Zach Brown in trouble again

[TheChamps990411]

Kind of judgy, don't you think Fleud? I read his comments as espousing empowerment and self-determination. In my view he wasn't denigrating anyone but, instead, was conveying a message that overcoming environment is possible. I didn't read him as lacking sympathy or empathy.

Exactly this.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I sensed from your first statement you grew up in an environment that was filled with violence. Even though I don't know you, I am really happy you didn't fall victim to your environment. That's the most important thing in this thread. You're a success story.

I made an educated guess that this was personal for you. That it's not just about what you accomplished but that there is pain for you because people you cared for ended up as victims. Hopefully some day you can look back and have sympathy towards those who failed. When you can do this you will have healed your personal pain with this episode of your life. Good luck.

It's a decent suggestion. Have pm'd people in the past. If I assessed he was frail I most certainly would have done that. I could be wrong but I don't get that from him. And if you read the responses posters have made to his original contribution regarding Zach I determined they might get some benefit from my interaction with him. He's got nothing to be embarrassed about. I want to make that clear. He hasn't done anything wrong. But neither have they.
Furthermore, this reaction by him and towards him from other posters is echoed in this forum regarding this season. It's also on a national scale but that's cesspool stuff. So it's a subtle way to approach all of this. If I'm wrong I hope @TheChamps990411 will let me know about it and I'll delete my posts.

Im long over my issues and definitely wouldnt speak on them on an internet forum so thanks but no thanks. Id rather keep the discussion on Mr. Brown. That being said ive taken no offense right or wrongto anything that you have said.

 

[UConn990411]

Dont know and dont care because his situation is nothing that you cant come out from and is a piss poor excuse for making the decisions hes making . Why the .ck are people justifying his behavior? Is he the only thats had it tough?

Apparently compassion is not a trait you've been able to develop.

I haven't seen anyone on here justify his behavior. Most people just seem to think it's a sad situation.

 

[champs99and04]

It just kind of rubbed me the wrong way how people were so quick to say "oh poor kid cant get out of a tough situation" as if he has no choice in the matter. We all have a choice.

I don't think you're wrong, necessarily. You can't really be wrong on matters of philosophy, and I'm guessing there is a lot of common ground between all of us that is being blurred by semantics.

Judgement is an interesting concept because it is all at once dangerous and unavoidable. Natural, even. Personal responsibility is another branch of that tree - it exists, ultimately, to serve us. In other words, it exists as an arbitrary sacrament imposed on us to promote cordiality. Morality isn't inherent so much as it is self-serving.

I imagine you're encountering resistance in this thread not because you are judging him, but because your judgement is the sort that seems to impede human discovery. In other words, "we all have a choice" suggests that people are self-made when all evidence points towards this not being the case. In social work, words like "blame" and "responsibility" are seen as counter-intuitive because it is more beneficial to our species, in the long-run, to detach ourselves from...the self. The person is only as good as the story, not the other way around. And nobody chooses their story.

 

[Ricker]

I have no first hand opinions about the issues being raised, BUT, today's Wall St Journal has an extensive article about Jimmy Brown and his work with inner city gangs, street toughs, and inner city convicts, etc. My take away from his comments is that these kids should not be perceived as 'victims' of their environment, they are victims of their own bad choices and should be accountable for those choices. The bad life choices are often made for reasonable reasons, (such as the 'gang' being the desired 'family' when there is a terrible home life). He evidently feels that it is up to their self determination to find their way out, but that society has a role to teach them how to make better life decisions, what to do with education, and to lay the groundwork for economic opportunity, etc. Obviously, this whole issue is complex, but you might want to read this article for his take.

www.wsj.com/articles/an-nfl-legend-trump-and-americas-gangs-1484956591

 

[ctchamps]

I have no first hand opinions about the issues being raised, BUT, today's Wall St Journal has an extensive article about Jimmy Brown and his work with inner city gangs, street toughs, and inner city convicts, etc. My take away from his comments is that these kids should not be perceived as 'victims' of their environment, they are victims of their own bad choices and should be accountable for those choices. The bad life choices are often made for reasonable reasons, (such as the 'gang' being the desired 'family' when there is a terrible home life). He evidently feels that it is up to their self determination to find their way out, but that society has a role to teach them how to make better life decisions, what to do with education, and to lay the groundwork for economic opportunity, etc. Obviously, this whole issue is complex, but you might want to read this article for his take.

www.wsj.com/articles/an-nfl-legend-trump-and-americas-gangs-1484956591

I can't get the article but unless there is a detailed discussion of the biological changes that take place in the brain I can't support the significance of these suggestions.

The following article is excellent in explaining to the lay person the physical manifestations that take place in the brain that probably leads to behavioral differences between individuals. It's about PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) but it demonstrates my argument that behavior is conferred by physical differences (genetic, nature) and/or physical alterations (environmental/nurture) that take place in the brain, many of which are outside our control and in fact determine how we think, feel and act.

How Does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Change the Brain? | Brain Blogger

The general population is behind the learning curve in placing the emphasis on will power or motivation as the exclusive and maybe even the predominate underlying factors between failure and success.

Our military and scientists wanted to know what was underlying difference(s) between two soldiers who experienced an explosion that killed one of their buddies which resulted in one soldier developing PTSD but the other soldier having minimum lasting affects. The PTSD victim (and yes he is a victim), when he experienced the traumatic event, developed an alteration to the the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (and probably other areas as well but not yet demonstrated) whereas the coping soldier had no such brain changes. Prior to the experience the PTSD victim's brain did not have those alterations. It was something about the differences in the two brains that "allowed" one brain to resist change and the other to "succumb" to change. That ability to resist physical change is not active on the conscious level in this case and probably in most of the cases in which we scratch our head as to why someone can succeed and others fail.