#Social Stigma

[corpsesrottinginacelestialgarden]

The canonical differences between Demon and P1 Dude: How mischaracterizations lead to sanism.

There is a lot of ableism/sanism in the Postal fandom, especially surrounding P1 Dude. I'm tired of people thinking that Demon and P1 Dude are the same entity/personality/have the same moral conduct. I understand how easy it is for misinformation to spread about old indie games. I am not here to attack anyone. I just wanna shed some light on a few things.

There is a reason that P1 Dude's journal entries sound and look completely different from Demon's. P1 Dude was completely detached from reality and believed he was killing monsters to "save humanity," not innocent people. Yes, P1 Dude was a terrified, anxious, traumatized, psychotic man. Meanwhile, Demon was a cold sadist who enjoyed killing and spouting off goofy one-liners. They have distinctive personalities.

RWS has stated many times that P1 Dude was an average guy that was really going through it before he "went postal". He was not plotting, planning, or scheming to kill a bunch of people. (He is not like Notim from Hatred.) Quite the opposite. He only purchased a Kevlar vest and armed himself at the point he felt his life was in mortal danger.

He lived in a dangerous area of Paradise in which he heard gunshots and screams after dark every night. When he began to feel genuinely threatened, he purchased a singular gun. (This is all in the lore.) The rest of his weapons are found and collected in-game. He did not begin shooting at anyone until the cops literally came barging into his front yard shooting at him first. While that doesn't justify him going on a killing spree, it is the moment that set off his paranoid delusion fully.

We know from the lore that Paradise is a fucked up place filled with dangerous people. There is something genuinely wrong with Paradise that pushed Dude to this point (even if he likely already had mental health issues). The real-world threats he was experiencing amplified the delusion that everyone was out to get him. Chronic stress and trauma can make a person become highly psychotic. You are not immune.

The wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time makes all the terrifying difference. RWS stated he is an "everyman". He is meant to be related to without condoning what he does. The whole idea behind Postal 1 is that this could happen to anyone in the right circumstances. Absolutely anyone can develop psychosis if they experience enough stress.

In P1 Dude's journal entries, he repeatedly stated that he was scared and thought people were trying to kill him. He was straight up visually perceiving the people shooting at him as creatures infected with the "hate plague". Many of the loading screens show what people looked like through his eyes. They have heavily distorted, skeletal, and monstrous faces. On the flip side, Demon's journal entries are quite sadistic, playful, and a bit poetic. Demon speaks completely differently from Dude, aside from a few later journal entries when his sanity slips further. It seems like the delusion is worsening at that point and Demon (if real) is possibly taking over further. It is important to note that Dude never speaks in-game. That is all Demon's voice speaking. RWS confirmed this.

According to RWS, no one else can hear this voice but him. It was deliberately left ambiguous as to whether or not this is an actual demon possessing him, or merely part of his psychotic delusion. Nonetheless, P1 Dude completely lacked agency over Demon's thoughts/behavior. Thus, wholeheartedly blaming P1 Dude as if he was somehow aware of what he was doing during his psychosis is straight up nonsense.

You could say he was like a puppet for Demon/his delusions. To say there is no difference between P1 Dude and Demon is to fundamentally misunderstand how this character was written. He did not know what happened until the end of the game when he realized he was attempting to harm children. That's what made him collapse to the ground in shock and horror. Everything I have stated is 100% canon and can be sourced directly from the original Postal 1 manual, in-game lore, canon information in the game files, RWS' social media accounts where they answer fan questions, and old interviews with the original dev team.

This may be a tough pill for some to swallow, but there are people with psychosis so extreme that they are 100% lacking in awareness of their own behavior. That is a real thing that happens to people all the time. There truly is a lot of ableism, sanism, and misconceptions about how psychosis works in this fandom. Please don't contribute more stigma toward psychotic people if you can help it.

With all that being said and done:

Do I think what he did is ok? HELL NO!!! I can deeply empathize with a traumatized psychotic man who thought he was “saving humanity” by killing monsters without condoning his actions. So can you, even if it is solely cognitive empathy. Severe persecutory delusions are no joke! That's a pretty tragic situation to be on either end of. Imagine thinking you were doing something akin to killing off a zombie outbreak…only to realize you committed absolute atrocities. That's peak psychological horror, my dude. That's raw and real as hell to me.

I am not primarily concerned with P1 Dude's overall sense of morality. My focus is on pointing out the clear moral discrepancies/dilemmas that were deliberately written into the lore. These are moral discussions in the context of Dude's delusional perspective. Obviously, from the player's perspective/morals, his delusion is completely fucked and not logical. It is a delusion, after all. Explanations don't and should never equal justifications. I am not focused on if he is good or evil, as I do not believe in that type of thing. My main focus is with understanding the context of his delusional thoughts and actions. I think people are just people. They're all capable of wonderful and terrible things. I am primarily concerned with the canon lore and ableism/sanism toward psychotic/delusional people I have been seeing. People do not choose their delusions or control them, period.

