Unpopular Opinion

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If your first thought is what you're conditioned to think, maybe you can't access your "defining" thoughts when you're drunk. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago by Okokimup@lemmy.world to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world

55 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I was reading about Mel Gibson's anti-semitic rants, and his apology about being drunk* when I remembered this meme. I agree with the meme, that our brains tend to feed us what we've heard from our environment, but our conscious mind overrides that with our processed thoughts.

People use "he didn't mean it, he was drunk/high" as an excuse for racist/misogynist/whateverist comments. The response is typically "you don't become racist when drunk, you just drop your inhibitions and reveal who you are."

But if you agree with the First Thought meme, what if being impaired isn't revealing what you really think, but is preventing you from thinking at all, and just getting stuck on your conditioned response?

*Gibson is just an example. This post is not about litigating whether he personally is racist, but about this sort of behavior in general.

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[–] yesman@lemmy.world 12 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I don't see the contradiction between the meme and drunk behavior. What it's saying is that you're not responsible for what you think, only how you behave. Mel Gibson is not guilty for having antisemitic thoughts, but he is responsible for expressing them.

There is the issue that only sober people decide to get drunk, the same sober person who reflects on previous drunken behavior. I guess what I'm saying is that getting drunk and impregnating one of your daughters is awful, but no where near as bad as getting drunk and impregnating the other one the next evening.

[–] Okokimup@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

Mel Gibson is not guilty for having antisemitic thoughts, but he is responsible for expressing them.

Yes, this is where I'm at. I . . . don't know what to make of your second paragraph.