WHO Says Afghan School "Poison Attacks" Probably Mass Hysteria 146
New submitter smugfunt writes "A number of incidents at schools in Afghanistan, especially girls' schools, have been attributed to poisoning by the Taliban. The World Health Organization has investigated 32 of them but found no poison. "Mass Psychological Illness is the most probable cause," they conclude, the Telegraph reports. The Taliban has consistently denied poisoning schools and have even consented to allow the education of girls in a deal with the government which allows significant Taliban control over the curriculum."
Re:The Taliban denied.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Since the Taliban are the most politically convenient thing to the US Neocons to appear on the global marketplace of \textit{casus belli}, it's more accurate to say, "Something was said about the Taliban.. and people believed them?"
Anyone not allowing themselves to be as the slowly boiled frog over the past 15 years should recognise that nothing which comes out of the mouths of Washington and London is to be believed, nor is any of the reporting home and abroad which can be controlled by either. War reporting died after the DoD saw what happened when people saw the live action footage of Vietnam. It's not that everything's a lie - though everything does, of course, have a spin put on it. It's merely that it would be intellectually dishonest for the average guy sitting at home to claim that he has evidence of what's a lie and what's the truth - anyone who claims so is usually just allowing his prejudices to select the evidence which backs up his views.
It's not "Mass Hysteria"; it's "Mass Terror" . . . (Score:5, Insightful)
. . . and the Taliban are quite successful at spreading it. If you had a bunch of "Islam Gone Wild" retro medieval fanatics romping around your neighborhood killing innocent folks for fun and excitement . . . you might tend to be a bit on the edgy side yourself. A car engine backfire will incite you to grab your assault rifle and empty the clip in all directions, to defend yourself. In essence, anyone in Afghanistan will believe that the Taliban are capable of committing horrific atrocities. That makes people fear the Taliban, and it gives the Taliban strength.
Now, take a look in your own airports, and see if the population of your country is so scared, that they tolerate crotch groping and all other types of submissive humility . . . all because the fear of terror has devoured their souls.
Yep, terror can inflict colossal mass hysteria damage.
Re:Plausible (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:A small foreshadowing of the US's future. (Score:5, Insightful)
But even then, the Bible says to give to Ceasar what is Caesar's
I always thought that meant that you had a duty to pay your taxes, serve the army, serve your country...
But that you also had to be mindful of a duty to tithe, serve god, and serve the church..
I'd never read that as "separation of church and state", just an admonishment that you had a duty to both, and should neglect neither.
Re:The Taliban denied.. (Score:3, Insightful)
THE RELEVANT thing is that the girls haven't died AND they've all gone home in few hours.
Re:It's not "Mass Hysteria"; it's "Mass Terror" . (Score:1, Insightful)
[[Citation Needed]]
Also, Christianity, which seems to have a history of torturing or forcefully converting people (ie: the inquisitions) is frequently referred to as the religion of love. If you're going to mock the fact that Islam is called the religion of peace, at least be unbiased enough to mock Christianity on the same basis.
Remember, Christianity is the religion that says it's better to contract AIDS and die an excruciating death than to use a condom. The religion of love strikes again.
I don't defend people claiming that this is Islam telling them to kill "heretics", but you have no right to tell me that Islam is inherently evil.
Although, I do wonder how many Muslims are convicted of murder each year, compared to the number of Christians who are....
Re:The Taliban denied.. (Score:5, Insightful)
No offence meant to your brother here, but your evidence that the Taliban is evil is that your brother, a foreign soldier and member of an occupying army, has been attacked?
Wow.
Re:The Taliban denied.. (Score:5, Insightful)
what reason do they have to deny it if they did it?
My thoughts exactly. The fact that they could have done it and nobody would be very surprised is what gives this denial plausability.
The Taliban is a malevolent organization, but they are not comic book villains plotting nefarious acts for evil's sake.
Like all real-life villains, they consider themselves the good guys.
Re:Conversion diseases are so frustrating... (Score:4, Insightful)
I ask only because no neurologist, or psychiatrist, or general prac that I've personally spoken to even admit it's they are a true phenomenon.
Define "true". Are you experiencing side-effects which to you feels like electric shocks? Yes. Are you actually being shocked? No. It's "all in your head", but you're not imagining it. It's real, but it's really not what it feels like. In the same way that heart-attack sufferers often report numbness or pain in their left arm, not their chest. It's real, but it has nothing to do with their arm. (Or in the case of the Afghan girls, their symptoms are "real", in that they are classic symptoms of anxiety and panic (Nausea, dizziness, breathing problems, even fainting.) But they aren't "true" in being caused by poison.)
As for health professionals "admitting it's real". It was my GP who suggested the term, "electric shocks", when I tried to describe that part of the withdrawal symptoms. (To me it's not a "shock", it feels more related to the inner ear. Or at least, to head movement.) He told me it's a common symptom, gave me a pretty good idea how long it would last, used it to gauge the level of withdrawal.
I wonder if the difference is the intellectual respect your GP/etc has for you? Your GP/etc sees their job as reassuring a panicky/hysterical patient that he/she is not actually being electrically shocked (it stuns me that they actually sent you to get CAT scans, MRIs, etc), while my GP sees his job as working with me to ensure I'm getting the benefits I want, without unusual/dangerous symptoms. (For example, my GP picked up on my description as being related to head-movement, and asked about balance/dizziness. If the symptoms were severe enough to actually affect my balance, then I'd probably have to slow the speed of withdrawal, give my brain longer to adjust.)