My 2 Cents on Michael Savage's Moronic Comments About PTSD Sufferers

My gracious co-host Allan Bourdius brought a recent quote from Michael Savage, AKA “conservative fucktard of the week”, to my attention. As someone with PTSD, it really struck a cord with me.

Now, take a deep breath, because I’m going to post the entire quote. Because In context.

“I am so sick and tired of everyone with their complaints about PTSD, depression. Everyone wants their hand held, and a government check. What are you, the only generation that had PTSD? The only generation that’s depressed? I’m sick of it. I can’t take the celebration of weakness and depression.
See, I was raised a little differently. I was raised to fight weakness. I was raised to fight pain. I was raised to fight depression. Not to give into it. Not to cave into it and cry like a little baby in bed. “Boo-hoo-hoo. Boo-hoo-hoo.” Everyone has depression in their life. Everyone has sickness and sadness and disease. And loss of relatives. And loss of career. Everyone has depression in their life. But if the whole nation is told, “boo-hoo-hoo, come and get a medication, come and get treatment, talk about mental illness.” You know what you wind up with? You wind up with Obama in the White House and liars in every phase of the government. That’s what you wind up with. It’s a weak, sick, nation. A weak, sick, broken nation. And you need men like me to save the country. You need men to stand up and say stop crying like a baby over everything. Stand up already. Stop telling me how sick you are and sad you are. Talk about the good things in your life.When have you last heard that? Oh, everyone’s holding their hand. “Oh, welcome toGood Morning America, sir. You almost committed suicide, how interesting. Please tell us your story.” Maybe a young child who’s on the edge can commit suicide. What a country. No wonder we’re being laughed at around the world. No wonder ISIS can defeat our military. Take a look at that. Take a look at that, why people aren’t even getting married anymore to have children. They don’t even have the guts to raise a child. The men are so weak, and so narcissistic, all they want to do is have fun. Bunch of losers. Just go have a brewski and look at the 49ers, you idiot, you. They won’t even get married, won’t have a child, it takes too much of a man to do that. What a country. You’re not a man, you’re a dog. A dog raises babies better than most American men do.” 

People suffering from PTSD are weak, broken, and sick. That’s what Michael Savage says. But treating them? Oh, no no. Don’t do that. We should just tell them to get over it. Like apparently every man and woman did in the past—oh wait, no they didn’t. Studies actually show, for instance, that WWII veterans’ suicide rate is comparable of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. War-related mental disorders have been an issue since war has existed. As my co-host of Roundtable of Extreme Liberty, and friend, Allan Bourdius, pointed out, PTSD has existed under different names ("shellshock", and "soldiers heart", are two examples) in the past, but it has always existed . No previously mentally well human can deal with the situations and witness the things some active duty and veterans have seen, and come out unscathed. It is pure stupidity and naive to say otherwise.

Though Michael Savage did not seem to attack them as ferociously, there are also civilians who have to live everyday with PTSD, too. Witnesses of atrocities like murder or car accidents, and rape victims, etc. How dare he say that they have no right to seek help and to get well.

Micheal Savage basically wants everyone to shut up about mental health altogether—especially the mental health of veterans. We should just shut up and let it fester. No treatment needed, because serious mental breakdowns and suicide are fine and dandy. And we also need to sit and wait for active duty members become as mentally deranged as ISIS. Fight insanity with insanity, or something. We’ll totes win the war that way. No unintended consequences will result from that move. Right?

Dear Mr. Savage,

I have family members, and prior enlisted friends who are near and dear to me, who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I do, but to a lesser extent. With help, those family and friends of mine have come a long way. The help that you don’t want them to get. And without that help, a couple of them can barely function throughout the day. Some of them suffer from hallucinations. Some have serious paranoia. Most suffer from unrelenting nightmares. Some of them have stayed in bed for days, or stayed awake for days, avoiding their PTSD triggers. Something tells me you have never actually gave a damn enough to talk to a veteran or active duty member with PTSD, or maybe you’d realize the error-riddled statement you delivered on October 14^th.  Maybe you would realize that you are actually the narcissistic idiot. To pretend like you are the type of person who will ride in on a white horse to save the nation with your tough guy bullshit is absurd. I'd like to see you go through what these brave men and women have gone through. Shit, I would just like to see if you could have even survived basic military training--let alone an actual deployment to a hostel area.

And to insinuate that United States military members should be tougher like ISIS is beyond moronic. That mentality of yearning for disgusting brutality and thirst for human suffering is something military members signed on to fight against. They did not sign that contract to become equally monstrous. 

