Info & criticism about the VA's 'All of Us' genetic research program.

Info & criticism about the VA's "All of Us" genetic research program.

Clip is an excerpt from "Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace" ( Geraldo Rivera 1972 )

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Feel free to check out my offscour.net website (if you dare) ... It's an informational static website like this one and is regarding the atrocity of what some doctors did to Miki (Alex) Manigault.

Also check out my relatable site: alansmiley.com Man scapegoating & stigmatizing vulnerable & marginalized veterans on Facebook.

The "All of Us" (genetic) research program is based on misconceived ideology (nature vs. nurture) that is associated with racism but is being gov't funded and promoted by the Veterans Administration. The following links are related to this page's content.

They have a good idea (ostensibly), but the problem is that they include research related to genetic causation of behavioral issues, a.k.a. "mental illness". The focus is on "depression" (moroseness, melancholia, dismalness, etc.), or more specifically (according to their literature), if there is a genetic difference in how effective various treatments for depression are for people (in my words - so check it for yourself). That sounds wonderful too, but the issue is that we're discussing psychiatric ailments that the diagnoses of which is contestable since it is subjective in nature. There is no blood test or similar test for a "biomarker" that can be used to detect depression. Since there is no scientifically accurate test to detect depression it would stand to reason that there would be no way to definitely determine if a treatment is more effective than any other. The other issue is that there is a promoted treatment for severe depression and that is electroconvulsive treatments (ECT) which survivors have been reporting that they've suffered physical, irreversible brain damage and memory loss. A person may have endured some trauma in their lives and that can have an effect on their ability to articulate themselves, to feel accepted they can be coerced into "trying" shock treatments ... or in other words, allow themselves to be experimented on (consent to physical abuse) by people in the position of trust.

Simply consider that a person could become depressed because they're grieving. The word "grief" is associated with "loss of a loved one", but by definition it is the response to loss (in general) and the loss could be of more personal nature; i.e., a "mid-life crisis" or the personal realization of one's own mortality and all that entails ... hence a "personal bucket-list" became a popular cultural topic, for example. It could be argued that it's simply self-pity, and jealousy maybe, but people like reassurance or validation to feel accepted as opposed to isolated. It is for that reason that psychotherapy is suggested but of course that requires time & money. People can be shamed into feeling unworthy of the financial cost of therapy spent on their behalf (or, more likely, they cannot afford the cost themselves and there would be no financial assistance available for them) and so they can be coerced into expedient treatments to their detriment. Some treatments (like ECT or medications) may help in short-term (to stay in pace with our cultural desire for instant gratification) but the long-term, irreversible physical damage will inevitably cause another personal crisis for them later in life when the original professionals involved will not be available. The patient is left holding the bag, so to speak, with no sympathy afforded to them. The posit is that the various medical treatments work and so if there is some set-back that the patient experiences then it's of their own doing. Everybody has "washed their hands" of the traumatized person's circumstances.

For someone who is in a family or social dynamic of being subordinate to others (if even only by their own perception), the ability to articulate those type of personal feelings without being criticized can be impossible. If the person has experienced trauma in their lives that caused them to have behavioral issues and social issues (i.e., they're introverted, unconfident) and they were susceptible to cultural abuse (is a fairly descriptive term) out in the world (e.g., threatened and bullied, physically assaulted, tormented by coworkers, etc.) then the set-backs that they've experienced are not entirely their fault. The contention is that by the Just World hypothesis the idealogy (of abusive people) is that because of personal responsibility, we all are masters of our own destiny and so by inference the trauma'd person is responsible for the way they were treated by others. That doesn't make sense. The trauma'd ("depressed") person is not validated for their resilience, instead it's really quite the opposite. There are enough popular anecdotes of people using abuse or hardship that they've endured as motivation to go on and do great things (i.e., make lots of money). It becomes about what is a more culturally acceptable response to this kind of grief ... and what is acceptable varies among social/family groups - Rush Limbaugh was an obese drug addict but that was overlooked by his fans (for example).

The problem with research related to genetic causation for psychiatric conditions is that people of color are disproportionately represented in the mental health system ... that fact is not obvious to the general public with casual familiarity of psychiatry. People generally need to believe that all aspects of modern medicine is transparent, ethical and benevolent. The research related to the general human condition (behaviors) is really about humans' weaknesses, and that's embarrassing and humilating, so there's a goal to redirect the discussion to some scientific (sounding) causation for aberration. The continued denial of socioeconomic factors relatable to behavioral problems is only exacerbating the overall issue since the implication is that "they'll find a cheap & easy way to fix people soon enough". The other aspect to this research is that mental health issues are common among the penal system population too, so criminality could be purported to be genetically influenced.

