Should Bias be a Mental Illness?
Two words--Hell, No! Mental health professionals are discussing making bias a DSM diagnosis (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual--the bible of the mental health world for diagnosing mental illnesses). See more on this at Shrinkwrapped and Dr. Sanity.
Update: One of the problems with my profession is that it swings to the extremes--on one hand, no one can get treatment even if they are suicidal or homicidal and then you have idiots like the following who give people treatment because "doctors" don't like what they think. It is no wonder that no one takes mental health seriously:
This is the biggest liberal hypocrisy of them all. After media reports that mental health professionals might have played a role at Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay detention center, The APA (American Psychological Association) decided to implement ethical guidelines for psychologists working in national security-related settings. APA's own 1986 Resolution against Torture states that psychologists do not direct, support, facilitate or offer training in torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Apparently, this guideline only holds true for Arab Detainees. Can you imagine the uproar if the US government had shot Muslim prisoners full of antipsychotic drugs to treat their extreme hatred of Jews? Since when is it okay to do the same to American prisoners just because you don't like their thoughts?
The psychiatrists and psychologists who have appointed themselves as thought police and advocate "bias" as a possible diagnostic category should be publicly humiliated and rejected by all others in the field. This is more than absurd--it is totalitarianism at its worst.
Update: Evilpundit has some thoughts on other biases to add to the DSM.
Update: One of the problems with my profession is that it swings to the extremes--on one hand, no one can get treatment even if they are suicidal or homicidal and then you have idiots like the following who give people treatment because "doctors" don't like what they think. It is no wonder that no one takes mental health seriously:
Doctors who treat inmates at the California State Prison outside Sacramento concur: They have diagnosed some forms of racist hatred among inmates and administered antipsychotic drugs.
"We treat racism and homophobia as delusional disorders," said Shama Chaiken, who later became a divisional chief psychologist for the California Department of Corrections, at a meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. "Treatment with antipsychotics does work to reduce these prejudices."
This is the biggest liberal hypocrisy of them all. After media reports that mental health professionals might have played a role at Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay detention center, The APA (American Psychological Association) decided to implement ethical guidelines for psychologists working in national security-related settings. APA's own 1986 Resolution against Torture states that psychologists do not direct, support, facilitate or offer training in torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Apparently, this guideline only holds true for Arab Detainees. Can you imagine the uproar if the US government had shot Muslim prisoners full of antipsychotic drugs to treat their extreme hatred of Jews? Since when is it okay to do the same to American prisoners just because you don't like their thoughts?
The psychiatrists and psychologists who have appointed themselves as thought police and advocate "bias" as a possible diagnostic category should be publicly humiliated and rejected by all others in the field. This is more than absurd--it is totalitarianism at its worst.
Update: Evilpundit has some thoughts on other biases to add to the DSM.
posted by Helen at 8:07 PM
35 Comments:
Wasn't this typical of our new society? We take people who express opinions we don't like, and call them "mentally ill." As the article states, it is an inversion of the Bad Old Days when folks with the other opinion/lifestyle were called "mentally ill."
And the whole thing stinks of psychiatry during the Stalin era in the Eastern Block: "antirevolutionary" thought was deemed a mental illness and was treated with lobotomies, shock therapy, etc.
I think that this is the direction authorianist Leftists would like to go: if you don't agree with me, you must be insane.
Sigh.
"Eric Blair"
Mr. Blair,
Yes, I just saw this article--can't say that I was surprised given the PC idiocy of the mental health world. Someone needs to stop these nutcases before they go too far--oops, too late. I would think that just the idea that someone could use a charge of racism as an excuse to commit crimes might lessen the likelihood of it being a diagnosis. I can see it now--"Judge, I didn't know right from wrong because I am a victim of biased personality disorder." It would be great to see it backfire!
I think its the most ridicules thing I have ever heard but I guess anything goes , meaning they are trying to attach a name for a sickness that doesn't even exist ?
Besides the Stalinist, Maoist implications, by including "Bias" as a mental illness a large portion of mental health professionals will suddenly become classified as mentally ill becasue their left leaning, anti-male bias.
