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The Protest Psychosis

si | 04.05.2010 13:11 | Anti-racism | Health | History | Repression

Great piece of historical research into the diagnosis of political protest as a psychiatric disorder amongst black men in the 60 & 70s USA.

'Protest Psychosis' was the actual term applied by psychiatrists to angry black demonstrators.


It's a half hour audio thats a plug for a book but its a really good look at how the mental health system was (and is) used as part of a system of institutional racial oppression.
Includes a transcript (from Wednesday).

 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2010/2879975.htm

si
- Homepage: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2010/2879975.htm

Comments

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Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

04.05.2010 14:18

 http://www.crispinsartwell.com/odd.htm

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppositional_defiant_disorder

A

It's not that simple

04.05.2010 14:51

When, as a result of real stresses, the response is wrongly directed, ineffective, etc. then we rightly consider it a form of mental abberation. "Illness" perhaps too strong a term as might be a temproary "wrong response". By wrong I do NOT mean not fighting back. I mean wrong target, like when somebody has been given a hard time so they take it out on the dog.

By and large the riots of that period that resulted from justifiable rage were an example of that. Why burn down their own neighborhoods? THAT is the mental "abberation" where a saner response would have been for them to make for the malls and white neighborhoods and do the damage there.

MDN