Re:The making of an opioid epidemic
by Nasrudith on Thursday November 08, 2018 @05:09PM
(#18410505)
Losing it? I personally doubt we had it in the first place. Just look at the rich and very not new history of scapegoating.
Blame the victim rather than admit a problem. Leprosy is a result of your sin. Smallpox however is blameless because it could happen to anyone. Lash out at the vulnerable rather than the source of the problem.
Survival bias is what leads to the perception of this lost golden era. Where all of the pioneer's children are healthy without doctors - nevermind the graves of the seven children and two other wives. We didn't have PTSD before WW1 just ignore all of the self medicating civil war veterans. This tendency isn't a moral component so much as a result of exposure and memory. Possibly a survival bias itself that remembering everything would be really bad for mental health.
Blame the victim rather than admit a problem. Leprosy is a result of your sin. Smallpox however is blameless because it could happen to anyone. Lash out at the vulnerable rather than the source of the problem.
Survival bias is what leads to the perception of this lost golden era. Where all of the pioneer's children are healthy without doctors - nevermind the graves of the seven children and two other wives. We didn't have PTSD before WW1 just ignore all of the self medicating civil war veterans. This tendency isn't a moral component so much as a result of exposure and memory. Possibly a survival bias itself that remembering everything would be really bad for mental health.