THE ALCOHOLIC GAME Claude M. Steiner, Ph.D.

The life game of Alcoholic was .first investigated by Eric Berne in his book, Games People Play. In his analysis of the game of Alcoholic, Dr. Berne postu­lates that there is no such thing as alcoholism or "an alcoholic," but that there is a role called The Alcoholic in a certain type of game. It has become clear since the writing of Dr. Berne's book, that persons .fitting into the role of The Alcoholic in an Alcoholic game, can be divided into three significantly different types. As a consequence, it appears that there are three different games of. Alcoholic, all of which share certain characteristics in common, but each of which has characteristics that are unique to that game, and each of which is preferred by a certain kind of person. The three games are Drunk and Proud (D&P), LUSH, and WINO. These three games will be analyzed according to the scheme followed in Games People Play.

I. Drunk and Proud. Thesis. All three alcoholic games have as a general thesis, 'Tm not OK,

you are OK (ha ha)." In all three games the Alcoholic puts himself in a posi­tion of being obviously disapproved of, and of allowing those who disapprove of him to appear to be virtuous and blameless, while the situation makes it ob­vious that they are not only not virtuous and blameless but foolish and impo­tent. Thus, 'Tm not OK, you are OK, (ha ha)", really means 'Tm OK, you're not OK" but stated in such a way that everyone concerned will be plunged into utter confusion. The thesis of D&P is "You're good, I'm bad, (try and stop me)." This is dearly a variation of 'Tm not OK, you are OK (ha ha)," because anyone attempting to stop the Alcoholic from being bad, will wind up feeling definitely not OK: either foolish or angry.

The general game of alcoholic has, "in its full .flower," .five roles or players. The Alcoholic, (It), the Persecutor, the Rescuer, the Patsy, and the Connection. D&P is a three handed game involving the Alcoholic, and a Persecutor/Patsy. The fact that there is usually no Rescuer participating in this game, is a clue to the distinct nature of it. A D&P player is basically interested in getting persecut­ing parents angry, so angry in fact, that they show their stupidity and foolish­ness. I This game is often played by salesmen and executives with their sub­urban wives, and in their particular situation the aim of the game is to punish the wife for her dominating and possessive attitudes. Under the influence of alcohol, a D&P player can engage in extracurricular activities with his secretary, can lose large sums of money at the poker table, and can stay out with the boys until all hours of the night, with complete impunity. When his wife reproaches

1 This is the payoff of the game, namely, making foolish Patsys out of selfrighteous ~ersecutors. Dr. Stephen Karpman points out that the sudden reversal from Persecutor to Patsy which is characteristic of this game is an intrinsic and dramatic part of its effectiveness.

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him the morning after, he apologizes, saying, "Boy, I feel terrible about this, honey, I really tied one on last night. I'll try to be good from now on." This leaves the wife, who until now has been the Persecutor, two alternatives. She either accepts the apology, (in which case the game becomes a variant of "Schlemiel") and puts herself in a foolish position, switching roles from Perse­cutor to Patsy, or she rejects the apology and continues as the Persecutor. The latter is difficult because "It" is contrite and rueful, thereby putting her into a position of being merciless and bitchy. Since It doesn't lose any time from work (not more, in any case, than anyone else in his office) and manages to keep everything going fairly well, he is not interested in a Rescuer and certainly would not allow one to enter into the game. Occasionally, his wife plays the Patsy by agreeing to go to an office party and then being forced to witness her husband "under the influence" behaving naughtily with the boss's secretary.

The D&P player seldom drinks at home, since the drinking is just an ex­cuse for misbehavior of another kind, which is essentially an angry gesture of repudiation of the Persecutor. Because of the D&P player's lack of interest in a Rescuer, they very seldom find their way into a therapist's office on their own initiative. When they do, usually because the · marriage partner threatens di­vorce, they are likely to draw the therapist into the game as a Patsy. Any therapist who misses this point and is willing to analyze dreams or discuss child­hood experiences with a D&P player, will find, as he becomes more and more confident .that therapy is "making progress," that he is exposing himself to an increasingly monumental disappointment which inevitably occurs.

