"Breaking Bad" 1x4 | Ken Loses | 1st Time Reaction
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ต.ค. 2024
- Original Content: "Breaking Bad" Season 1 Episode 4
I have never seen a single episode of this series, so let's rectify that!
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Well said regarding addiction and how the War on Drugs in its various forms can be outright counterproductive. Over here in Sweden, the extremist drug policy (it was created by a revolutionary communist who referred to illicit drug users as parts of a disease) has resulted in such despicable behaviour towards illicit drug users that the UN is accusing Sweden of violating the international conventions on human rights, criticism that has been almost completely ignored by both the Swedish press and the establishment. However, some Swedish anti-drug lobbyists are starting to receive some uncomfortable questions regarding their claims, surprisingly enough including from parts of the police, so hopefully things are slowly changing here as well. Over here, cannabis is still depicted as a gateway drug that makes your brain shrink (this is taught to kids in Swedish schools) and causes you to become aggressive (i.e. "Reefer Madness"), and that "magic mushrooms" makes you jump out the window believing that you can fly.
The problem with spreading complete bullshit like this is that it doesn't just disrupt any rational debate regarding a country's drug policies. The more I realised how _huge_ the discrepancy was between what scientific studies have reported and what the establishment claims, the more I've started to distrust the establishment in general. Perhaps even worse, when the police, prosecutors, and similar actors start spreading unscientific claims and even urban legends, it can seriously damage the trust in the legal system. If it's OK to mislead and even lie to people when this issue is concerned, in what other contexts is it perfectly fine to do the same? This is also why I am very wary of this-or-that ideology, as the ideologist often tries to conform reality to the ideology, rather than the other way around.
First off, thank you for sticking around to listen to my afterthoughts! And thank you for the comment! It was a very interesting read, and actually might explain a problem I have with a Swedish friend of mine. He is very negative and judgmental about addicts, despite the fact he HIMSELF has dealt with addiction, and it drives me a little crazy. But if his country has been filling his head with that kind of nonsense propaganda since childhood, that explains a lot about his mindset. That is helpful to know, so thank you!
Also, I absolutely agree with what you said about drug propaganda sparking legitimate doubts and suspicions about the government (and others in charge of things). Because it's true. If they'll lie about that to push their agenda, what WON'T they lie about? It's a very reasonable line of thinking, and one I've definitely considered a time or two myself.
Hearing about your Swedish friend doesn't surprise me at all, it's a pretty common mindset here. What annoys me the most about the situation is that many of the claims that are spread here would take literally a few minutes online to disprove. We live in the information age, after all, yet most people here don't question the ideology at all, so they won't bother doing some fact checks. Even the major Swedish news outlets basically behave like the tabloids when this subject is concerned, using terms comparable to "dope" and "junkie" in their often extremely biased articles. Such behaviour contributes to spreading prejudice and outright hatred against this group, including the vast majority within it that doesn't actually pose any problem to society.
I only know of two studies that looked into the actual effects of the Swedish criminalisation. The first one is from way back in 1998, when a Dutch group took a closer look that resulted in a report that is well over 300 pages in size. They were not impressed at all, and compared the Swedish policy with both religious fanaticism and the McCarthy era in the US. They noted that what they otherwise considered a calm people would drastically change their demeanor as soon as the subject of drugs came up. They would become hostile and start yelling, making it impossible to continue a rational discussion. This behaviour - which I've unfortunately seen first-hand many times - reminds me a lot of narcissistic rage. When the claims of the narcissist are challenged, it can result in a potentially dangerous outburst of rage.
Another study was published not that long ago, as a response to various Swedish ministers' active attempts to stop any study from looking into the actual effects of the criminalisation. Once again, the study wasn't impressed with what it found. Note that it was about the effects of criminalisation, not whether or not various drugs should be decriminalised. The people in charge obviously don't want us to look into such details. One minister even used the argument that there's no need for such a study, as she already "knows" the answers. That's a similar argument to what was used by Galileo Galilei's opponents - they didn't need to look into the telescope in order to see for themselves that the Earth is orbiting the Sun. They already "knew" the answer.
An article in the well-respected British medical magazine The Lancet suggested a new type of diagnosis, which would cover irrational fear for anything that the government has decided to label as "dope". A form of phobia, basically. However, I would take it one step further and claim that the establishment's behaviour has resulted in a form of sociopathy amongst the population. Illicit drug users are simply not considered to be "real" human beings, and the dehumanisation of this group is one of the cornerstones of the Swedish drug policy. Among those who are receiving financial aid for spreading this kind of image is the Church of Scientology, allowing them to (among other things) spread depictions of illicit drug users as green-skinned zombies. The "Us against Them" mentality at its finest! The web pages of Swedish municipalities have linked to openly Scientological sites for more "information" on the subject, where you could find claims such as that you start eating broken glass after ingesting MDMA. When you have to turn to sects to find "support" for your claims, you have pretty much made it clear that you have none.
If a person isn't seen as a full human being, you can get away with treating them in a manner that would otherwise have been unthinkable. History is full of examples of such behaviour, and I would argue that it has NEVER been a good idea! If I am right in that the establishment is actually fostering personality disorders, then that should be considered an absolute outrage - regardless of one's personal views on drugs and drug policies.