It may pay to be paranoid.
The paranoid are never sorry when disaster strikes as they are the only ones on their block with a fallout shelter, flashlight
batteries, air filters, survival manuals, firearms, neutralizers for every known poison, radiation medicine, extra fuel, spare parts and tools for a bullet proof vehicle that runs on human waste, and food for 6 months.
Paranoids are never followed very far.
Whereas paranoiacs always have their telephones tapped, mail read and email intercepted and redirected, they have already discounted that by artful misdirection in content that serves to confound and annoy investigators.
Most muggers die when assaulting heavily armed paranoiacs.
It is a safe bet that if a doctor prescribes a med, the paranoiac is already taking it.
Paranoiacs, fearing powerlessness form conspiracies to protect against all imaginary fears, finding all the other paranoiacs of like mind. This justifies still other paranoiacs' fears of such conspiracies. This means that unreasonable sounding paranoia is probably justified.
Paranoiacs may be right for many reasons. Supposedly "irrational" fears have their root in the fact that most right thinking people can never figure out what went wrong with their formerly operating machinery, the economy, their business, the weather, or their relationships. The explanation that "shit happens", when causation is the basis of all scientific investigation, is obviously insufficient. A better explanation would be "the dark forces manifested in a mindless criminal conspiracy to make things fail in my life are at it again.)"
A type of paranoia that goes unrecognized, often fatally is the "luck is with me" paranoia i.e. that total strangers that really don't give a shit are being kind and helpful or know exactly what you need. Or that the world is designed to work in favour of your well-thought-out plans. While it is true that this paranoia may be justified, it denies the basic tenet of sufficio egois selfensis, eg. that most human activity is driven by the doctrine of "we don't give a shit what effect it has on ohers as long as gratification is achieved for self, -and- maximum gratification in any act is achieved by accompanying deprivation of others in the course of this self-fulfillment." A more complete paranoia would take into account the depressing fact of the usual denial by the fittest of the least fit and cunning, and take appropriate precautions in the face of such obvious deceptiveness.
Give generously to your local paranoid. He has already anticipated what you may not suspect may happen any day now. He may let you know what that is, by telling you the opposite. He cannot tell you the truth as he fears you may use that against him.
PS -- what exactly did you mean by that last post?
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