The case of the winking patient is an example of this point. Mr. Lavat, a D&P player, came seeking treatment because of the demands made by his girl friend of many years who threatened to leave him if he didn't straighten out. The therapist, inexperienced at that time, accepted his request for treatment at face value and proceeded to undertake the usual exploration of the reasons for his drinking. Mr. Lavat stopped drinking and, as far as the therapist could tell, continued to be sober as the weeks passed. One day when the therapist met Mr. Lavat in the waiting room, Mr. Lavat greeted him with a wink. Because treat­ment seemed to be progressing satisfactorily, the therapist was unwilling to challenge the meaning of the wink and continued to "do therapy." Every week from then on the patient would meet the therapist with a wink. · This continued for a couple of months, during which the patient continued to "make progress" and to remain sober. Then, quite unexpectedly, Mr. Lavat's girl friend called up, angry and questioning what the therapist was really up to, since Mr. Lavat did not seem to be improving but instead was drinking more and abusing her. It turned out that at approximately the same time that Mr. Lavat started wink­ing in the reception room, he also began to drink and had been drinking, be­tween appointments, ever since. Having been conned in such an obvious way, the therapist felt quite foolish and finally realized that· he had been playing the Patsy in a game of Alcoholic. Mr. Lavat never returned for treatment and the

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his mother's overprotective attitude which in essence means, 'Tm OK and you, my son, (bcause you are a man or because you' re like your father) are not OK." An offspring in this situation can safely rebel by saying, "I agree, I'm not OK, since I'm a drunk, and you are OK (ha ha) . " With every drinking bout, his mother presents him with ample evidence for the validity of the "ha ha" since she will typically lose control over her angry, persecuting Child, which is definitely not OK.

This game is primarily a masculine game of rebellion against mothers and wives who insist on appearing blameless while being quite angry at their sons or husbands. The only way in which a man can expose the flaws of such a woman is to "bring her out in the open" and the game of D&P is one very effective way of doing so.

The above is not to say that women do not play D&P, but when they do, the dynamics of the game are similar, except that they involve father instead of mother. Female D&P players are often seen among professional women mar­ried to meek men. Most women alcoholics, however, learn to play LUSH which will be explored in the next section.

The games in this chapter will be analyzed according to the format pre­sented by Dr. Berne in Games People Play. The following notation will be used in the analytic protocol.

Title: This is the name of the game and the abbreviation if one is used. Thesis: The thesis is restated in a concise sentence. Dynamics and Aim: This is a statement of the Child's reasons for playing

the game. Roles: The roles that are commonly encountered in the game are given. Examples: (1) This gives an example of how the game is played in

childhood. (2) An illustration from adult life.

Paradigm: This illustrates as briefly as possible the critical transactions of the game.

Moves: This gives the minimum number of transactional stimuli and transactional responses in the game. The actual game can be played in a much more elaborate manner in reality.

Advantages: (1) Internal Psychological - This attempts to state how the game contributes to internal psychic stability. (2) External psychological - This attempts to state which anxiety arousing situations or intimacies are being avoided. ( 3) Internal Social - This gives the characteristic phrase used in the game as played with intimates. ( 4) External Social - This gives the key phrase used in the derivative game or pastime played in less intimate cir­cles. ( 5) Biological - This attempts to characterize the kind of stroking which the game offers to the parties involved. ( 6) Existential - This states the existential point of view from which the game is typically played.

Relatives: This gives the names of complementary, allied and related games. The importance of these games is that when the alcoholic stops drinking, he will usually switch to one of these related games.

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ANALYSIS

Title: Drunk and Proud (D&P) Thesis: The general thesis of all three alcoholic games is 'Tm not OK,

you're OK (ha ha)." The specific thesis of D&P is, 'Tm bad, you're good (ha ha)".

Dynamics and Aim: Guilt-free expression of aggression. Roles: Alcoholic, Persecutor/Patsy. Examples: (1) Childhood prototype: "Try and Stop Me," messing with

food, telling obvious lies, getting parents angry over trivia. ( 2) Adult proto­type; big city junior executive, living in suburbs and his circle.

Social Paradigm: Adult to Adult Adult: "I misbehaved last night, I expect you'll forgive me, since I won't

do it again!" Adult: "I don't agree," (Persecutor) or "I agree," (Patsy). Psychological Paradigm: Child to Parent Child: "I was bad and you couldn't stop me, ha ha." Parent: "If you do this again you'll be sorry." Moves: (1) 'Tmgoingout-stayhome." (2) 'Tmgettingdrunk

-you'll be sorry." (3) 'Tm sorry- forgiveness or anger." Advantages: (1) Internal Psychological: Expression of oral aggression.