-Sincerely, someone who has experienced similar delusions.

Edit: I originally wrote this post when I was sick, sleep deprived, and had a hellish headache. I have since tried to elaborate on several points I feel I did not explain in a nuanced enough way, initially.

I have noticed some people quote the Postal Strategy Guide claiming that P1 Dude shot first. That is a fair concern to bring up. This is slight misinformation on the original writer's part. Even if you do absolutely nothing in the game but stand around, the cops shoot first. Paul did not work at RWS, was not a game dev, and did not write the lore. Vince Desi confirmed P1 Dude was, indeed, attacked initially. Misconceptions and errors are very common in game strategy guide books from the 90s and early to mid 2000's.

[ex-foster]

[magnetothemagnificent]

A little bit of love and patience for "messy" eaters.

People who don't use utensils conventionally.

People who chew with their mouth open.

People who leave crumbs and dribbles when they eat.

People who eat "loudly".

Whether it's because of different cultural norms, sensory sensitivities, motor disabilities, or facial differences, you all deserve to eat and be respected.

[thecorruption-thespiralsversion]

TMP 20 Social Stigma

Is a CAT1RAB

DPHW 2534

Transformation (Tattoo), Social Media (influencer)

It was about someone TRANSFORMATING into an avatar

TMP 1 First Shift, 2nd case

CAT23RAB

DPHW 2155

Transformation (eyes), Trespass

If we assume that then (R)ank A are cases about transforming into avatar. Then we can conclude (if correct) that the MFer for episode 1 case 2 got Jonah!ed..

Come on! They gouged out his eyes!

[persephone-in-spring]

Hi! my name is saya and I am a final year student pursuing the course B.A. hons. Applied Psychology. I am conducting a research on the topic of "Social Alienation in the LGBTQ+ Community" as a comparative study between queer and cisgendered heterosexual people.

The questionnaire will take a maximum of 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

I would be highly grateful if you could take the time to fill up this questionnaire, if you fall under the age range of 18-40.

Your responses will be kept confidential and will also be used for research and academic purposes.

I would really appreciate your participation as it would largely benefit my research study.

Thanks a lot.

I would really appreciate if you could take the time to share this as I need a 100 responses. please share it.

[crepuscular-girlthing]

"the goal of therapy isn't for someone else to fix you, it's for you to get the tools to help yourself."

i am incapable of believing that i can help myself.

i've failed so many times, so spectacularly. my resources have been eroded and wasted and now there's no tools left for me to better my life. i have no confidence or faith in my ability to engage with this world, mostly because i have no confidence or faith in others. high school, college, therapy, psychiatry, inpatient, medical care, the legal system: the people in these systems have all labored since i was a child to forward the explicit goal of my suffering, and to label me as incapable, irredeemable, and unworthy.

there are no tools that i could wield single-handedly that would improve my life at this point. i need others who are willing to help me and support me. regaining the ability to ask for help, to trust it can exist, to trust people not to abandon or betray or abuse me when they offer help, that's something that could improve my life. but only if i also have the luck of placing that trust in the right person at the right time. that same trust could also erase the safety i have, and eliminate any remaining possibility to heal.

so i've been stuck in fear, trying to figure out how i can make myself as resilient as possible, how to vet people for safety, trying to figure out my values; what i'm willing to risk, what i hope and want to be. and i can't even access those hopes anymore, because they're so clouded in shame and fear. i don't even know who i am. i don't even know what i'm fighting for.

[fractal-voidling]

MAGP020 │ Social Stigma

CAT1RAB2534-12042024-12042024 Transformation (tattoo) -/- Social Media (influencer)

Alice, stfu

Right.

I mean, the one thing you can know for sure about what the O.I.A.R. looked like in 1999 is that they definitely had the same computer system and OS, lol

"Like, catastrophic, world-endingly bad." YUP

did you "find it out", or did you go through it yourself, CELIA?

"Shame. You’ve got lovely skin." y i k e s

local tattoo artist thinks she invented plagiarism

a fear eating tattoo artist, awesome

Gwen, Darling, you really need to stop provoking creatures much more powerful than you are

[cognizantluxation]

[bumpytoad]

