"The talk"

[Gooby]

He just has really stupid beliefs. I don't think there's anything physical that a shrink can do for him.

Now that's something I think I can understand after thinking a bit about it. I think this comparison is going to come off super autistic, but I'll bring it up anyway... This whole CPU thing basically is just his religion, right? The difference between what Chris believes and what Scientologists or Muslims or Christians or whatever happen to think just seems to be that Chris has a religion that somehow only he believes in. So basically, just like how people of different religions can interact normally even if they think the other person's religion is insane and makes no sense, Chris is "normal" enough outside of the insanity in his beliefs. Sure, he believes cartoons are real in alternate realities, and anime girls are god, and he'll go to cwcville through astral projection, but then again mormons believe they get their own personal planet after death and astral projection isn't just something Chris made up, other people believe it too. It's crazy, but all religions look crazy from the outside.

I was having a really hard to wrapping my head around how he could be making ebay sales one hour, interacting at cons an hour later, and making emails about how the CPU goddesses need a new C64 the next, but actually framing his "religion" as a religion makes the situation make a lot more sense I suppose.

 

[WorldsSmartestManRonOTool]

I'm waiting for Kaczynski-chu the Legobomber.

lol and the illustrated manifesto "CWCville Society and Its Future".

 

[Marvin]

Valium can definetly cause a feeling of disconnect from reality. It can cause withdrawal from friends and family and a general feeling of apathy towards the outside world. I'm not sure how much Chris takes but I wouldn't rule it out as something that could be affecting his behavior.

Well, see, that's the thing. I wouldn't describe Chris as having apathy towards the outside world.

At TMG and magfest, he was talking to people, having fun. It's less replacing the outside world for him, and more like a parallel world for him. I think the comparison with a religion is very apt.

Chris can go to a restaurant with a friend, order food, chat about everyday stuff, and then he mentions, btw, did you know Chris' imaginary friends are with him too?

I'm not a doctor, but when I think psychosis, I think something involving wandering gaze, and difficulty holding a conversation about the tangible world, and being confused when the people around you don't notice your imaginary friends. I imagine something that if you showed up in the ER, a doctor would prescribe you some pills pretty darn quickly. At his various outings recently, he really didn't fit that bill.

At worst, Chris seems like someone really into wicca and who doesn't have a good grasp of when to shut the fuck up about it. Basically what @Gooby said.

But it's not as if this religion is good for Chris. It's super bad because it opens him up to exploitation, not counting the self harm. (Heh, of course, Chris also got a doctor to prescribe him HRT. Legally sanctioned self harm!)

I think it'd be very interesting for Chris to share these views with his shrink. See if they put him on anything.

Edit: Well, actually, I'd say the biggest issue isn't that Chris is psychotic now. I really doubt he is. I think he's mentally functional enough right now that practical concerns (keeping him from getting scammed) take priority. The biggest issue is that it could get worse in a crisis. And there's at least big crisis scheduled in his life.

All it takes is one bad day...

I'd be surprised if it was the HRT too, is he definitely on it? Do you have any idea how long? Usually if medications are going to cause psychosis it happens pretty soon after starting them, it's not a progressive deal in most cases.

Pretty sure he's on it. Has been for a year or two, maybe longer.

 

[Mariposa Electrique]

Pretty sure he's on it. Has been for a year or two, maybe longer.

Lol, it never ceases to amaze me how they're doing the opposite of what they're supposed to be doing.
BTW, Chris is being enabled.

 

[Thelostcup]

Personally I think you just have to take Chris' maladaptive behaviors into account if you want to communicate at all with him. Entertain his delusions and try to work something in about how X fictional character wouldn't approve of his actions. In fact, if he thinks he can personally gain something by not acting like a fuckwit, he's more likely to control his behavior. You'd just have to strike some balance to make him actually want to comply with not invading people's space.

Generally it's easier to communicate with autists that "If you stop doing this bad thing, a good thing will happen" vs. "If you keep doing this bad thing, more bad things will happen." Their plain inability to visualize things from another person's viewpoint makes it difficult to explain how their behavior will affect people, but if you frame it as a simple reward scenario they oftentimes will play along if they think they're getting their way.

 

[Panboys Probation Officer]

:powerlevel: I really would have him committed.

 

[Marvin]

Lol, it never ceases to amaze me how they're doing the opposite of what they're supposed to be doing.

The first mtf sex reassignment surgery in the US was done at Johns Hopkins in 1966.

And now, in the 20-teens, contra can do a song and dance and cajole a shrink quack into giving him titty skittles in 3 months.

How far we've fallen...

Personally I think you just have to take Chris' maladaptive behaviors into account if you want to communicate at all with him. Entertain his delusions and try to work something in about how X fictional character wouldn't approve of his actions. In fact, if he thinks he can personally gain something by not acting like a fuckwit, he's more likely to control his behavior. You'd just have to strike some balance to make him actually want to comply with not invading people's space.