(2) External Psychological: Avoidance of intimacy with Persecutor/Patsy. (3) Internal Social - "Try and stop me." ( 4) External Social: "Martini," "Morning After," and "Shot and Pills." ( 5) Biological: Positive strokes from drinking companions, negative strokes from Persecutor/Patsy. ( 6) Existen­tial: "Nobody tells me what to do."

Relatives: "Cops and Robbers," "Do Me Something," "Wooden Leg," "Schlemiel".

2. LUSH. The sis: This form of the alcoholic game is most often played by a middle-

aged married suburban wife, or at times, by a down-trodden, hard-working, white collar employee. In both cases the game is played in response to sexual deprivation, or as a transactional analyst would call it, a lack of "strokes." Thethesis of the game is again a variation of 'Tm not OK, you' re OK, (ha ha), . m this case, 'Tm crazy (depressed) , try and cure me (ha ha) . " This usuall Y m­vol ves a partner who is unable to or has great difficulty in giving strokes. As a consequence, it is to the partner's advantage to have It drink, since as l~ng as the drinking continues, his own emotional deficiency and his own part m the game, will not be exposed. As long as It drinks, the partner preserves the ap­pearance of blamelessness, while of course, both It and the partner kno:v that he is not blameless. Because of the partner's guilt over his deficiency, he is alw~ys ready to play the role of Rescuer. This particular game is played largely with three hands, the Alcoholic, the Rescuer, usually the marriage partner, and the

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almost always present professional, who may play Rescuer or Patsy. The LUSH player is basically making a plea for strokes, but because these strokes will not be given by the partner under ordinary circumstances, the LUSH player settles for the costly strokes that are given to him when he puts himself into a position of being rescued.

Because the LUSH player reacts to strokes, it is usual for him to tempo­rarily stop drinking and make considerable temporary progress when beginning therapy. However, because the strokes from the therapist are not sufficient and do not replace the needed strokes from the partner, the temporary progress is always cut short just as the therapist thinks that the patient is cured. Clearly, since the patient's progress was based on the strokes obtained from the therapist, it becomes important for the patient to remain a patient, a situation that he or she can easy accomplish by going back to drinking. While the D&P player typically drinks away from home, the LUSH player typically drinks at home and it is an ever-present characteristic of this game that once under the influence of alcohol, with the Parent and Adultego states "knocked out", the LUSH player will often leave the house and seek out a sexual partner wherever she may be available. This constitutes further evidence for the assertion that the LUSH player is starved for strokes, so that as soon as he is able to overcome the Parental prohibitions and Adult objections, he will obtain such stroking under whatever circumstances it is available.

Again, the only solution for this kind of drinking is in therapy involving both of the partners, with the game antithesis by the therapist demanding that the patient stop drinking entirely. The aim of the therapy should be to facili­tate a mutual stroking relationship between the two partners, and usually in­volves intensive re-education in their sex life. When, as in the case of D&P, the partner is unwilling to participate in treatment, a situation which often occurs because of the partner's fear of being exposed in his incapacity to be loving, then the only alternative is a divorce. The reason for this is that a married LUSH player whose partner is unwilling to cooperate, will be unable to obtain the strokes that are needed without creating considerable guilt. Thus, the alterna­tive is to get a divorce from the partner so as to be free to obtain the needed strokes without needing to feel guilt. It must be pointed out here that obtaining a divorce is only the first step in the treatment since, without further treatment, it is very likely that he will marry another unloving person. Thus, divorce by itself is probably not a therapeutic move, although it is a requirement for being able to do therapy in the case of a LUSH player whose husband is not willing to cooperate.

LUSH is a depressive game, and the racket of the LUSH player is "Nobody loves me.:· Thus, the non-alcoholic relatives of LUSH are, "Kick Me," "Look How Hard I've Tried," and "Psychiatry (Introspective Type)," as well as "Dry Alcoholic" variants such as "Overeating," "Overspending," and "Over­sexed," all of which are manifestations of a lack of stroking satisfaction.

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ANALYSIS Title: LUSH Thesis: 'Tm crazy (depressed). Try and cure me (ha ha)." Dynamics and Aim: Sexual deprivation and procurement of strokes. Roles: Alcoholic, Rescuer, Persecutor and Patsy. Examples: (1) Childhood Prototype: Getting attention by hurting him­

self, making messes, etc. (2) Adult Prototype: Depressed housewife or over­worked clerk drink at home.

