alexandra, I agree with you that seeing yourself as "defective," whether it's true or not, is harmful to the individual. I've seen many stories of people who were disabled in some way (and, by disabled, I mean the way society perceives it), physically or mentally, but their parents raised them never to accept that, and they did things that would never be expected of someone with their "disability." And often, others learned more about the disability, and that the things they're not supposed to be able to do, may be possible, even if in a different way.

But I can't help the way I see it. I mean, this is just logic to me. I'd like to see things differently, but I don't.

Echoes, do you think it's mentally defective to desire a gun in order to protect yourself from someone you believe will put you in danger (perhaps with a gun himself)? What if you're a small, physically weak person? I'm not trying to change your opinion, but find out how you perceive these situations.

As I said, I feel those who own guns should be trained in how to use them (responsibly), and if they're ever shown to not be responsible with their weapon, it should be taken away. For how long, would depend on just what they did irresponsibly, and they should have to reapply and be reevaluated at that time.

Most people would be afraid to have a child in the same home with a gun, but not if the child were in a home with a swimming pool, yet far more deaths to children happen in swimming pools than with guns.

Even if you see a psych in private practice, that information goes in your record. Under certain circumstances, that record can be obtained for legal purposes. I've revealed far too much information, IMO, than I think I should have, during my teen and adult lifetime, and on the Internet.

There are companies who can find out stuff about you, simply by surfing the Net, and those you seek to hire you, or bosses where you already work, may be surfing the Net to find out information about you, looking for blogs and whatnot. That's how some people end up fired, because they posted something negative or information the company is not happy with on a blog or whatever.