> people think the law some sort of elite club where mastery of a secret language can allow one to escape legal scrutiny
pc86 didn’t say sovereign citizenry is mental illness per se. They said it’s indistinguishable from mental illness if pursued all the way to a hearing. At that point, enough flags have been intentionally ignored to validly cross into delusion.
But i would say they are very distinguishable. The man who drives as 85mph because the spiders are chasing him is insane. The man who drives as 85mph because facebook told him that the state lacks jurisdiction over roads painted with yellow lines is not. The incorrect behavior (speeding) is identical but the overall situation is very distinguishable.
>The man who drives as 85mph because the spiders are chasing him is insane. The man who drives as 85mph because facebook told him that the state lacks jurisdiction over roads painted with yellow lines is not.
They are both insane, just in different ways. Sane people don't just automatically believe random stuff from facebook that is contrary to everything they know and have been taught.
As I read the original comment, it sounds as if they meant that continuing to insist that you were legally in the right is the problem. Being gullible is one thing. Insisting on your gullible belief when it's about to result in a prison sentence comes much closer to "invisible spider" territory.
> man who drives as 85mph because facebook told him that the state lacks jurisdiction over roads painted with yellow lines
This is a stretch, but possible. It breaks when that man is pulled over, cited, given the opportunity to research or consider another viewpoint, and then shows up in court to plead that case. That’s invisible-spiders levels of delusion, and while it may not be caused by a chemical or physical problem in the brain, it’s indistinguishable from it.
pc86 didn’t say sovereign citizenry is mental illness per se. They said it’s indistinguishable from mental illness if pursued all the way to a hearing. At that point, enough flags have been intentionally ignored to validly cross into delusion.