and money better spent elsewhere. The withdrawals the past couple weeks have been nasty: can't get to sleep for 2-3 hours after laying down, terrifying nightmares every night (right now I'm having a recurring dream about the cult from The Following booby-trapping my house and trying to kill me, AWESOME) when I finally do get to sleep, random sweats, wild mood swings, zero appetite and a sickly feeling when I do eat, fatigue during the day, etc. That and all the money I've been drained of - the last time I went over my budget, I found out I was spending 250-350 a month, that's more than my damn car payment. Again, I'm very much opposed to the "reefer madness" BS, and I don't wish to project my own mistakes onto more productive users. But I think the dad on Southpark nailed it: there's no need to tell lies and make up weird shit about weed shrinking your testicles or causing schizophrenia, because the reality is bad enough. It'll make you satisfied with having less out of life. I dunno about you, but after spending the past 6 years in a haze, I'm hungry for more. The endorphins you get from exercise and exploring nature, the clear-feeling of having a good diet, the accomplishment of working for what you want out of life, and the joys of love, sex, and friendship I'm finding to be much more exciting than bong-rips.

Aw crap. That's what I get for not paying much attention to the FDR youtube recently.

Sorry, I can't stop. Another one.

I did the same a few months ago. I made a point of mercilessly eliminating everyone I wouldn't consider a good friend or at least an acquaintance whose values jive with mine. I knocked off all the idiots I went to high-school with, all of the fake internet friends who added me just because we're both anarchists/atheists (a few FDRers have tried to add me, please don't take it personally, I'm just trying to stay grounded in reality), the young single parents that are obviously raising their kids in bad environments, etc. and made a point of removing myself from all the pages where I'm constantly getting into pointless arguments with trolls. So my friends list plummetted from about 200 to not even cracking 35 (only 20 that live in the immediate area). When I saw this my anxiety went through the roof. I have no friends! Some people have over 1000! I'm a freak! Since then, however - and I'm not discounting that it could just be a coincidence - my real life social life has become the best it's ever been. I'm actually going out, getting sunlight, building stronger relationships with the coworkers and acquaintences that I knew I liked, but never knew how to really "break the ice" with in terms of crafting a real friendship. I'm actually making use of those 20 or so people, instead of just occasional idle chatter over the net. As a result, my fear of being a loner and not having friends has dissipated a lot. And more than that, I'm finding I actually have a "family" now, I have people I can depend on to help out if my car breaks down or what have you. Who needs 1000 superficial acquaintances when you can have 10-20 strong friendships?

Hey, haven't posted here in a while, but it occurred to me a lot of you guys might dig this. I just discovered this guy, and immediately caught a man-crush for him. He seems to be a present, charismatic, compassionate thinker, and a lot of things he says are very Stef-ish. He gets into a variety of subjects; strength-training, diet, supplements, jobs, mental game, socialization, and just general advice on life. He does get into some "spiritual" concepts, but tempers them with razor rationality. I bet he'd make a great interviewee as well. (It's like he's psychically channeling FDR podcasts in this one)