h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've tried not to respond to this issue. But I do have an interest.

Andreas Lubitz may well have been suffering from depression and it may well be that which drove him to do what he appears to have done. The thought that he might crash a plane may well have crossed his mind at some point and it is entirely possible that he had not set out on this flight with that in mind as well. He may have 'rehearsed' this in his mind and may never have intended to carry it out, but faced with the opportunity, may have been utterly consumed with the thought. That CAN be the nature of depression.

Depression is a dreadful illness to have to cope with. And it can lead people to do all sorts of things that most people would never seriously contemplate. I'm pretty sure that at some time in our lives, most of us, faced with a big problem, whilst scrolling through the possible solutions, will have considered suicide as an option. For most of us it will have been a very fleeting thought dismissed as highly impractical and an excessive reaction. For those who DO go down the route of suicide, it can become so all consuming, that the consequences for others don't even feature in the thinking.

If Andreas Lubitz did set off on the flight with the intention to kill himself and 149 others, that is something other than depression. It shows some forward planning and intent.

It has been said by an ex-girlfriend (allegedly) that he said (allegedly) that one day, he would do something that would ensure that everyone knew his name. If by this he meant something notorious, that shows some psychological problem. This is easier to screen for than a psychiatric problem.

It's complicated and I suspect that we will never know whether he was suffering from psychopathy / personality disorder or a man suffering from depression.

Many people suffer from mental illnesses. Very few of them ever hurt anybody. Of those who do, most will hurt themselves.

PP.

The crux of the problem - there is no reason to publish the name or picture of the person. Giving them international fame only inspires others to emulate their acts for a similar reaction. You can give any details of their lives, but why do any of us need to put a personal identity to the person we did not know?

It only encourages a few sick individuals to do another heinous act for their 15 minutes of fame. This should also extend to assassins who kill famous people, why not just say the person who killed X and leave it at that, surely those who knew him will know who it was, otherwise it doesn’t matter.

F S

F S, I'm sure you're dead right, we've had a recent case here of a young man absolutely copy-catting the behaviour of the evil so and so's who butchered drummer Rigby in London, the young man in question took the same weapons and was caught in the act of looking for a victim, he reportedly 'idolised' Drummer Rigby's murderers, he was sentenced to 21` years I think, and unbelievably to me some people were protesting it was too harsh!

More on depression in light of the press coverage around the Germanwings plane crash.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/28/i-suffer-from-depression-depressive-andreas-lubitz-mental-health

Suicidal behavior is actually much more strongly linked with paranoia, in the classical and clinical sense, than with depression.




Famous examples whom and which no one knowledgeable disputes were paranoid: Jim Jones' People's Temple; Adolf Hitler's finale for the second world war, in which, all of the boys over 12 and old men over 65 having been drafted into a last ditch defense of the city of Berlin, the women and children under 12 having taken refuge in the subways against the allied bombing, Hitler, in one of his characteristic swell foops decided that the people who'd taken refuge in the subways were traitors, shouldn't they have been out in the front lines surrounding the city fighting?

On which account he ordered the exits and entryways to the subway system sealed and the subways flooded, consequence, about a hundred thousand German women and children under twelve drowned.




Meawhile, that term 'paranoia' is usually mis-used in the popular language to mean 'fearful' or 'apprehensive'.

Actually the condition has far more to do with inability to change one's mind, even given incontrovertable proofs one is wrong.

If that's not an aspect of the situation or character one is referring to, its not paranoia.




The link of suicidal behavior to depression is irrelevant.

Suicidal behavior is just as readily associated with mania as depression and neither will necessarily be present.

That popular misconception reminds me of authors on paranoia who seem to be obsessed with the histrionic aspect of paranoia.

When I see that, it suggests to my mind that they've either lost their clinical and professional detachment, or they simply don't know what they're talking about.

Paranoid behavior is actually stimulated and driven by imprinting mechanisms essentially identical to those driving instinctive behavior with migratory waterfowl and its on a basis of those imprinting mechanisms that disorder is to some extent manageable.

Thank you ITIWBS. Clarity on the subject.

I never heard it put like that before, that paranoia 'has far more to do with inability to change one's mind, even given incontrovertible proofs one is wrong.' But it makes sense, and points to a lot of other stuff.

For instance, when times get really hard, people begin to elect paranoid leaders, or follow fundamental belief systems.

Yes, I found that a very helpful description, too.

The downside is, like with other descriptions I read of medical conditions, I start to recognise it all in myself...

Got everything except housemaid's knee, then?

Paranoids do have a way of providing an island of stability in chaotic times.

Their attraction to antisocials, given the compulsion of the type to deal in ego serving lies is very elevated, especially since they're relieved of the mentally onerous task of reconciling complicated systems of lies in the service of a mentally inflexible paranoid as they would have to when dealing with anyone with an ordinary degree of self critical capacity.

By the same token, the facile agreeability of the antisocial sycophant, untrammeled by any scruple of conscience or integrity, is emotionally very comfortable for the bona fide paranoid, the two complementary aspects of their characters, paranoid mental intransigence and antisocial facile agreeability making for a very strong social bonding mechanism between the two types.

Unfortunately, adherance beyond reason to a preconceived idee fixe can have fatal consequence if conditions change, engendering the ego collapse in the root of suicidal motivation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-32149393

I can't even come up with further comment

What I want to know is, who recognised it and then complained?

Probably a train spotter complaining about a lack of railway action

We apologise that your train has been delayed by the wrong type of oh, oh, oh, OH YES!!!!!

<BB<

"And then the bed turned into a train, Papa."


http://youtu.be/HTM5k6frjsU

For whatever reason I serendipitously found out I (and you) should never own a duck.


http://mrflapper.com/blog/want-a-pet-duck/


Here's a bored duck.

http://i.imgur.com/OQ73zr9.jpg?1

More special tips on ducks:

1. Ducklings imprint on the first moving object they see after they hatch from the egg, thereafter follow relentlessly and will die of grief if they feel abandoned by their imprinting object.

Don't let it be you, or the cat.

2. Once, visiting a friend who kept ducks I was struck by how well kempt his yard was, asked how he kept it to a uniform half inch in height.

He pointed to his flock of ducks.

Moral: Ducks and lawns may be okay.

Ducks and gardens don't mix.

The little devils are animated lawn mowers, grazinganimals.

3. What to do about the little runt who's always running hard to keep up with the flock.

Give it some bone meal.

You'll see remarkable improvement in only a few days.

The duck pictured in the second link looks like it could use some, but may merely have a problem with worms.

We have ducks in the neighbourhood, Mallards and Muscovys, they do not migrate. Every spring they have lots of ducklings. Most are eaten by hawks and otters or other things (there is a local controversy about whether or not we have an occasional alligator in residence). One of the neighbours insists on feeding them bread after she gets home from work each night. The road is almost impassable about 5:00 PM each evening. The mess is incredible. There is a flock that hunts bugs in my yard every evening.

Maybe the little ducklings joining the food chain is not a bad thing

F S

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-32149393

I can't even come up with further comment

""She said officials "would have imagined there would be a film that did not look like it took place at the railway"""

trains entering tunnels and all that...

I wonder if Canada Geese migrate? I suppose if they contemplate going back to Canada they'll think well what on Earth for? don't blame them really.

UK 'spied on Argentina' over Falklands, claims Edward Snowden

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32172669

And I should bloomin well hope so too.