Hacker News Reader

Comment by 4ad | Hacker News Reader

I'm very pro legalization, I think the government should have no say in what people do with their bodies, and I seek new experiences. That being said, by reading what the author said in this article I am so happy I have never done MDMA nor had I anything to do with the culture around it.

Conversations that seem profound, but aren't, making drugs part of your identity, thanks, not for me, and not for the type of people I want to be friends with.

I am happy the events lived through by the author are perceived as having been positive by her today, but if I would have had the same experiences in my youth I would definitely think I wasted my life.

View on HN

Conversations you have in ecstasy often are very profound, you may open up in ways you would not normally. You feel understood, and you feel heightened empathy towards others.

You seem very judgemental.

Edit: I am rate-limited and cannot respond below, so I'll add here. Your idea that this is all necessarily a false experience is, to put it bluntly, incorrect. You seem to think that people aren't really listening to each other and aren't really understanding each other, but in many cases they really are.

I called you judgemental because you said you wouldn't want to be associated with that 'type of people', not because of your choice not to use a substance.

> Conversations you have in ecstasy often are very profound.

Often repeated for all kinds of drugs, MDMA, psychedelics, even marijuana users claim this. But in my experience conversations are universally banal and only seem profound.

> you may open up in ways you would not normally

To me, this sounds like a nightmare. The idea that something artificial could change me in any way. And the idea that people desire this is scary.

> You feel understood

Exactly, you feel understood without being understood.

> You seem very judgemental.

For exercising my right to not do something while recognizing the right of others to do it? Oh, the irony.

> To me, this sounds like a nightmare. The idea that something artificial could change me in any way. And the idea that people desire this is scary.

For many, this is the whole point of taking psychedelics - to find self-improvement through these altered states. Science seem to confirm this works. [0] Why does it feel scary to you?

[0] Psychedelics and Neuroplasticity: A Systematic Review Unraveling the Biological Underpinnings of Psychedelics - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34566723/

Yes, it works, that is why I don't want it, I am very happy with who I am.

> For exercising my right to not do something while recognizing the right of others to do it? Oh, the irony.

"not for the type of people I want to be friends with."

That's the judgemental piece right there, just so you know for the future. Not that you don't want to do something, that you're writing swathes of people off entirely based on your own misconceptions about what they do want to do.

> Exactly, you feel understood without being understood.

And this is where you're making incorrect assumptions based on your own biases.

I highly recommend you don't touch anything more mind altering than a cup of tea, given your phobia of altered states.

> that you're writing swathes of people off

I have no interest in socializing with religious people, Javascript programmers, gym people, vegans, gamers, modern artists, car enthusiasts, cowboys, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, etc. That doesn't mean that what these people do is wrong, it simply means we have no shared interests or values, and my time is better spent with other people. I pass no judgement on what they are doing, I chose to live my life differently and with other people.

> your own misconceptions about what they do want to do. [...] And this is where you're making incorrect assumptions based on your own biases.

My experiences with drug enthusiasts were a total waste of my time, again and again. It's fascinating that drug enthusiasts are trying to convince me otherwise. This is exactly one of the reasons why I am have no interest in their company.

> That doesn't mean that what these people do is wrong, it simply means we have no shared interests or value

Only if you assume people are one dimensional caricatures that only make sense if you waste too much time on the internet.

> I have no interest in socializing with ... it simply means we have no shared interests or values

That's a bizarre set of prejudices - prejudgements of vastly varied sets of individuals - based on single characteristics.

> I pass no judgement

But you have, and you've told me what my experiences are based on your preconceptions.

> My experiences with drug enthusiasts were a total waste of my time, again and again. It's fascinating that drug enthusiasts are trying to convince me otherwise.

I'm not, you're repeatedly misinterpreting what's been said.

This -

"And this is where you're making incorrect assumptions based on your own biases."

Was in response to your assertion that "you feel understood without being understood", not an attempt to convince you that you would benefit from anyone's company. You're making assertions about other people's experiences, and then judging them on that, from a position of ignorance.

I suspect I'll leave the conversation here as conversing with someone who is deliberately misconstruing what's said isn't worth it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com