Truly this is very scary and holds the potential for tremendous abuse. Who will define "bias" and where will it begin and end. I think that bias on some level may be as ingrained in the human psyche as associative thought processes.
Here's my prediction on the types of "bias" that will be targeted first: (1) People who oppose homosexuality for religious reasons; and (2) People who believe suicide bombers are terrorists and not "freedom fighters".
But you have to give these psychologists credit for a clever argument. Labelling people you disagree with as mentally ill would silence their pesky opposing viewpoints and, at the same time, discredit all who espouse such views. To believe in something based on morality would be a "sickness", tolerance would be a virtue, and anyone who disagrees with the secular agenda would be crazy.
Hey! Maybe I qualify for disability pay now? And the handicapped parking spot? After all... I've very sick. Just look in the DSM!
(Can I get you to sign off on this, please, Dr. Helen? Thanks a bunch!)
The proposal sounds remarkably like the "liberal" students who want to enforce diversity on campus by stopping hate speech, defined as anyone who disagrees with them.
As I've said before, as a society we don't punish people anymore for unacceptable behavior. We consider it too barbaric. Now we send them for "education" and "treatment" instead so we can delude ourselves that we're more "civilized". The goal is the same though - dominating other people and them do what we want. Consequently, it is extremely important to be the one(s) controlling the whip, noose and/or antipsychotic drugs.
As somebody who has read too much about primate ethology, all this sounds like "Chimpanzee Politics" with extremely smart chimpanzees. Personally, I greatly prefer the directness and honesty of the social Neanderthals over the manipulation and hypocrisy of the civilized.
ronin1516,
Good point--I would say these left leaning idiots will go as far as they can--best thing to do in these cases is use their diagnoses as weapons against them. For example, if someone uses a firearm--they can be diagnosed with rightwing gunnut personality disorder and get off on a charge--Hmmm---a whole new line of defense work opening up for me.
ronin1516,
What happened to the concept of being a strong person and deal with adversity? I think in the 1960's and 70's, the postmodern age took over and used victimhood as a marketing strategy for mental health "professionals" and politicians to gain disciples--no baby boomers want to be responsible because they might look too much like their parents --so now they rebel against anything that smacks of "the man." This adolescent (or perhaps two-year old) take on the world now extends into adulthood where no one can be held accountable for anything.
Sorry about all your health problems. All we can do is deal with them as best we can.
There's a trend toward that way of thinking in American society today: "I don't like what you're doing, therefore you should not be allowed to do it" ... "If your opinion does not flow with the contemporary PC mores, then you must be sick (or a neanderthal,) and in our generosity, we're going to 'fix' you (bring you up to speed.)"
Pretty scary. I wonder what it will be like in another 20 years ...
.
Excellent original post.
Commenter Bruce Small makes a good point about attempting to de-legitimize opponents by 'criminalizing' what they have to say. (e.g.: the 'racist' label)
To both the post and the comment, I'd add that we're seeing much the same sort of thing when the rambunctious behavior of young boys is classified as something to be treated with therapy or drugs.
cosmo,
Yes, young boys are also subject to the PC crowd--see my post on The Invisible Man:
http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2005/12/invisible-man.html
If bias was a mental illness every journalist on TV or in the press would be in streight jackets and padded cells and pulling a section 8
"BobH said... As I've said before, as a society we don't punish people anymore for unacceptable behavior. We consider it too barbaric. Now we send them for "education" and "treatment" instead so we can delude ourselves that we're more "civilized". The goal is the same though - dominating other people and them do what we want."
When I first read this comment, my first thought was how the Soviets took children away from their parents in order to "educate" them and sent the parents to re-education camps ... in Siberia.
The APA is giving us more of the same old secular socialist/communist agenda.
These quacks are channeling the spirit of Stuart Smalley.
ronin1516, I chuckled at the expectation that your doctors had that you should be more upset and bitter about whatever condition troubles you. My two Romanian sons endured deprivation and abuse very seldom seen in this country, and then after that went to a worse place: a state orphanage in Oradea. They are supposed to have any number of disabling psychological issues, and well-meaning people kept insisting I should send them to specialized counselors their first few years here to "deal with" those issues.
