pathologizing errant/unusual human behavior

It is ironic that we are the top of the food chain, because humans display a great deal of herd behavior, socially. We prefer our own kind, generally, and we police each other into acceptable behavior (Michel Foucault's Panopticon). When a person acts differently than the rest, we stare / alert each other / gossip or make movies and write blogs about aberrant behavior. We pay therapists to listen to why we are different, whose fault it is (parents or playground chums). We pay corporations for tiny pills to keep ourselves more like everyone else. A massive machinery is in place to promote, support, research and develop more tiny pills to modify the way we act.

Here is my (offensive*) perspective:

• There is nothing *wrong* with people with autism; we need highly focused people to singlemindedly devote themselves to research and development.

• "Bi-polar" is a negative term for the very human hair-trigger attention span that allows us to respond to stimuli around us. It's actually a survival mechanism. All those people zoning out in front of the television? Zombies. Palliated into submission by mind-numbing work which we/they agree to in pursuit of fancy driveable things and pretty places to live. We are all just such animals. We need food, shelter, sex and play.

• (why are those last two so often ignored or left off the list or considered indulgences or luxuries? My life approach: play FIRST, then work.)

  
  **I know this will offend some of you ;) That's what opinions are for!

An absolutely charming difference in Iceland is the lack of apologies. People scoot past each other without a word, even bump into each other (maybe with a quick "fyrirgefðu" -- "forgive") but there is NO *I* am sorry -- Let's break this down. First of all, they rarely talk about themselves. So no "I" -- well not rarely but MUCH LESS THAN Americans! They do talk about others. Gossip is rampant lore in Iceland. I think I met the lone Icelander who does not gossip ;) And in a small town of 91 people where I lived for the first two years and also another university town of 200 where I moved for the final four months there, gossip quickly becomes legend and lore. Just think of the child's game "Telephone" where one whispers to the next person and the word changes as it goes from ear to ear! Now consider if someone does the walk of shame or their unneutered cat gets pregnant or the bishop gets locked in the bathroom at the beer club?! (true stories, btw) -- well it's actually hilarious -- because they turn it into a skit and perform it at the annual feast of disgusting foods / skit-talent show at the end of winter ("Þorrablót") and when I returned to the US for a quick check on my son, the first American I saw apologized when I was exiting the bathroom and opened the door to see her entering. "Oh, SORRY!" she said. I stopped and said, "For what? For coming into the bathroom? For EXISTING in this same time-space that I am about to occupy? Release yourself from shame, woman! You have done nothing wrong!" She ... looked at me as though I was crazy ;) I am, now -- thank goodness. I have been living in a dream for 28 months!