Sigmund Freud and Pete

[mark.klyn@mohican.mwsu.edu (Mark Klyn)]

Whosters,

Freud's theory rests on the belief that we all have sexual and 
aggressive drives that become repressed into the unconscious. For the 
rest of our lives, we are attempting to keep from acting on these 
"unacceptable" drives. However, at times, our defenses fail and the 
drives are expressed. They can be expressed in socially sanctioned 
ways. Such as creating works of art, boxing, or engaging in other 
socially acceptable manners of expression. I tend to believe that 
Pete found a special "artistic" way of expressing these drives. I'm 
not sure if it is a sexual or aggressive drive on the part of Pete, 
but it is probably both, when considering his guitar smashing from a 
psychodynamic perspective. Certainly his guitar smashing was 
acceptable to his fans, but his detractors tended to view this 
behavior as bandstanding, if not ludicrous. 

I'm not sure what sort of point I am trying to make, other than to 
make it clear how Freud's belief's may explain Pete's behavior.

Thanks for listening.

Cheers
Mark E. Klyn 
Clinical Psychology graduate student