tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330238409971400321.post2753621490441455681..comments2013-08-28T13:01:25.728-04:00Comments on Human Equality: Crazy Does Not Equal ViolentDesertRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13851069471469743156noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330238409971400321.post-80370746197015412592009-09-05T23:54:47.349-04:002009-09-05T23:54:47.349-04:00Thank you so much! The lovely Ms. McEwan is takin...Thank you so much! The lovely Ms. McEwan is taking a holiday with her husband right now, so I'm not sure that she has even seen the submission, let alone evaluated it for posting on Shakesville.<br /><br />I was actually going to write "Crazy Does Not Equal Stupid" first, because that is my personal pet peeve of stereotypes about people with mental illnesses, but I decided that "Violent" might be a better starting point, as that is a more harmful stereotype than "Stupid."<br /><br />The expression comes from something I said in a support group for people with affective disorders. Our group leader had gotten the group's permission to allow a couple of nursing students who wished to specialize in psychiatric nursing to sit in on a group session. After we did our normal group stuff, the leader asked us if we had anything to say to the students that might help them become good psychiatric nurses. I looked all three of them in the eyes, one by one, and then said, "Crazy does not equal stupid. Do not treat your patients as if they're idiots just because they are in a psychiatric clinical setting." There was a moment of silence, and then nearly unanimous agreement from the other members of the group, all of whom were adults and had seen a LOT of psychiatric/psychological health care providers and knew EXACTLY the attitude I meant.DesertRosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13851069471469743156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5330238409971400321.post-49176553586230080912009-09-05T07:36:08.395-04:002009-09-05T07:36:08.395-04:00This is an excellent post, do hope it gets up on S...This is an excellent post, do hope it gets up on Shakesville.<br /><br />I used to think this was all about the fear of things we don't understand, but I now tend to think it is a myth that people actually enjoy. If Sodini did what he did because he was "nuts" then clearly all we need to do is round up the nuttters - simple! If Sodini did what he did because of misogyny endemic in our society, and because he made an outrageous choice which anyone with free will is capable of making, then that's far far messier. I wrote <a href="http://blobolobolob.blogspot.com/2007/04/here-there-be-monsters.html" rel="nofollow">a bit about this</a> following the Virginia Tech massacre a few years back.<br /><br />Very much looking forward to the other posts.The Goldfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.com