Well, LaVey's assertion was that stupidity *should* be painful, lamenting that it is not. Nobody suggests that stupidity *is* painful. In fact, it's reasonable to claim that stupidity is analgesic. Analgesics allow us to ignore mechanisms that would otherwise worm into our attention. If there is such a thing as stupidity, analgesia fits quite nicely.
My own perspective on pain, having suffered debilitating headaches since my first memory and chronic low back pain since ~14 or so, is guided similar to that of most DSM-* diagnoses. I only take analgesics when the pain is debilitating (and sometimes not even then). My abstention from Excedrin (the mix of caffeine, acetaminophen, and aspirin seems to be the only thing that works for my headaches) has lead me to some fantastic experiences, similar to other entheogens ... cf Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" or the very weird dreams you might have with an intense fever. Amputating these experiences with analgesics seems wrong to me, purposeful stupidity ... but within limits, of course. We tolerate near *acute* extreme behavior amongst those who deserve our respect over longer periods. Savants or eccentric geniuses earn our tolerance of things like alcoholism, heroin addiction, psychotic breaks, etc. Why shouldn't such social tolerance extend to intra-personal behaviors. I try to relish my pain when circumstances afford it. But when those around me *rely* on the predictability of my actions, I have to amputate the self-indulgence. In this context, LaVey's assertion is self-contradictory, or maybe a proper paradox. On 9/14/26 9:59 AM, Jochen Fromm wrote:
If stupidity is painful, then please help me to understand how a president can claim "AI does not need guardrails, only a high IQ president". https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-rejects-ai-guardrails-rcna597700 As Rick Gervais said "when you are dead, you don't know you are dead. It is only painful for others. The same applies when you are stupid". -J. -------- Original message -------- From: glen <[email protected]> Date: 9/14/26 5:26 PM (GMT+01:00) To: [email protected] Subject: [FRIAM] help me understand https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-pro-palestine-statements-1235625967/ > Pink later explained that she did not object to Macklemore’s calls for a “Free Palestine,” but said, “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now. I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?” I'm not the most empathetic person. But I try. And I simply cannot understand how someone like Mackelmore saying "Free Palestine" could *scare* someone like Pink. Is it that when she hears "Free Palestine", she thinks it means "free Hamas from its restraints so it can murder Israelis". Is that it? If so, I can imagine myself hearing someone like ... oh, IDK, Toby Keith shouting "Free the Proud Boys". Would that scare me? Would it scare local trans people because it would mean "Free the Proud Boys so they can freely execute trans people in the streets?" Is that why "Free Palestine" scares Pink? If so, I have to go back to one of my favorite quotes: "Stupidity should be painful." I mean, yes, I do have an irrational reaction to things like lotus seed pods. But OMG, it's *because* of that reaction that I look at them so frequently. What kind of "fear" does Pink experience? It's just baffling, ridiculous even.
-- 8647 ⊥ ɐןןǝdoɹ ǝ uǝןƃ ὅτε oi μὲν ἄλλοι κύνες τοὺς ἐχϑροὺς δάκνουσιν, ἐγὰ δὲ τοὺς φίλους, ἵνα σώσω.
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