Don't Judge Biochemistry

This is the third in my series on "don't judge," triggered by this episode where I rudely questioned a friend and then expanded in a post describing how false virtue can generate its own demand signal.

The Story

Both of my brothers died as addicts and alcoholics. As their conditions worsened over the years, my sister would tell me not to judge them because they'd had bad relationships with our parents. Both of them were a lot of fun to be around, at least until the last couple of years when their addictions devoured them. They had the gift of the blarney and were excellent story-tellers. You would have liked them had you met them.

Both of them were very intelligent. My oldest brother got a free ride to Yale and my middle brother had degrees in Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Hmm. I think there's a hint there.

Both of them died horrible deaths after a prolonged period of desperate suffering at the hands of their addictions.

Remember, kids, don't judge!

Morality Exists In A World Of Objective, Hierarchical Laws

Biochemistry is universal, objective, implacable and utterly pitiless. Biochemistry doesn't care if you didn't get along with mommy and daddy, if you are a poor, black kid in the ghetto or if you're a bored, spoiled trust-fund loser with plenty of cash and nothing to do all day. I asked ChatGPT to give me a summary of how cocaine, my brothers' drug of choice, affects you.

In the long run, it's a bad thing.

Cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, leading to excessive accumulation of these neurotransmitters in the synapses. Over time, this creates:

• Desensitization: The brain reduces its natural dopamine production and receptor sensitivity, leading to reduced ability to feel pleasure (anhedonia) without the drug.
• Neurotoxicity: Excessive dopamine levels generate free radicals, which damage neurons.

The neurochemical and structural changes lead to psychiatric symptoms:

• Anxiety, Depression, and Paranoia: Due to dysregulated neurotransmitter systems.
• Psychosis: Chronic use can cause delusions, hallucinations, and other psychotic symptoms.
• Addiction: The brain's reward system is hijacked, making cocaine the primary source of pleasure and motivation.

In the short run, it's a ton of fun. 

Cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine, causing it to accumulate in the synaptic cleft (the space between neurons). This leads to:

• Euphoria: The intense feelings of pleasure and reward.
• Increased Energy and Alertness: Due to heightened activation in reward and motivation pathways.

Cocaine also affects serotonin levels, which influences:

• Mood Elevation: A sense of well-being and reduced anxiety.
• Impulsivity and Risk-Taking: Enhanced serotonin activity can decrease inhibition.

Cocaine increases norepinephrine levels, leading to:

• Increased Heart Rate and Blood Pressure: Producing a feeling of physical arousal.
• Heightened Alertness: An enhanced sense of focus and vigilance.

That happens to everyone, whether the 'rents are nice or not. Make sure you're "not judging" phase happens in the short run. That way, you can be infused with delightful feelings of virtue and compassion while the addict is radiant with pleasure.

My objection would be simple. When do you start the judging?

My oldest brother got loaded one night, went driving and caused an accident which resulted in a man being crippled for life. It seems reasonable to say that the time to turn all intolerant and judgmental would have been before the crash. How would you know he was about to cripple someone? Timing is everything, oh great compassionate one.

My middle brother had four different women have abortions by him. He thought sex was a ton of fun. He slept with everything that wore a skirt. It was a bit rough on the babies, though. Assuming you're not into vivisecting infants, when would have been a good time to go full Torquemada on the dude and point your bony finger of accusation at him? Hopefully, you would have done that before the first abortion. Once more, timing is everything, oh noble virtue-signaler.

Morality Must Be Universal

This is what I'm on about when I say that your moral code lives in a world of universal structure. It lives in a world governed by biochemistry, physics, mathematics, biology and normal, human frailty. Sperm plus egg makes baby. Unwanted babies sometimes get killed. Cocaine plus central nervous system makes addict. Addicts typically spiral into destruction. These are predictable events. They aren't perfectly guaranteed, but it's common enough to be expected.

How does your morality cope with that if it's always situational? What if you guess wrong and you "don't judge" right before the car crash or the baby butchery?

Imagine yourself sitting across the table from the crippled man and when he asks you if you knew the guy was loaded when he walked to his car you say, "Yes, but I don't judge." That's an over-the-top example, but it's not too over-the-top. My oldest brother was a loadie and he drove. It doesn't take Blaise Pascal to predict that such a tragic accident was likely to happen at some point. It might not be that you witnessed the drug-addled car-key grabbing, but it would certainly be true that you knew the guy's addiction was pretty serious.

Still, don't judge! Jesus wouldn't like it if you judged.

The End Is Predictable

I sat with my middle brother in the hospital as he was dying. Mercifully, he was unconscious. By the end, he hated me because I didn't help him get hammered. I was judgmental, you know. I hadn't ever helped him do that because I'm intolerant and full of hate.

By the time he died, he was homeless even though he had money in the bank. He had a girlfriend of sorts, so he might still have been getting a little tail even at the very end of his disastrous life.

That's OK, I guess. I'm not supposed to judge.

In the end, maybe the non-judgmental types will explain how it was loving and compassionate to do all that non-judging with him as he self-destructed, leaving me with no brothers at all.

I'm not holding my breath.

I'm sorry, you're a bit late. They just took the body away. He was such a fun character! He was full of charm and vitality, right up until he lost the last of his marbles and wandered around the streets, playing his guitar for a few coins that he could take to a liquor store. Remember, God is love. Don't judge!