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Tom Cruise vs. Matt Lauer on Psychiatry
Drudge has an interesting transcript available in which Tom Cruise and Matt Lauer “go at each other” over the efficacy of Psychiatric treatment. It’s really kind of fascinating to read. I’ve never seen a conversation between two stupider people who couldn’t make any of the most important points that each was trying to validly put forward.
Lauer tries to take the angle of “if psychiatry makes you feel better, then why is it wrong?” Cruise in turn answers with lines like this
No, no, Matt.
Matt– Matt, Matt, Matt–
Matt, I’m– Matt, I’m asking you a question.
No. No. Abs– Matt, that is– the– post– now– now, you’re talking about two different things.
I mean, this is utter nonsense. Cruise goes to great lengths to tell Lauer that he “knows” about psychiatry, and that he’s studied it’s history, and that Lauer doesn’t know anything about it and consequently shouldn’t talk about it. I mean it’s just fucking crazy. I can’t believe men like this are the types of public role models we’re subjected to as a culture. Neither of these fuckwits could talk their way out of a wet paper bag.
The thing that gets me the most about Cruise though is that he’s always running around calling psychiatry a “pseudoscience.” And people just sit there and let him do it. But what is this butt-wrangler offering instead? SCIENTOLOGY! The very word is a play on and corruption of the word Science. I mean, L. Ron Hubbard wasn’t even a scientist. He was a science-fiction author! If you want to talk about pseudo-science, then let’s go!
PS. There’s a decent conversation about this over at the Rigorous Intuition Forum. My favorite quote on the matter comes from “human?” who writes:
Matt Lauer is a tool, Tom Cruise is a tool, & they both seems dumb as wood. its sad really, that they even have our attention, there are over 3000 better converstation on this board than that one these goofballs had..
Amen.
- Cruise blasts psychiatry
- Tom Cruise’s Mystery Baby
- Katie Holmes “Digs” Scientology
- Drugs Vs. Scientology: A Set-Up?
- Holmes Converting to Scientology
- Prev: The Problem With Pokemon
- Next: The Wilkerson Debate, Part 2
June 24th, 2005 at 7:50 pm
Too bad. This is an important issue.
Since I view myself as more intelligent (or at least more articulate) than either Tom Cruise or Matt Lauer, I’ll indulge myself by casting my own precious pearls of wisdom here.
Run-of-the-mill antidepressants of the modern SSRI variety are useful if used over the short term. Bad things happen to people, knock them down, and unless you have a certain amount of psychological and psychic energy, it is difficult to get back up and make necessary changes. SSRI’s are helpful here because they artificially introduce this type of energy when it is badly needed. However, I am of the opinion that once they have fulfilled their purpose, they should be given up. Besides my own puritanical orientation towards unnecessary dependence on pharmaceuticals, there is also a safety issue. There is no accepted scientific understanding about the risks of long term use of SSRIs.
I’ll grant that antipsychotics and other ‘big gun’ drugs are useful and necessary for those who are clearly very ill. However, I wonder about the criteria that are used to assess whether a person is mentally ill or not, and how open they are to corrupt uses. The soviets were known to use psychiatry as a form of political control, and during the mid-20th century homosexuals were often subject to “treatment” in the form of electroshock therapy and hormones.
Finally, I just hate the fact that pharmaceuticals like ritalin are used to control perfectly normal exhuberence in children. This speaks volumes on our collective depravity.
June 24th, 2005 at 7:55 pm
speaking of the soviets, let’s not forget their use of the diagnosis of “sluggishly progressing schizophrenia” to label political dissidents (man, its hard to type when you’re drunk. im outta here!)
June 25th, 2005 at 12:24 am
we are robotised by the educational process.school is designed for preparing for factory,clerical and low end technical work.the ritalins and ssri meds are designed to keep us productive.period.the enconomy is a closed system.a zero sum game designed around the individual`s ability to produce sufficiently and contribute to the gross domestic product.anyone with ideas wrestles with the idea of being conscripted into a life of slavery with little promise but a new car and running shoes like the ones worn by michael jordan,who happens to make a thousand dollars a SECOND.
without a doubt we are heading for pharmaseutical hell.the percentage of my clients who are on significant doses of ssri meds is frightening.it is a zombification of our culture,and doctors are routinely increasing doses as a matter of course,not decreasing as the period of adjustment to situations occur.
if the current administration has it`s way we will be seeing school teachers diagnosing these medications as a criteria for continuing to teach specific (rambunctious)students.any google search regarding the myth of add will adress this position.
i don`t see this improving,by the way,unless there is a serious public outcry.but i guess that would make us candidates for medication as socially maladapted.
ok,fuck it,run for the hills.
June 25th, 2005 at 9:01 am
Well, these days that’s pretty much the conclusion I reach after almost every story on every blog I read (most of which are not as, well, speculative as this one).
June 25th, 2005 at 11:46 am
Thanks Tim.
You have become my morning coffee ritual.
(actually much better then the crappy coffee I can get here in the sticks)
peace
Still laughing.
June 28th, 2005 at 1:38 pm
Tom Cruise is an absolute tool of gargantuan proportions. What really irritated me about the interview he gave with Matt Lauer was his total lack of justification for his arguments. All he would say was ‘Matt, Matt, Matt, I’ve studied the history of psychiatry - I know, you don’t.’
What on earth makes this arrogant little turd so knowledgeable about post natal depression anyway? He has never even had children of his own so how would he know how to cure a woman of this affliction? If anti-deppressants are the work of the devil, why aren’t all medications/supplements also off limits. Why are vitamins okay in the world of Mr Cruise?
I mean you have GOT to be kidding me! This crazy deluded freak who worships a CULT religion based on a Science fiction NOVEL wants to give the rest of the world advice on how to deal with depression? How about you get a reality check first Tom?
Had I been interviewing this bottom feeder I would have demanded that he explain just what ‘research’ he had undertaken and just who he thought he was telling the world that psychiatry is ‘pseudo science’ when it appears to have helped a lot of people.
What a bellend.
July 14th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
[…] The mystery began of course with Cruise’s weird actions of last year where he was jumping over couches on Oprah, doing weird interviews unraveling his carefully kept Scientology secrets, firing his long-time publicist and eventually declaring his love for actress Katie Holmes in what many people saw as a ploy to jointly promote the movies each member of the couple had out at the time. […]