Generally it's easier to communicate with autists that "If you stop doing this bad thing, a good thing will happen" vs. "If you keep doing this bad thing, more bad things will happen." Their plain inability to visualize things from another person's viewpoint makes it difficult to explain how their behavior will affect people, but if you frame it as a simple reward scenario they oftentimes will play along if they think they're getting their way.

Whether carrot or stick (they both work), in my experience with Chris, the challenge is in convincing Chris that the reward or penalty is an inevitability from a certain trigger.

If you can do that, it works very well.

If you kiss someone again, you will go to jail. Something like that. You just need to convince Chris it's an inevitability. Now, every time Chris kisses someone and the sky doesn't fall, you've got a brewing problem.

(Example: Chris is scared shitless of carrying pepper spray now.)

Some people at magfest and TMG were really enthusiastic about posing for pictures with Chris, up to and including the hugging. Few were really all that hot about being kissed, but most of them laughed it off.

This undermines the idea that the kissing is a problem to Chris. He starts to see the people who complain as a small collection of stodgy people who hate fun, instead of the reality of the situation being, that most people were uncomfortable and he just couldn't tell.

And you can't just tell Chris this is what's happening, because it clashes with what he saw happen.

 

[Okkervils]

:powerlevel: I really would have him committed.

Oddly enough, being familiar with what criteria you need to fit to be sectioned, I can almost guarantee you 99% of psychiatric consultants would be against it. I'm not even being here. If you're not an imminent danger... They're going to use those beds for someone else.

 

[m0rnutz]

Chris's autism practically has started to devolve him slowly into a schizoid state. The only way to get through to him isn't to talk to him like he's sane, it's to talk to him like he's insane. Give him reason to believe you relate to him and understand him, get him comfortable with you.

People manipulate Chris all the time, why not do the same but for his benefit, before they get him to do some really stupid shit like cut his dick off with a rusty moldy butter knife?

 

[Mariposa Electrique]

This undermines the idea that the kissing is a problem to Chris. He starts to see the people who complain as a small collection of stodgy people who hate fun, instead of the reality of the situation being, that most people were uncomfortable and he just couldn't tell.

And you can't just tell Chris this is what's happening, because it clashes with what he saw happen.

So, unless people start telling him he's a huge, unattractive hobo that no wants to be kissed by, he's still going try and act like faux-lita around grown men.

 

[Willy the genital]

People manipulate Chris all the time, why not do the same but for his benefit, before they get him to do some really stupid shit like cut his dick off with a rusty moldy butter knife?

I don't think Chris needs much convincing to sever his dingus and if he did it'd be as simple as saying "You have ghosts in your penis,sport" and he'd be hacking away immediately.

Psychologists call it the "genital mutilation hair-trigger".

 

[Marvin]

So, unless people start telling him he's a huge, unattractive hobo that no wants to be kissed by, he's still going try and act like faux-lita around grown men.

That's like, your opinion man

is the thought process

 

[Null]

I reject the idea I have to play pretend to get things done. Entertaining Joshua Wise's cancer just strengthens it.

 

[bigshot]

I reject the idea I have to play pretend to get things done.

I agree. I think Chris uses the fantasy stuff as a distancing tool to push away things he doesn't want to discuss. The only way to deal with that is to wait till the diversion is over and then go back to the original point, which was what you did.

 

[AStupidMonkey]

I just know he told the interview dude a few weeks back that Bundy was a Sonichuthingwhatever.. and I remember the chat and the boards imploding. I would have no idea as to whether or not Chris knows who that is, so I will defer to you.

Know I'm :late: but if anybody missed the TL;DR from the interview:

Chris's autism practically has started to devolve him slowly into a schizoid state. The only way to get through to him isn't to talk to him like he's sane, it's to talk to him like he's insane. Give him reason to believe you relate to him and understand him, get him comfortable with you.

Well of course you'd say that: you're one of the insane evil jerkops out to get him!

 

[Snuckening]

Chris is capable of change, but every external force that he allows to act on him (combined with his own exceptionally poor choices) is dragging him down this death spiral. Finances. I HAVE AUTISM PLEASE LAUGH AT ME. Anime. Trannydom. 14BC and the hoard.... The S.S. Chris-Chan will not change course of its own volition...

When Barb dies, getting the fuck out of that house would be the best possible shot Chris has at change. He'll hate leaving. He'll instinctively, desperately want to stay in his familiar comfort zone, but getting out from under 14Bc would be the best possible outcome for him.

