I believe the original context is about being careful about getting involved/obsessed with dangerous people, but I really like the overall idea of taking stock of your resources before you make decisions that could result in emotional breakdowns. I think people sometimes have the idea that emotions are this unpredictable thing that you can’t control or manage, so they don’t really hold themselves accountable in predictable situations? Like, if you’re already involved in some sort of stressful situation, then you don’t have room in your life for another breakdown. Don’t call your ex during finals week! Stuff like that.
Considering the identity of the source, and given that he has highly divergent performing and offstage personas, I wasn’t even sure if the implied answer was supposed to be “yes,” or “no.”
Not as far as I know. But from Marilyn Manson the performer, it could have meant “Do you have room to fit in another breakdown? If so, go for it!” Whereas from Marilyn Manson the citizen, I would expect something more like “Stop and ask yourself ‘do I really want to risk another breakdown?’”
I pulled this out of song lyrics, which is why it’s very open to interpretation and also why the punctuation is might be confusing. I think I get what you’re saying now! You’re right, it isn’t entirely clear from the original context what he tells you to conclude after you’ve reflected. But he definitely wants you to stop and consider the question! I also think pulling from lyrics is like pulling from a weird average of his performer and citizen persona, because words are so easy to cite. But anyway, I personally find it useful to have Marilyn Manson’s scary voice in my head telling me to stop and think before I do something. =]
I think both
“Do you have room to fit in another breakdown? If so, go for it!”
and
“Stop and ask yourself ‘do I really want to risk another breakdown?’”
are better than “Blindly do things! Even if you don’t have the resources to deal with consequences!” So I guess it’s not that profound as a rationality quote; but again, I’ve met some really smart people that tried to convince me that they “can’t help their feelings.”
I believe the original context is about being careful about getting involved/obsessed with dangerous people, but I really like the overall idea of taking stock of your resources before you make decisions that could result in emotional breakdowns. I think people sometimes have the idea that emotions are this unpredictable thing that you can’t control or manage, so they don’t really hold themselves accountable in predictable situations? Like, if you’re already involved in some sort of stressful situation, then you don’t have room in your life for another breakdown. Don’t call your ex during finals week! Stuff like that.
Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense.
Considering the identity of the source, and given that he has highly divergent performing and offstage personas, I wasn’t even sure if the implied answer was supposed to be “yes,” or “no.”
Oh hum. It’s supposed to be read in the imperative, like “ask yourself this question before you do something.” Is there punctuation I’m missing?
Not as far as I know. But from Marilyn Manson the performer, it could have meant “Do you have room to fit in another breakdown? If so, go for it!” Whereas from Marilyn Manson the citizen, I would expect something more like “Stop and ask yourself ‘do I really want to risk another breakdown?’”
I pulled this out of song lyrics, which is why it’s very open to interpretation and also why the punctuation is might be confusing. I think I get what you’re saying now! You’re right, it isn’t entirely clear from the original context what he tells you to conclude after you’ve reflected. But he definitely wants you to stop and consider the question! I also think pulling from lyrics is like pulling from a weird average of his performer and citizen persona, because words are so easy to cite. But anyway, I personally find it useful to have Marilyn Manson’s scary voice in my head telling me to stop and think before I do something. =]
I think both
and
are better than “Blindly do things! Even if you don’t have the resources to deal with consequences!” So I guess it’s not that profound as a rationality quote; but again, I’ve met some really smart people that tried to convince me that they “can’t help their feelings.”