There are prominent psychologists and other experts that have associated the research of genetic causation of mental health issues to eugenics (racism) and that is the factor that the All of Us researchers and promoters are being completely oblivous to in their ambitious attempt to "advance science". Medical science has had plenty of history of being misused to the detriment of vulnerable, innocent people and causing human suffering instead of alleviating suffering. There is also documented history of evidence of misuse of technology and dismissal of appeals of scientists that advocated for review of related medical ethics. Dr. Alice Stewart was ignored and deliberately refuted by misinformation regarding the use of X-rays on pregnant women, (is a good example).

The following is some links to experts providing critical analysis of the research related to genetic causation of mental health conditions. I will work on providing more resources.

Note: Dr Jay Joseph is taking a position on a current conflict in another part of the world that is opposite of my family's & my country's position but I'm needing to grant an exception since his professional work is crucial to the topic here. (Donald Trump inherited his money from a family that was notorious for being slumlords ... which is profitting from oppressing minorities ... & he compared congressional impeachment hearings to "a lynching" ... seriously! Yet I'm expected to support him! No ... I don't support Biden either ... oh but it's all only about the idol worship, aint't it!)

Oh - the main Quaker Society of Friends is taking the same position that Dr Jay Joseph is on the conflict so what can I do?!

An old change.org petition to appeal for presidental pardons for Sister Megan Rice, Greg Boertje-Obed, an Army veteran, and Michael Walli, two-tour Vietnam veteran. They were peaceful, Christian, anti-nuclear activists. Two veterans and a nun. Oh, how the Trump-nuts would be hating on them!

This lady, Dr Paula J. Caplan, has passed away but she was highly respected in the international "trauma-informed" community. She knew who I am though, and we had a message exchange. I told her that the idea of "restorative justice" (practices that emphasize repairing the harm caused to victims and the community by offenses) sounds great in theory but people will want to get creative and one example is "public humiliation" (like forcing a person to hold a sign up in public stating they did wrong and are being punished- "scarlet letter" type thing) ... Paula replied to me saying that she understood my point.

Plato - Republic - BOOK VII

And now I will describe in a figure the enlightenment or unenlightenment of our nature:—Imagine human beings living in an underground den which is open towards the light; they have been there from childhood, having their necks and legs chained, and can only see into the den. At a distance there is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners a raised way, and a low wall is built along the way, like the screen over which marionette players show their puppets. Behind the wall appear moving figures, who hold in their hands various works of art, and among them images of men and animals, wood and stone, and some of the passers-by are talking and others silent.

"A strange parable," he said, "and strange captives." They are ourselves, I replied; and they see only the shadows of the images which the fire throws on the wall of the den; to these they give names, and if we add an echo which returns from the wall, the voices of the passengers will seem to proceed from the shadows. Suppose now that you suddenly turn them round and make them look with pain and grief to themselves at the real images; will they believe them to be real? Will not their eyes be dazzled, and will they not try to get away from the light to something which they are able to behold without blinking? And suppose further, that they are dragged up a steep and rugged ascent into the presence of the sun himself, will not their sight be darkened with the excess of light? Some time will pass before they get the habit of perceiving at all; and at first they will be able to perceive only shadows and reflections in the water; then they will recognize the moon and the stars, and will at length behold the sun in his own proper place as he is. Last of all they will conclude:—This is he who gives us the year and the seasons, and is the author of all that we see. How will they rejoice in passing from darkness to light! How worthless to them will seem the honours and glories of the den!

But now imagine further, that they descend into their old habitations;—in that underground dwelling they will not see as well as their fellows, and will not be able to compete with them in the measurement of the shadows on the wall; there will be many jokes about the man who went on a visit to the sun and lost his eyes, and if they find anybody trying to set free and enlighten one of their number, they will put him to death, if they can catch him.

