“When Someone Shows You Who They Are —“

My online friends may wish to peruse this article about the Hong Kong police targeting overseas activists. China, especially under Chairman Xi, is not content with being authoritarian domestically; it attempts to menace critics abroad, and to export surveillance technology to other authoritarian governments. We should be vigilant against actual attacks or efforts to abduct Chinese activists in the United States or elsewhere, and about the Chinese establishing police offices outside their own country.

I do not seek war with China, or a greater degree of friction than circumstances compel, but in the long run, if we are to preserve our own liberties, we must resist efforts by China, Russia, or other foreign powers to establish an international order favorable to their interests and their efforts to make freedom of speech an international crime. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.”

The Red Queen’s Race

This week, two cases appeared on my Expedited docket, both of them After Final amendments on applications which I had rejected, and I dealt with both of them. One ordinary amendment appeared on my Amended docket (it’s not an After Final), and I have not dealt with it yet, so I’m up to one Amended case.

I also finished an Office Action on my oldest Regular New application, and I have done some work on another Regular New application. Production for the first biweek of the second quarter looks pretty good.

Psychotherapy as a Religion

A week or so ago, I read an advice column, I think by Carolyn Hax. A woman had written in about what was wrong with her adult daughter; the woman’s now adult son had molested her when they were children, and so the daughter didn’t want to have much to do with her brother, and was not notably cordial to him, which the writer saw as a problem for the family.

The columnist was quite firm with the letter writer, telling her not to blame the victim, and I agree about that. The columnist also wrote that if the brother had not been to therapy, he should get it, about which I am skeptical. He is not (one hopes!) sexually assaulting people now, so he does not have a current condition to be cured. Before “therapy” became popular, people would likely have said that he ought to humbly apologize to his sister, and do whatever he could to make amends. He might well have been directed to go on a pilgrimage, or do something else mandated by his religion; today, a professional dispenser of advice says that he should go to therapy.

What would therapy do for him? It would not cause his wrongdoing not to have happened, and would not necessarily satisfy his sister. It might help him deal with guilt feelings, if he has any, but then, it could be said that someone who has done grave wrong ought to bear the burden of feeling guilt, which may perhaps keep him from committing further offenses.

Therapy, however, has become the quasi-religion of many people today, and so it is apt to be recommended whether effective or apt in a particular case or not.