There is a concept which does not get as much press as I would like in psychological circles: resilience. There are those who somehow endure the unendurable, and yet thrive. In simplest terms, the difference seems to be that if you have enough good things happen to you, it doesn't matter how many bad things happen.
Maybe so. But I'm not sure I could have managed what my sons did.
assistant village idiot:
There is some psychological literature as I recall on resilience --particlarly on Holocaust survivors. This trait was the one that separated people who did well afterwards from those who did not--it's great that your sons have this trait.
ronin1516,
I can understand your concern about the APA, etc. and mental health professionals. The good news is that no one really cares what they think--they are not that important in the scheme of things and they are for the most parts, rather cowardly. If public opinion was negative towards the APA, my guess is that they would back down, just as they have many times before.
On the other hand, we as the public and I and my colleagues as professionals in the field should keep our eyes and ears open and nip these problems in the bud before they start. The audacity of some of these psychiatrists and psychologists is astounding and their egos need to be held in check by those of us who believe in free speech.
"Assistant Village Idiot"---you merit a far better name that that! Kudos for providing a home to children who were seen as disposable. You have the satisfaction of doing this good thing, but I hope you also know that other people---like me---are very impressed.
Perhaps you should change your handle to "Former Village Idiot."
Anyway, your idea about resilience is right on. As an instructor at a small liberal arts institution, I will see students with very different "breaking strains."
Years ago, I had a young lady in class who had literallly seen her mother killed in front of her by pirates in the South China Sea, as her family fled to come to this country. This young lady was unfailingly polite, had an active social life, and graduated with very nearly a 4.0 average.
That same year, I had a big fearless football player who was smart and seemed quite well adjusted. He asked a young lady to a college dance, she said no, and he went into such a depressive spin that he needed to withdraw for the semester.
My point is that everyone is different, and everyone has different "breaking strains." AVI, I am so glad that your adopted sons are so strong and well adjusted. And I think you are right: a good home with love can compensate for much evil.
Not always, but I am so glad it seems to have been that way for you and your family.
Best regards,
"Eric Blair"
So this supposed psychologist for Corrections, Shama Chaiken, actually said "Treatment with antipsychotics does work to reduce these prejudices."
Wow.
Dope the inmates until they are apathetic and quiet, and call that a successful treatment, huh?
I wonder if she needs to take some medication herself to overcome her own prejudices.
Who IS this person?
"Eric Blair"
Mr. Blair,
Apparently this is a divisional chief psychologist for the California Department of Corrections---it figures this would happen in California--the socialist capital of the US. What's next out there? exporting conservatives?
Regarding "resilience"
I sometimes wonder if resilience isn't simply a result of attributing the causes of negative situations to external, past and/or transitory causes. The woman mentioned by Eric Blair may very well suffer from PTSD for the rest of her life, but she may also consciously realize that the trauma occurred in the past and was not due to her failing. Given that realization, she probably saw no point in being nasty to people who hadn't caused her pain and who, in fact, seemed to be quite friendly.
The same might be true to the Romanian orphans.
On the other hand, the football player may very well attribute the rejection to his own internal and permanent attributes. A person with prone to attributing setbacks in that way is probably likely to be or become extremely timid. Even the girl tried to let him down gently, he may simply not have believed her.
Dr. Helen:
Since I am an ex-Californian, I feel the need to defend my former state to a small degree. Most of the real whack jobs in California I met seemed to have originally come from the East Coast! But then, they drove me away, so you may be more right than I will admit.
"Bobh" made some great comments. The only point I was trying to make is that everyone is different. Some people handle horrific stress wonderfully, other people cannot take even small stresses. I don't have an explanation, other than the diversity of the human psyche (though I hate using the "d" word nowadays).
"Eric Blair"
I've had three relatives who were extreme racists. You could be having a normal conversation and suddenly they'd make an association with black people and incredible anger and hate would spew forth.
I'm not supporting what is done in California or anything, but their racism always struck me as more than just a personality quirk or a philosophy I disagreed with. It seemed like a deep disturbance.
I understand what David says, but....
I would predict that Howard Dean would have no difficulty saying that folks who favored the Iraq war were mentally disturbed.