Social Paradigm: Adult-Adult. Adult: "I am unable to control my drinking." Adult: "I will try to help you control yourself," (Rescuer), or "You're a

liar," (Persecutor), or "I know what you mean, have another one." (Pats.y). Psychological Paradigm: Child-Parent. Child: am loveless (depressed) and you can't help me." Parent: "If you don't ask me to love you, I'll try to help you," (Rescuer)

or "Get off my back!" (Persecutor) or "Yeah, have a drink and you'll feel better." (Patsy).

Moves: (1) "Love me -you're a mess." (2) 'Tm a mess, love me," -"I can't love a mess but I can try to help you," or "I won't love a mess," or "I can't love a mess but you might try a drink."

Advantages: (1) Internal Psychological - Procurement of sexual grati­fication. ( 2) External Psychological- The alcoholic's avoidance of his real shortcomings. (3) Internal Social - "Try and not pay attention to me." ( 4) External Social - "Psychiatry," "Affairs," "Can't Get Satisfaction." (5) Bio- · logical - Strokes from husband or wife, strokes from Rescuers, strokes from casual lovers under the influence of alcohol. ( 6) Existential - Nobody loves me.

Relatives: "Do Me Something," "Kick Me," "Look How Hard I've Tried," "Psychiatry (Introspective Type)," and "Dry Alcoholic."

3. WINO. Thesis: WINO is always part of a hamartic script. Once again the

thesis, 'Tm not OK, you're OK (ha ha)!" is here translated into 'Tm sick (try and avoid that) , you' re well (ha ha) . " The game of WINO is a hard "tissue" game. It is a "tissue" game because this game is played "for keeps" and using body organs and tissue as counters. The WINO player is basically orally de­prived and the players in his game are narrowed down to "It" and a "Connec­tion." The game of WINO is one in which It, the Alcoholic, is in a position where the only way he can get strokes is to make himself physically ill. To obtain his strokes, he is willing to sacrifice his body integrity so that when he puts his survival on the line, he practically forces others to take care of him. When, under such circumstances, others come to his aid, they are basically Con­nections. Whether It winds up in a soup kitchen or in jail where he will be fed and sheltered, or whether he winds up in a clinic, where he will be given tran­quilizers and nursing care, this situation where the Alcoholic is physically

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devas!:ated and therefore becomes entitled to some oral gratification, is the pay­off for this game.

The pay-off, existentially, is a confirmation of the position that, 'Tm not OK, you are OK (ha ha)" or, more directly, 'Tm OK, you're not OK," since quite clearly, to the Alcoholic, the fact that he cannot get any supplies from people until he is at death's door, implies that these other people who are in positions of strength and power are really not OK, though they seem to be. Thus these other people become Connections, or the source of oral gratification. Even the policeman who arrests and rounds up skid row Winos is in reality a connection. The fact that WINOS protest loudly when arrested, should not distract the observer from noticing that in reality the WINO who gets arrested is in essence getting his pay-off at this time.and is therefore basically pleased and that the policeman arresting him becomes the Connection, to the hospital or to the jail dining-hall. This fact is a caveat for mental health workers who may feel inclined to join the pastime of "Ain't It Awful," which WINOS like to play, in which the police are accused of heartlessness and calloused insensi-

tivity. 1 . h 1 h 1. 1. . . ch d . . 1 As an examp e, mt ea co o ism c m1c atta e to a jail ma arge metro-politan area, it happens regularly that an inexperienced staff member will get into a game of "Ain't It Awful" with one or more alcoholics who manage to convince him that the reason or one of the main reasons why he drinks, is be­cause of being harassed by the police. "No use trying to sober up, the cops know me too well and all I have to do is walk down the main street and I'll get arrested, whether I have been drinking or not." While it is statistically pos­sible that a WINO will be arrested while walking down skid row stone sober, it is much more highly probable that he provoked the arrest in one way or an­other. In some cases, workers who are willing to enter into this game with patients wind up playing a game of "Let's You and Him Fight," in which a social work agency and the police department get themselves involved over the dying body of one or more alcholics. Needless to say, this does the Alcoholic no good, except to confirm his position that both the social workers and police are basically not OK. The best antithesis for this game is to decline debate about police brutality and to discuss realistic approaches to sobriety and giving up the game of WINO.

