Trauma

This is a cross-posting from here.

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While I was creating the new format of my Psychic Weather Report posts, I re-read this post of mine, and I started thinking about trauma.

Now, I have had a formal diagnosis of PTSD, but I reject that as I consider PTSD should be reserved for its original purpose: for those, such as the  military and emergency services – who have seen people being killed (or have done the killing), as that makes major changes to the treatment required. (There are some films which show that trauma – “Fury” comes to mind, for instance: “Saving Private Ryan” shows the horrors of war graphically, but it doesn’t show the damage it does “psychologically” [i.e., to character] to the same extent.)

There can be massive trauma from other causes –as the recent Royal Commission into child abuse has shown. In my case, the trauma has been caused by sexual assaults, the bigotry and hate experienced by LGBT people (particularly those trans people who transitioned in the 1990s), and workplace abuse.

On the abuse of trans people, the excuse used at the time – and at other times through history – was “we didn’t know”. That is utter BS – I met people, in the 90s, who didn’t know, but they CHOSE not to cause distress to other people by misgendering. They chose to behave like decent human beings.

As for the other people who indulged in misgendering, well, if you know someone is being distressed by something you’re choosing to do socially (e.g., misgendering, or belittling, etc), then you may be – as far as I am concerned – a sociopath or a psychopath.

If you don’t notice that they’re being distressed you may need to undergo training like autistic people do to better recognise what is going on around you, or at the very least acknowledge that what you’re experiencing (e.g., trauma – and I’ve shared house with people who have been so traumatised they haven’t noticed mine) is making you less aware or sensitive of others’ pain, and be prepared to apologise profusely – and credibly: too many apologies are just attempts to evade trouble without changing. That last comment applies to apologies over misgendering in the workplace: I think I’ve had two or three genuine apologies in three decades. Unfortunately, I’ve generally been too tired (one of the effects of being traumatised) to chase those pseudo-apologies further.

I’ve touched elsewhere about the sexual assaults I’ve had. Curiously, they’ve all been from women – including as a those I experienced as a child, and as an adult pre-transition (including an ex – there was also another ex after I transitioned who falls into that category).

The reactions I experienced have exacerbated the trauma caused – especially pre-transition, and the sort of BS that men can’t be sexually assaulted or raped is part of that. (I’ve also come across women who think them slapping men is OK: it’s not, it is assault, and those who think that are stupid.) I once read a brilliant article about the misconceptions around physiological responses, and how that is not a “sign of consent” (my term). If you doubt that, consider this: the Nazis had ways of forcing male prisoners in the concentration camps to ejaculate, such as driving wooden objects up their backsides. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who think that a male sexual physiological cannot be involuntary or without consent is stupid.

I’ll come back to that in a moment, but first: the reactions of the gullible sheeple who credulously believe the security theatre around airport “security” have exacerbated the trauma I’ve had from the grope downs there – which are the reason I refuse to travel internationally. As I’ve discussed above, there is absolutely NO acceptable excuse for such reactions.

Now, (more) on stupidity. I’ve known some truly stupid men and women in my time, and I specifically lump everyone who thinks misgendering is acceptable, or that it is minor, into that category – which includes some police. As far as I am concerned, morally speaking misgendering is attempted murder. There is no excuse on the basis of “I didn’t know” that is acceptable, and if you didn’t recognise the distress, you have to consider whether you have the lack of empathy that makes you potentially evil (see this post of mine). Those who smile disarmingly, and say “you know I don’t mean that badly” are, without question, evil psychopaths.

Now, I’d like to move on to the workplace – in particular, managers.

Some managers, including my current manager, are great. In fact, I’d rate my current manager equal with the previous best manager I had, but he will never be exceeded as he reversed years of discrimination against me by giving me a 30% - yes 30% - pay rise.

Others have not been good, and one, maybe two, from a few decades ago have been what I consider psychopaths.

The world of business is where the evil of neoliberalism is working its evil. There has been plenty written of late on the problems that economic changes have led – growing worker insecurity, the loss of retirement, inability to buy housing, etc. Part of this is due to union busting, but unions haven’t helped themselves in the past by their misogyny and misuse of/addiction to power. The union busting that has been implemented since then is a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater – an overreaction, in other words.

The neoliberal reform of the water industry in my state in the 90s is another example of that. There were problems, such as authorities not working together when they could, and the inflexibility of the MMBW, but the appropriate solution is to fix those problems – not throw the good out with the bad.

The neoliberal trait of throwing the good out with the bad has led a situation in the workplace where workload has damaged, and continues to damage, my wellbeing –physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

On that, I’m currently working on an article on how business has perverted the hero myth.

(I’m also working on an article on the problem of everyday people being unthinking, unreflective sheeple living unexamined lives.)

Socially, neoliberalism is driving us, through growing inequality, back into serfdom.

All of this (which can perhaps be summarised as the refusal to be kind) has traumatised the WHOLE of society – especially the USA.

So what can we do?

Well, as a first point, don’t buy in to what you’re told without checking and thinking as best you can. This is more than just being wary of fake news and social media bubbles (which existed before social media): it requires thinking about the meaning of our lives (see here, for instance), and what we want to be. It requires being able to reject wrong influences from parents, peers and other influences so that we can “be all that we can be”.

Think before you vote. I know people who have suffered as a result of neoliberalism who nevertheless voted for Australia’s evil John Howard because his policies enabled them to buy a house.

That’s called buying your vote, and it is has – appallingly – become widespread.

(That’s not a younger “Me First” generation problem, by the way: it is found in older people as well.)

Money is important, though, but the way to manage that is to live minimally and avoid a lifestyle that makes you vulnerable, where you can be manipulated or bullied or intimidated into compromising BPM principles (which is where much of the trauma of work can be) – see here.

There are a range of forms of activism that people can be consider doing, including the psychic/spiritual ones on this blog. There are some excellent articles by John Beckett on this, and I particularly want to recommend “Resisting Politely”, which I read after I started this article, and “Did You Think the Gods Were Lying?”

I want to end with something else I saw after I started this: Hannah  Gadsby’s “Nanette”.

Contrary to some of the reviews I’ve read, which infer this is about the abuse Hannah Gadsby has experienced through comedy, it is about trauma experienced THROUGHOUT LIFE.

It is powerful, and takes the viewer on a journey through multiple aspects of trauma.

It is angry, and it – combined with John Beckett’s post - is the reason I didn’t do my normal tone the expression down edit.

That, and the fact that we are allowing the world to be spiritually mauled.