Psycho babble
Some centuries ago, when the mind was a total mystery,
it was thought that some people were possessed by spirits, or influenced
by the actions of supernatural agents. This, as we all now know, was silly
superstition, with no basis in science or in fact. It was people acting out
of fear of the unknown, attempting, in their ignorance, to make some sort
of sense of something by which they were completely bewildered.
Unfortunately, this misunderstanding created a considerable
amount of misery, for people who already had more than their fair share.
As possesed people, the insane were flogged, burned, imprisoned, mutilated,
and executed. Latter on, when insanity was considered to be an affliction,
and insane people were put in asylums, they were flogged, burned, mutilated,
held in isolation, chilled, smothered, and drowned. They were often killed
by these treatments.
In many cases, the insane were simply feeble minded,
disliked, or a bit odd. They needed to be disposed of somehow, and it was
a matter of convenience to have them declared mad. Even so, for most people
the asylum was not a very real prospect. The wonderful thing about this,
for those who used it as a sort of a disposal system, was that the victim
did not actually have to have commited any sort of act to be put away. Unlike
the legal system, there was no need to have commited a crime.
Freud is generally considered to be the father of
modern Psychology, and I agree. Frued helped no one, his case studies were
latter discovered to have been fabricated, he profited highly, and had no
idea what he was doing, though this did not prevent him from presenting
himself as an expert. He was indeed the father of everything which modern
psychology has become.
Crazy is a derogatory, dehumanizing term, mentally
ill, is almost as bad, and is presumptuous enough to imply that we have
a cure, and that there are accepted standards of mental health. Maladjusted
is probably closer to the truth of what is happening in the minds of what
we consider to be crazy people, but creates the frightening implication
that, like some mechanical device, mechanics can go in and tinker with the
brain (presumably without breaking it). Probably the term which comes closest
to the truth is that of disturbed, which also implies a way of dealing with
those so afflicted. If some one is disturbed, the best course is usually
to leave him alone. Of course, this is the path least taken, since it is
the one which offers the least amount of profit, and vests the modern psychologist
with the least amount of authority and influence.
Psychology is a great racket though, when you think
about it. Consider any other field of endeavor, particularly those related
to genuine medicine, and imagine professionals treating their customers
in similar fashion. As with the asylums of old, no crime needs to be commited
to justify imprisonment, torture, mutilation, and even death. Brains which
are said to be faulty are permenantly damaged by electric shock, and powerful
drugs. There would be widespread horror and outrage if the worst of todays
felons were treated in such a fashion, but it is a matter of course for today's
mental patient.
Unlike real medicine, with genuine doctors, there is
no expectation of a cure, and psychologists are not held responsable when
they make matters worse, as they usually do.
The psycho insurance complex
drugs shock surgery hey it does something, and something is better
than nothing
cooperation, the ultimate sign of sanity
how crazy will your insurance allow us to diagnose you.
the dead brain is much saner than the live brain, dead men are less inclined
to criminal activity than live men.
drugs school killers, and the man on a rampage.
This might not be so bad if psychiatrists were merly seeking to rob us,
but they