It should be noticed that in contrast with the game in "full flower", which has five players, this game has basically gone to seed and is reduced to a barren, arid, two-handed game. It is very unlikely that a WINO player can be given psychological treatment as long as he does not have a place to live, an occupa­tion, and a will for sobriety. Only then it is possible to "treat" the game with any likelihood of success. Thus a clinic which devotes itself to the treatment of that minority of alcoholics who are playing WINO will be most effective if it precedes any treatment with social casework services, at the same time attempt­ing to minimize playing the role of Connection to the Alcoholic by avoiding the indiscriminate prescription of drugs and vitamin shots, all of which to the WINO on a binge become the pay-off for his game.

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ANALYSIS Title: WINO Thesis: 'Tm sick (try and avoid that), You'.re well (ha ha)." Dynamics and Aim: Oral deprivation and procurement of oral gratification. Roles: Alcoholic, Connection. Examples: (1) Childhood Prototype: Crying - getting fed, Playing

sick - getting medicine, food, etc. (2) Adult Prototype: Skid row wmo, and his circle.

Social Paradigm: Adult-Adult Adult: ''I'm sick and need help." Adult - Adult: "I agree, take this medication." Psychological Paradigm: Child to Parent. Child;· ''I'm sick, you have to feed me." Parent: "I guess so." Advantages: (1) Internal Psychological - Procurement of oral gratifica­

tion. ( 2) External Psychological - The Alcoholic avoids confrontation with his real inadequacy. (3) Internal Social - 'Tm dying, and you have to help me." ( 4) External Social - "Port, sherry, or claret," "cirrhosis of the liver," "jail, clinic, Salvation Army," "Ain't it awful (police brutality) (rats and roaches) ( Alkie Luck)," etc. ( 5) Biological-Strokes from nurses, doctors, policemen, and preachers. ( 6) Existential - "U°:less I'm dying, no one does anything for me."

Relatives: "Junkie," "Speed Freak," "Polysurgery.'' Comments: The youngest case of a LUSH player recorded by this writer was a fifteen­

year old young man, Johnny, the son of a professional . athlete who would rescue him out of every situation that he got himself into. Johnny had the whole school system, all the way up to the Principal, and the police department all the way up to the chief of police, playing Persecutors, Rescuers, and Patsys. Neither his father nor his mother would pay any attention to him if he did not misbehave, but their activity increased noticeably whenever Johnny embarked in an episode of LUSH. His mother, a firm believer in psychotherapy, had en­gaged a psychotherapist who was content to discuss symbolism, dreams, and childhood experiences with Johnny and his mother, who became an assistant Patsy. Both mother and therapist resisted attempts to discipline the boy on the basis of the theory that what he needed was permissiveness and understanding instead of discipline. Johnny's aunt, an alcoholic living with the family, pro­vided him with liquor by leaving assorted bottles and the key to the liquor cabinet in obvious places. Observing this particular situation, and the great pleasure that this young LUSH player would derive from it, the great zest and charm with which he and his circle played the game with its ups and downs, its pathos and its joys, about made observers feel that the game was worth playing.

LUSH is usually the precursor to WINO, but not all LUSH players wind up playing WINO. LUSH takes somewhere between 10 and 15 years to become converted into WINO, and whether a person will make the transition from LUSH to WINO, depends on whether his script calls for the type of tissue de-

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struction that characteristizes WINO. In the case of Johnny, WINO would probably never be played on skid row, because of the affiuence of his family, but more likely would be played between sheltered jobs, provided by family friends and alcoholic sanatoriums. The D&P player usually does not make the transition into WINO, because, while he is basically interested in aggres­sively proving that others are no good, he is not willing to sacrifice his limbs and body for this. Thus, when his body integrity becomes endangered, often after an attack of D.T.'s, he usually stops drinking, or controls his drinking so as to remain intact. At times, the D&P player whose drinking becomes a threat to his physical integrity finds, when he decides to stop, that he is physically addicted· to alcohol, and that ceasing to drink is not as easy as expected. This difficulty, while surprising, is usually overcome after several attempts, a fact that supports the contention that alcoholism as a game, is quite different from alcoholism as an addiction. In the case of the D&P player, the addictive aspects of alcohol are of little or no interest, since he is primarily interested in angering others with his game. To the LUSH or WINO player, tissue addiction is a requirement, since alcohol is taken for its tissue destructive qualities. Thus, D&P is usually not part of self-destructive or hamartic scripts, where LUSH often is, and WINO always is.