Remember that those people you are so desperate to berate took an oath and support(ed) and defend(ed) this nation, as well as the shitballtastic sandwich you’re serving with your First Amendment rights.

Let me be clear, too, Mr. Savage--these people who live with PTSD are not crying "boo-hoo-hoo" or "woes me". In fact, many keep it hidden and do not get help, because they are ashamed. They are ashamed because of the image people like you paint of them. They try to overcome it by themselves, and unfortunately, it does not heal that way. Some barely live their lives because of it, or take their lives, because PTSD clouds their judgement, leaving them feeling that they are a waste of humanity.

You are the coward here, sir. You are the cowardly moron who refuses to realize that these people need mental help and human connection.  

Sincerely,

Weak, Sick, Broken, and Narcisstic Idiot, TarheelKrystle

The Great Recession of 2008 and The Obama Administration's Failure

I wrote this for a macroeconomics class. It was fun and depressing at the same time. 

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When economic growth decreases or is stagnant for more than two consecutive quarters, it is referred to as a recession. Unemployment increases, and production and real income decreases. The United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) is often used as the measurement of growth—or lack thereof.  Recessions occur naturally throughout time, and the U.S. government attempts to combat them with fiscal and monetary policies. However, the outcome of the government's actions is not predictable.  This all holds true for the Great Recession of 2008. Though cyclical, there were factors and decisions made which exacerbated the recession and hindered recovery.

            A housing bubble was said to have formed in the late 1990’s and especially in 2005 to 2008. Housing was in high demand due to low interest rates and few stipulations to obtain loans. Due to irresponsible lending practices, and the impending economic downturn, the housing credit bubble burst in 2008. This was a major exacerbation of the 2008 cyclical recession.  In order to supposedly fight the recession, the Obama administration enacted an expansionary fiscal policy instead of a non-interventionist policy. That is, they took a “stimulation” approach, and increased deficit spending through the Economic Stimulus Act of 2009. Though the Bush administration technically added on extra spending for fiscal year 2009 (it rose from $458 billion in 2008 to $1.16 trillion in 2009) the succeeding administration’s deficit for 2010 was $1.546 trillion, and they continued over $1 trillion deficits until fiscal year 2013. The administration funded programs like Cash for Clunkers, (failed) green energy projects, infrastructure, and extended unemployment benefits. These programs gave temporary relief to a few Americans. However, though in the short run this leads to an increase in real GDP, it also leads to the crowding out effect. That is, when government is spending and investing in large amounts, it effectively “crowds out” private investment. Thus, it is a short-term "benefit" and not a solution. Any long-term growth that could have resulted from private sector growth has been hindered.

            The Obama administration put into effect an inflationary monetary policy. That is, it increased the Federal Reserve’s monetary supply by buying treasure bonds and notes, then used them to keep interest rates low, so as to attempt to stimulate purchases in the economy. These increases in demand lead to an increase in market prices, and of course irresponsible lending practices all over again. In addition, the administration printed more money in order to pay off some of the country’s debts (debt monetization). This also leads to inflation, and devaluing the U.S. dollar. The Chairwoman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Janet Yellen, explained that the board uses the Phillips Curve as a guide on inflation, even though it is not considered reliable.  The Philips Curve shows the relationship between inflation and unemployment, though it does not take into account all other factors, and can only be used as a guide in the short-run.

            Overall, the expansionary fiscal and monetary policies of the Obama administration have not proven to be successful to help build long-term growth after the onset of the Great Recession of 2008. The redistribution policies of the U.S. government have only served as short-run safety nets for few Americans, and have not yielded enough substantial private-sector growth to come back fully from the Great Recession. If anything, redistribution policies have kept growth at bay and extended the recession. Deficit spending has further exacerbated the economic woes by crowding out private investment, thus obstructing, rather than aiding the private sector’s development. Though the unemployment rate has dropped over the last few years, the Congressional Budget Office and the Bureau of Labor Statistics have noted that the unemployment rate used in headlines does not take into account the labor participation rate, or the growing number of people relying on part-time work. The labor participation rate has been lower than usual--that is, Americans are not actively looking for work, or have given up. The reliance on part-time work continues to be a trend. The worker underutilization rate, (called the U-6, which counts part time workers, as well as workers who are able but not looking for work) has declined, but ever so slowly since its peak in 2009. 

        It's time to admit that expansionary fiscal and redistribution policies not only fail to combat economic downturns, but they stand in the way of any long-term solutions.