Are More People Crazier Than Ever Before?
Are they unexpectedly unhinged?
I am not talking about the hallucinating, violent, and homeless people who currently stalk our city streets and shelters. I am referring to organization heads, artists, authors, filmmakers, journalists, photographers--and physicians—who freak out in up-close and very personal ways behind closed doors. Or on the phone or via email.
In the last three months, someone whose book I reviewed rather positively, a woman I barely know, and whom I introduced to another journalist, suddenly turned on me. After making a series of manic demands of me to help her book even further, she then wildly accused me of having ruined her relationship with a mutual but distant acquaintance--something that never happened. I had no idea she was this loose a screw. She has now been harassing the other journalist, making non-stop unprofessional demands.
I signed up for a very pricey concierge service with a physician and met with her only once. When she had a frustrating time with insurance companies on behalf of nine patients, (including myself), she started yelling and me and the barrage lasted for quite a while. I immediately left her but I also had to fight hard to receive a portion of what I'd paid up front for a year. It turns out that she had also reduced another new patient to tears in a similar way who also left.
Then, to my amazement, another woman whose works I had reviewed over the years, and always very positively, and with whom I was the friendliest of allies, suddenly went ballistic in response to my mis-naming one of her works. It was a minor mistake and was done only privately between us. She immediately started cursing and accusing me of never having cared about her or about her work and kept using vulgar words. I was shocked, bruised, and also worried. What was wrong with her? Unfortunately, there is no walking this back.
Allies have also told me about others who have suddenly screamed, threatened, and verbally abused them in unexpected and highly inappropriate ways.
What is going on? These examples all concerned women. Were men having similar experiences? What does this have to do with the Jihad-like "flooding" of our streets and campuses with hate against Israel and the Jews? This was the case long before President Trump was elected--but Trump Derangement Syndrome also signifies a loss of gravity and civility. Even members of Congress have behaved in shockingly uncivil ways.
Was personal trauma being unleashed by the public demonstrations or rather public invasions of personal space and of all authority? Have the number of active war-zones--Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Israel-Gaza, Congo, South Sudan, Afghanistan, finally unhinged viewers who are far from danger?
Tell me if you've experienced anything like this in the last five or six months.
It began with the election of Obama. A scintilla of criticism became an act of blasphemy, heresy, treason predicated on racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, far-right conspiracy theory, White Supremacy, Jewish supremacy, white Christian Nationalism, Zionist dual-loyalty, antisemitism, pro-segregation, right-wing extremism, birtherism, Jim Crow, nativism, wanting to wheel grandma off a cliff, Nazism, Confederate,pro-apartheid, not paying your fair share, gun nut, slavery enthusiast…Calling someone an antisemite and a Zionist Supremacist was special. Calling someone a Jim Crow racist who’s son in law isn’t white, a xenophobe who’s family were legal immigrants who fled oppression, not paying their fair share when they pay more in taxes than 80% of America and aren’t close to millionaire status, right wing extremist when they’re liberal in the classic civil libertarian leaning , Islamophobic when they were in their client’s NYC 90th floor penthouse watching planes crash into the WTC Towers, people being chased by enormous balls of fire, holding hands as jumping from blown out windows and then seeing the Towers implode and the gleeful cheers of “ Death To America”, “ Death To The Jews” and a President who hated Israel, smeared Christian Americans “ with their Bibles and guns”, called the Ft Hood Massacre “ Workplace Violence”, honored a deserter who hooked up with radical Islamists , converted to Islam and got his fellow troops killed , honored Mike Brown the thug who robbed a convenience store and knocked the tiny immigrant shopowner to the ground laughing before trying to wrest an officer’s gun from its holster to kill the cop and wound up getting shot and killed, blaming it on racism- resulting in burning down Ferguson and the ambush and slaughter of two cops sitting in separate parked cars, who entertained his old pal, Weather Underground bomber, Bill Ayres at the White House, was advised by frequent guest, race hustler antisemite Al Sharpton, was pictured in Islamic garb arm in arm with Farrakhan, attended the Church of God Damn America racist antisemite Rev Wright…to name a few of Obama’s list of creds.
That’s when it started. But nothing prepared me for what it metastasized into. Like neighbors, family members, friends dating back to Middle School, local shopkeepers not speaking to me or screaming at me and Jews marching with Jihadists.
I think a lot of people are on Meds. I also think that many people, especially women. Are connected to Dems and they're freaking each other out.