The three games here outlined are related specifically to the drug "alcohol.' ' Similar games are played with other drugs. Persons who use marijuana or stimulants or hallucinagenics and who are not self-destructive, very often play a game of "High and Proud (HIP)," HIP is a minor variant of D&P, the only difference being the kind of drug used. HIP is not a self-destructive game, but once again is played in order to embarrass grown-ups. It is worthy of note here that embarrassment of others, which is the pay-off of HIP, finds beautiful illus­tration in the manner in which the current adolescent rebellion in regard to marijuana, has basically accomplished its aim, namely the utter embarrassment of the grown-ups. The cruel and unusual punishment involved in the arrest of casual users of marijuana, in the face of emerging evidence that marijuana is not a habit-forming drug, is forcing defenders of harsh marijuana laws into a more and more foolish and untenable position which causes great delight in the HIP player. Thus the HIP player has seized on an aspect of the grown-ups around him which is weak and subject to attack and ridicule, and there is no more heartily felt "Ha ha!" than that of the HIP player when the authorities become more and more unreasonable in the pursuit of marijuana users. HIP players very often play Cops and Robbers as well, and the pay-off in this game is being arrested. One young man reported that he felt great joy when, after being arrested for holding one marijuana cigarette, he was given a one-year sen­tence as a felon. He realized that his enjoyment was related to the fact that the sentence proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the unreasonableness and fool­ishness of the authorities that were persecuting him.

LUSH can be played with non-alcoholic drugs, but this writer's experience indicates that LUSH is primarily played with alcohol as the favorite drug, al­thougb a few cases of this game played with amphetamines, or sedatives, usu­ally in combination with alcohol, have come to his attention.

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The non-alcoholic version of WINO is "Dope Fiend" and "Speed Freak." Both these games are part of hamartic or self-destruction scripts. The difference is that WINO belongs to a self-destructive script which usually lasts between twenty and forty years, that is, involves chronic and slow self-destruction, while "Dope Fiend" and "Speed Freak" are part of a script which has a much more fulminating course. The use of a needle for the administration of drugs seems to be an earmark of hamartic scripts. As a consequence, individuals who inject amphetamines intravenously, "Speed Freaks", are similar to "Dope Fiends" and WINOS in that they are all playing a hard game; the pay-off is that they become so ill that they have to be taken care of, or else they are locked up in perpetuity. Drug users are very aware of the difference between drugs which are taken orally or smoked, which are calld "mind" drugs, and drugs which are injected, which are called "body" drugs. Most HIP players regard "body" drugs with contempt because they dislike the bodily harm that they are capable of producing. The converse is true of users of "body" drugs : they are con­temptuous of the "mind" drugs because they are "weak" and don't produce a "flash."

The differentiation of these three games is vital to psychotherapists, law enforcement officials, and in general anyone who in one way or another may find himself having to deal with such games of Alcoholic or some non-alcoholic vari­ant of them. Reacting to all drugs abusers in the same manner not only over­looks the reality of the situation, but plays into the game of the Alcoholic. It confirms for him that all those who are presumably OK, and are attempting to help him, are in fact ·quite unaware of what they are dealing with and there­fore quite unable to deal with it. This of course, reinforces the basic position of the game, which is 'Tm not OK, you are OK (ha ha)."

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GAMES IN THE MILITARY

R. L. f ohnson, M.A., A.P. Chatowsky, M.D.

At the Naval Station Brig, Norfolk, Va., we have found game theory help­ful in short-term group treatment of military offenders. While there is often denial by the individuals involved, prisoners quickly understand military games which are pointed out as they occur in group meetings. The following are some of these games in their usual military form.

Wooden Leg appears when such questions as these are implied: "What do you expect from someone who (can't adjust to the service) (has a low Aptitude (score) (comes from West Virginia) (has dizzy spells) (is a deck hand) (has been diagnosed as an 'immature personality' by the brig psychiatrist) ?"

Stupid is played by the man who bungles his job on the deck force because he has "no aptitude" for chipping paint. Instead, he would have you believe his talent lies in the (electronics) (nuclear) (heavy equipment) field.

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