I don't judge based on appearances, or based on anything that the majority tends to react to fearfully without much thought. On the contrary, I am fascinated by anything different. It offends me when others can't get past the superficial. It hurts me. It makes me feel very unhappy and even greatly distressed when others dismiss the things that I care about on a deep level and are actually comforting to me by saying they’re "too scary" as if that means there's nothing more to them that is of any value and I should stop liking them. I really feel hurt when the things I care about, love and like a lot, connect to/connect with and identify with and as are wrongfully regarded as "evil" and "hideous." I don't have negative visceral gut reactions to things that are different. I don't get repulsed or afraid or distrustful just on the basis of someone or something being different. I don't see things as "too garish" or distasteful, either, just based on being visually "loud" and exuberant in their creativity. I don't see the things most tend to regard as being "extreme" (as though there's anything wrong with that) as being "too much." I consider "extreme" to be a relative term. I don't reject anyone or feel harshly towards anyone based on appearances, and it's the same with interests and Dark things. I don't see "ugly," or "scary," or "weird" as in bad. I generally see the things that others view as ugly and scary and weird as beautiful and wholesome and fascinating. I don't want to associate with those who judge based on appearances. I would never want to be friends with them unless they are willing to learn to be open-minded, or unlearn their harmful biases. I wouldn't want to be exposed to those judgmental individuals trying to influence me to be and think like them as though I'm naive if I don't or that there must be something terribly wrong with me. I can't tolerate any of the cruelties and biases that for most humans are just considered "normal." I can't and I won't. They just don't make any sense to me, and all they end up doing is harming the innocent folks and lifeforms who just happen to be different or misunderstood. Life isn't what it used to be when those primitive responses were more essential to survival. Those who are different in appearance are generally not a threat at all -- rather, we are most often the ones being severely victimized.

[writtenbyshama]

An important message to all the people who menstruate.

If you use tampons and/or menstrual cups, please do not shame the ones who use pads. There are many health and/or social factors revolving around the decision of using a particular menstrual product, and shaming it will not help matters.

Recently, I came across similar posts and comments about what I mentioned above and really wish it to stop.

We all are already tired and sick and uncomfortable during periods, and let's not make it more terrible for ourselves, yeah?

[corpsesrottinginacelestialgarden]

I can't stop thinking about how there are so few resources and information regarding impulsive thoughts. When you look it up, you get a bunch of information about intrusive thoughts. It's not even shocking to me, at this point, that people confuse these two concepts. The people actually dealing with fucked up impulsive thoughts have little to no resources, advice, or support. Google is an absolute joke when it comes to this. I am begging the field of psychology to actually give a shit about this.

An impulsive thought is not necessarily a personal desire. Many people have disturbing impulsive thoughts they do not truly want to do and would never act upon. It is a huge misconception that people always enjoy or want to act on their impulsive thoughts. I see this remark frequently popping up even when people try to distinguish intrusive and impulsive thoughts. An impulsive thought, in many cases, is not a desire or fantasy at all. Human brains are complicated things.

[potatotomatopomato]

Fuck NT culture. (Not being NT, but the assumption that everyone can, and should, perform the same way as an NT does in every sphere of life.)

Why does being ND have to be so stigmatized? It goes to the point where some of us who can live independently but still need accommodations refuse to get themselves or their children a diagnosis.

My sister's teacher told my mother she displays signs of ADHD. During dinner, she told her the following line:

"I don't think you have ADHD, I also struggle with focusing on things that disinterest me, but I can focus on something I like for HOURS in a row. You know what I would do when I lost focus in class? I would take a piece of paper and roll it and unroll it over and over. It really helped!"

Wait... did she just describe hyperfocusing and stimming?

Now that I rethink about it, it's jarring how little we learn about neurodiversity in our current education system beyond extreme cases.

[givemeonereason]

We are finally learning to reverse chain of bias and let kids be themselves. We can really learn something if we don’t try to have constant control. I think I would have liked school a lot more instead of having to suffer silently.

I like this-a whole lot

[theviraltruth]

Nischal Dharmasthala | Social evils like casteism

Social evils like casteism, dowry, addiction, unemployment were gorging upon all the human potential. Along with great education, healthcare, employment opportunities, medical and financial aid is being provided to curb all kinds of social stigma.

[dysregulation-superfund-dumpsite]

I need more married friends without kids. All my married friends have children so their problems are different from mine, they're worried about schools and nutrition and children's television and children's hobbies. Their problems with their spouses are all about getting help with the household from their spouse, or getting their emotional needs met in the thirteen seconds without children that they have together every day.

Who do I chat with about going through early perimenopause with a spouse that's clearly going through early stage andropause but can't have any sort of conversation about it without instantly spiraling into self-critical talk designed to shut down both of our thought processes about it. Who can I talk to about finally understanding why women my age start becoming the notorious "cougar" prowling for younger men - men who demonstrate desire, who want them, who pursue them, who are capable of performing the motions of being passionate about anything outside of their own interests for even a moment (even if it's wholly ingenuine, even if we know it's ingenuine) - because it's been so long since the man in our life chased our affections the way they used to.

I just really feel like I need another 40yo woman who's been cohabitating with the same man for fifteen years and has no children that I can commiserate with about this stuff.

I keep hearing how women turn forty and discover one day that they're invisible, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, inside my own home, five months before I technically turn forty.

[news24h]

The Inspiring Journey of a Man Without Legs: Overcoming Challenges to Build a Fulfilling Career

In a world that often equates physical ability with potential for success, there are extraordinary individuals who defy conventional expectations and carve out remarkable paths in their professional lives. One such story is that of a man who, despite the absence of his legs, has not only established a rewarding career but has also become a beacon of inspiration for many. His journey sheds light…