What Chris ideally needs (and obviously this is pure hypothetical, "in a perfect world" spit-balling) is for someone to step in when Barb dies (or preferably set it up beforehand), sell 14Bc, and use the procedes to set up Chris in a small, self-contained unit, with a trust fund or similar paying his rent (and ideally also regular sessions with a decent therapist/counsellor/psychologist which he is somehow compelled/incentivized to attend: give him a $500 annual convention allowance, dependant on attendance or some shit)

If he stays at 14Bc- [1] he'll be alone, in a huge 2 story house full to overflowing with the personal belongings of his dead parents; Chris can barely manage maintaining cleanliness of his room, and him Bob and Barb combined couldn't manage all the shit in that house. Zero chance Chris will be able to manage the hoard alone. [2] The effect on his mental health of being literally surrounded by ungodly amounts of his dead parents shit. Shit which he'll have no clue what to do with. That would be hard for anyone. For someone as ill-equipped and stress-prone as Chris it'll be completely overwhelming. That mess will just get worse and worse til it causes another crisis like the fire[3] He's complained about feeling alone and lonely consistently, forever. Being the only person in a large 2 story house, where he's used to seeing his parents, will turn that 'lonely' dial up to eleven thousand (which would also give him incentive to let someone else move in, to help him feel less lonely- obviously a recipe for disaster; whether the tenant exploits Chris, or Chris tries to impose his landlordly Mayoral powers on the tenant. Either way, highly unlikely to end well) [4] Even supposing the hoard magically disappeared somehow, just maintaining a house that size involves work and organization Chris is unequipped for; rates, property tax, maintainence, structural issues, knowing what to do if a neighbour says "Your tree is gonna fall on my roof" or if there's funny ant-looking things building nests in the wall-space. Where's he going to get the cash if some big-ticket repair springs up, like the foundations slipping or the plumbing shitting itself? that house is just way too much for Chris.

If he leaves 14 Bc when Barb dies- [1] He has a clean slate; not only is the influence of his parents gone, but also the surroundings he associates with all his past behaviour. That may sound trivial, but it's not; it's way harder to start new behaviours if everything around you is the same as ever. [2] No hoard- Chris doesn't have to deal with 20 tons of his dead parent's stuff, and can you imagine how depressing it must be living, surrounded by that shit 24/7? [3] He lives in place that it is within his abilities to maintain. In a 1br unit, even if he he slipped for a while and the place went to shit, it'd be within his capabilities to get it in order in a day or 2 max.

No doubt Chris will want to stay at Branchland, and I can understand why helping him stay there might seem like the best option. But if there was some way to help him get into something smaller, more sustainable, and not chock to the ceiling with crap, that could be a fucking godsend for Chris.

 

[Son of Big Boss]

Commodore? Goddesses?
CPU? CW?

Dude, what the fuck is he talking about?
I think i got dumber just by trying to decipher his wall of text.

It feels like Chris entered the world of Tron.

 

[Charles Morgenstern]

Chris seems to have an uncanny talent for finding a Chris-shaped crack where it exists and falling into it. You can't treat him as a child because he isn't one. He's an adult in that he's existed for the requisite period of time without a court deeming him to be mentally incompetent. There is no leverage that can be utilized over Chris that makes the method effective in raising children. He can't be spanked, he can't be sent to time-out. The only person that has the ability to exercise arbitrary authority over him is his mother, and Barb is as useful as an ass without a hole. Chris is the human equivalent of a well-trained blackbird. He can preserve his own existence and manage the simple tasks of basic problem-solving. He is walking a fine line between the two that there is not much to be done about all this.

Sure, he's a criminal. Yet never to where he's been punished beyond inconvenience. He's Chris-Chan, the entirety of his existence is dealing with inconvenience when reality doesn't conform to his autistic will. He's obnoxious to a staggering degree, but never to the point where people are willing to snap at a moron. His head is so far up his own ass based on lifetime of deferred responsibility that he is nearly impervious to criticism. He's the perfect storm of "Aww, fucking Chris is here..." while not being so bad that he's denied pity or tolerance. He's given infinite first chances that he inevitably blows, then follows it up with the slow drumbeat of blowing all further chances until the person in charge finally musters the motivation to bounce him. Then he starts all over again with a new first chance.

That being said, I was surprised that people are repudiating @Null for showing kindness to another human being.

 

[Basketball Jones]

Their plain inability to visualize things from another person's viewpoint makes it difficult to explain how their behavior will affect people,

You know, I think the only time he acknowledged poor behavior of his was when that recent comic series about him came out where everything was written from Chris’ perspective (I can’t remember the name of the guy that drew it atm). There was a scene that redid the Alec and bros execution and upon reading it Chris said something to the effect of, “I didn’t realize at the time how cruel this was, but seeing it like this makes me feel awful for drawing this scene” and then he apologized to Alec.

I have a theory that the inability to visualize how his actions look to other people can be fixed in a very elementary-school way; Chris needs a visual.

Thoughts?

 

[Count Olaf]

Commodore? Goddesses?
CPU? CW?

Dude, what the fuck is he talking about?
I think i got dumber just by trying to decipher his wall of text.

Short version, he believes that video game consoles and various other types of technology have anime girl spirits living inside them. In fact, he believes this so much thanks to being exposed to a fandom all about that theory, that he has decided to forsake God and the Bear and worship the anime girl CPU's (as he refers to them) as his Gods instead.

With that I think I can safely say that was the most insane pair sentences I have ever written in my entire life, but the even scarier thing about it is that every single word was unfortunately true.