I think I have already pointed out how the abuse of
professional authority out of context applies across
the board (in previous remarks on the effect, say, of a lawyer or a policeman using such authority to make
ad hominem remarks in public debate). Mark's example of a priest is simply a less believable analogy (a priest would not take God's name in vain, especially in such circumstances), but the negative consequences still apply.
Mark states "I haven't practiced in a while". Does this make it all right for a professional to use pseudo-clinical
terminology to belittle an opponent? Apparently, for
Rebecca and Randolph, MARK'S PROFESSIONAL STATUS ACTUALLY
MAKES HIS ATTACK MORE EFFECTIVE. That response is itself
the clearest evidence of just how abusive it
can be. The fact that the object of the attack has left
the list makes it no less out of line.
As for your final spiteful comment, Mark : my son & I are
not ashamed of his condition. It's the use of a medical
condition to belittle a person, or question his or her
abilities, which we recognize as potentially harmful in
the extreme. It's the application of such insinuations
in the context of a political debate, having nothing to do with the issues at hand, by a member of that profession, which I am saying is out-of-line and unprofessional.
It is one thing to examine the writings or extended
statements of a person & judge them evidence of insanity.
It is quite another for a psychiatric professional to
latch onto a single opinion posted in discussion, and
suggest that its sender may need psychiatric treatment,
and then to defend that kind of ad hominem, and then
to see it defended by others as "coming from a professional". This is the kind of thing that sent
dissidents into psychiatric prisons in Soviet Russia.
As a professional, I am surprised this issue
is of no consequence to you.
Henry
Mark Weiss wrote:
"Oh Christ, Henry, if a priest tells you to go to hell do you think he's
endangering your soul? Does the priest need to run to the nearest
confessional? Or is he just using the common language, which also happens
to be, but in a different and universally understood context, the language
of his profession?
If the priest leaves the cloth how many years have to elapse do you think
before he can tell you to go to hell? Closer to home, if I haven't
practiced in a while am I allowed to use colloquial terminology?
This is a non-issue, and I think smells of desperation, tho why you should
feel desperate is beyond me. Take solace from the fact that regardless of
the squabbling of poets the enormous destruction you seem to think
justified is actually happening.
Did you by the way consult your child before announcing to the world that
he's in treatment?"
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