Now the cave or den is the world of sight, the fire is the sun, the way upwards is the way to knowledge, and in the world of knowledge the idea of good is last seen and with difficulty, but when seen is inferred to be the author of good and right—parent of the lord of light in this world, and of truth and understanding in the other. He who attains to the beatific vision is always going upwards; he is unwilling to descend into political assemblies and courts of law; for his eyes are apt to blink at the images or shadows of images which they behold in them—he cannot enter into the ideas of those who have never in their lives understood the relation of the shadow to the substance. But blindness is of two kinds, and may be caused either by passing out of darkness into light or out of light into darkness, and a man of sense will distinguish between them, and will not laugh equally at both of them, but the blindness which arises from fulness of light he will deem blessed, and pity the other; or if he laugh at the puzzled soul looking at the sun, he will have more reason to laugh than the inhabitants of the den at those who descend from above.

There is a further lesson taught by this parable of ours. Some persons fancy that instruction is like giving eyes to the blind, but we say that the faculty of sight was always there, and that the soul only requires to be turned round towards the light. And this is conversion; other virtues are almost like bodily habits, and may be acquired in the same manner, but intelligence has a diviner life, and is indestructible, turning either to good or evil according to the direction given. Did you never observe how the mind of a clever rogue peers out of his eyes, and the more clearly he sees, the more evil he does? Now if you take such an one, and cut away from him those leaden weights of pleasure and desire which bind his soul to earth, his intelligence will be turned round, and he will behold the truth as clearly as he now discerns his meaner ends.

And have we not decided that our rulers must neither be so uneducated as to have no fixed rule of life, nor so over-educated as to be unwilling to leave their paradise for the business of the world? We must choose out therefore the natures who are most likely to ascend to the light and knowledge of the good; but we must not allow them to remain in the region of light; they must be forced down again among the captives in the den to partake of their labours and honours. "Will they not think this a hardship?" You should remember that our purpose in framing the State was not that our citizens should do what they like, but that they should serve the State for the common good of all. May we not fairly say to our philosopher,—Friend, we do you no wrong; for in other States philosophy grows wild, and a wild plant owes nothing to the gardener, but you have been trained by us to be the rulers and kings of our hive, and therefore we must insist on your descending into the den. You must, each of you, take your turn, and become able to use your eyes in the dark, and with a little practice you will see far better than those who quarrel about the shadows, whose knowledge is a dream only, whilst yours is a waking reality. It may be that the saint or philosopher who is best fitted, may also be the least inclined to rule, but necessity is laid upon him, and he must no longer live in the heaven of ideas. And this will be the salvation of the State.

For those who rule must not be those who are desirous to rule; and, if you can offer to our citizens a better life than that of rulers generally is, there will be a chance that the rich, not only in this world’s goods, but in virtue and wisdom, may bear rule. And the only life which is better than the life of political ambition is that of philosophy, which is also the best preparation for the government of a State. ~The Republic, by Plato - Project Gutenberg

Info & criticism about the VA's 'All of Us' genetic research program... About Website

(Note: I re-use my previously made pages as templates and the following I had already included so I kept it in here.)

Oh, "Only the gov't can violate people's rights..." argument? See page 8 of this article on Stanford Law website:

"We want and are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens: The right to earn a living at work for which we are fitted by training and ability; equal opportunities in education, health, recreation, and similar public services; the right to vote; equality before the law; some of the same courtesy and good manners that we ourselves bring to all human relations."
~ (Dr.) Martin Luther King, Jr. from August 6, 1946 letter to editor of Atlanta newspaper.

The biggest danger to our rights today is not from government acting against the will of the majority
but from government which has become the mere instrument of this majority...
Wrong will be done as much by an all-powerful people as by an all-powerful prince.
~ James Madison

Class conflict is another concept which upsets the oppressors, since they do not wish to consider themselves an oppressive class. Unable to deny, try as they may, the existence of social classes, they preach the need for understanding and harmony between those who buy and those who are obliged to sell their labor. However, the unconcealable antagonism which exists between the two classes makes this "harmony" impossible. ~ Paulo Freire

Because it is a distortion of being more fully human, sooner or later being less human leads the oppressed to struggle against those who made them so. In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not, in seeking to regain their humanity (which is a way to create it), become in turn oppressors of the oppressors, but rather restorers of the humanity of both. ~ Paulo Freire

"Only a lively appreciation of dissent's vital function at all levels of society can preserve it as a corrective to wishful thinking, self-inflation, and unperceived rigidity" The Wrong Way Home : Uncovering the patterns of cult behavior in American society | by Arthur J. Deikman, M.D
ISBN 10: 0807029157 ISBN 13: 9780807029152

Force has no place where there is need of skill.
~ Herodotus

Photograph of my old department crewmembers & I displaying our
Battle Efficiency Award onboard the now decommissioned USS Wabash AOR-5

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