That is the thorniest, and yet most important issue in free speech. The quote attributed to Voltaire puts it best: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
That is how our rights will be taken away---at the margins. Racists have a right to say racist things, despite all the weird campus rules.
"Eric Blair"
David,
Yes, people can be racist, but that does not extend one way. There are a number of blacks who hate whites, women who hate men and gays who hate women, nongays etc. I have experienced these people first hand and yes, it does seem disturbing. My question is, so what? Unless the person is actively harming another person in my view, their view is a right they have according to our Constitution. One day I was at my gym and there was a man there badmouthing Jews--one of my friends who was there (and Jewish) thought he should be thrown out of the gym. I, on the other hand, did not like what he had to say, but I did defend his right to say it. We cannot pathologize those words we do not like to hear from others into a diagnosis that has the potential to harm. Period.
This is America, you have a right to be mentally ill, let alone a racist.
I'll say it again: you have a right to be a racist.
Obviously, that doesn't automatically make it a correct or morally upright choice, but dammit, this is America not the USSR. We don't punish people for thought crime here, or at least we didn't used ot.
I agree with David. I believe my step-father is pathologically racist. A black person appears on the TV (in a completely innocuous context--say as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune) and he peels off with some racial epithets and diatribes. I'm not saying such people should be involuntarily medicated or treated in any way. He has every right to be an asshole. But I do think there is something more there than simple bias. Until he actually commits a crime, then that's fine. He's too old now to hurt anyone now anyway. But younger folk? It's worth considering.
"Unless the person is actively harming another person in my view, their view is a right they have according to our Constitution."
This, for me, decribes the difference between conservative and liberal idea of social constuct in a nut shell. In the liberal mind you fix the way a person thinks and they will act right. In the conservative mind you don't give a damn about what that person thinks, all that matters is what they do.
As for the idea of "bias personality disorder," I think any unfounded extreme negative reaction to something is "mental." The problem is that the PC gang seem to be narrowly defining this bias in their political terms while I see no inate difference between a guy who harbors an irrational hatred for black people and a lady who exhibits a pathological aversion to shrimp. Overall, I have to agree with Julian that to my eyes the DSM has always been more of a manual of cultural norming and the APA is more and more trying to use it to codify their societal ideals as the norm.
Good lord, First we'll need to crop-dust every sqaure foot of the entire Arab world to treat anti-semitism. And I've noticed an antipathy to free market capitalism in Europe that looks dangerously like bias, I suppose we can retrofit ICBM warheads to spew atomized Prozac and fix that.
And man, don't get me started on the Japanese, let's just nuke them again and save the money.
Uh-oh please don't take the preceeding as a sign of bi----arrgghhhhhhh....
ronin1516,
Yes, I do think the state must take on much of the disciplining now because the state itself disallowed parents and others to do much more than send a kid for a time out. There is a difference between discipline and abuse which our society does not get. If the girls in my movie had been with consistent parents who disciplined and teachers, students and a community who did not ostracize them, they may not have reached the point of rage and anger that it took to committ the crime they did. Saying that, in the olden days it was normal to be racist so no family member would have done anything. I do not think even today that we should punish people who have racist views by abusing them within a family.
I have dealt with family situations where people are slightly racist--I handle it by bringing up examples where I point out the inconsistency of their views with what I know of that racial group. For example, if a family member talked about the laziness of a certain group, I might point out a hard working colleague or neighbor of that ethic group to give the person more of a point of reference. However, there are times when people have encountered bad experiences with other racial groups--they don't need to be treated like victims but the anger towards the group is understandable. I do not think anyone should be "dealt with" by the state for just having a "racist attitude." I can understand if a family member may not want to be around them or talk about certain topics.
brummbar,
Yes, I remember reading Cooper's discription of hoplophobia--if bias is added to the DSM--so should hoplophobia. It happens every time I talk to people who have never shot or touched a gun. They miraculously think the gun jumps up and shoots all humans within 20 feet--isn't that delusional? Hey wait--I'm a licensed professional and hey, I think I'm pretty smart so if I say it should be added as a diagnosis--why not?
re The bias theory
Its unbelievable what the powers that be will do. It seems the makers of tablets are ruling the world and bit by bit turning this society and its people into spiritless souls.
www.sensitiveservicesinternational.com
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