Kudos to that second caller. My mother was similarly abusive due to her mental illness, and I too have a lot of anger about it. She still uses her "disability" as an excuse for bad behavior. In my case, I've had a lot of problems due to the upbringing I've had, but watching how my mom affected me and my sisters, its the same feeling of "No, I'll never be like that!"
I'm mentally ill and I agree with what Jimmy is saying. He's talking about a specific type of 'mentally ill' person and he's using that broad label, perhaps unfairly, in a somewhat narrower sense, but the core of his argument is sound; there are a lot of mentally ill people who know what they need to do to get better but choose not to because it's too much like hard work, and simply don't give a shit how this affects everyone else in their lives. I know this because I've sat and mingled among them, and they're insufferable.
Ant is so good at keeping the bit going. He consistently reassures the guy and brings him back to the same team by saying stuff like it's okay, Jimmy just let you down today. Dude starts getting suicidal and Ant hits him with those lines, perfectly wings it back to Jim to keep going. Reminds me of how he held Louie C.K's Donald Rumsfeld interview where he asks him if he is a lizard that eats Mexican babies.
People seem to think that people with mental illness can't *also* be self-centered. The two aren't mutually exclusive, and that's the problem: you can't always tell when you're hearing the illness, or they're just being selfish.
‘You get tired of being interrupted, you get tir-‘ ‘Wait, what we’re you saying dj?’ If Opie had a hint of self awareness that would’ve been a lot funnier.
I myself am painfully aware of the burden I cause and have considered ending it. I know my parents have had to come to terms with that and i've discussed it with them. I think my parents are amazing people for putting up with it and not giving up on me when it would be so easy to just toss my crazy ass out. Fuck, I think I might be turning into Norton. Except for the whole AIDS thing.
