The Herald
Constant access to a screen makes sure you don’t miss a thing:
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Month: December 2015
Actually, We Can Understand
Mental health is getting more attention in the media lately, maybe in part because of the growing number of celebrities “speaking out” about their experiences. A lot of the more popular and mainstream-y sites like Buzz Feed, Huffington Post and similar do these “specials” […]
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Mental health is getting more attention in the media lately, maybe in part because of the growing number of celebrities “speaking out” about their experiences. A lot of the more popular and mainstream-y sites like Buzz Feed, Huffington Post and similar do these “specials” – like, where they explicitly cordon off in their own little spot the articles on mental health, just like with “minority” voices and call them “features” but what they really are are the “optional” reading on the syllabus (which is where they keep all the female, black, Latina, Native, Asian, disabled, poor, gay, transgender voices) – and it all eventually comes down, in my perspective, to drug commercials. In other words, those are easy for me to write off. (more…)
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“Inside Out,” A Review
Part innovation, part flagrant stereotype: just a few notes on Inside Out. I’ll start with Sadness because I felt a lot of resonance there. I read a critique of the film that Sadness’ character “normalizes depression,” but maybe we need a dose of that. […]
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Part innovation, part flagrant stereotype: just a few notes on Inside Out.
I’ll start with Sadness because I felt a lot of resonance there. I read a critique of the film that Sadness’ character “normalizes depression,” but maybe we need a dose of that. We’ve so pathologized life’s grief, sadness and feeling low that we have a whole industry around “treating” the feelings while ignoring what to me are obvious causes of them. We live in a culture where even our friends direct us to professionals (without thinking that having to pay someone to listen to you might just make you feel shittier) or police; the rate of expert deferral is keeping pace with the rate of “mental illness” diagnosis. And in my experience, it’s true that memories that sadness touches don’t “turn back.” It’s not that you can’t heal, it’s that “healing” doesn’t always mean “happy.” (more…)
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What Should Be Done About Mass Shootings?
The New York Times asks its readers this question. They only give room for 250 words but this, written with the assumption and knowledge that others will mention sensible gun legislation, was my response: 1) Address the “lone wolf” syndrome* that many […]
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The New York Times asks its readers this question. They only give room for 250 words but this, written with the assumption and knowledge that others will mention sensible gun legislation, was my response:
1) Address the “lone wolf” syndrome* that many of the recent (white, ring-wing ideologists) shooters feel. The most effective way I see for doing that is to rebuild a sense of community. We must temper this overweening emphasis on individualism (which is not the same thing as individuality) with a sense that we are needed in community and we need community. We should champion – rather than shame – people for asking for help, sharing life and material possessions. American life is making people crazy – from the authoritarian education/medical/mental-health care fields to the dismal job market to the equating visibility with value, we are crushing people into believing that the only way they have any value is if they do something big and noticeable.
2) Actively speak out against scapegoating those with mental illness – these folks are more likely to be VICTIMS of violence than perpetrators. Report the real causes of violence – poverty, isolation, history of violence (see above).
3) Take away incentive: stop making shooters famous in media coverage. If you must cover a shooting nationally, name the victims, not the perpetrators. Stop promoting despair and helplessness when it comes to shootings – these viral “how to survive a shooting” videos, marketing bullet-proof blankets, etc., are admissions of defeat (not to mention the videos are terribly inaccurate and contradictory).
4) Lift the ban on researching deaths related to gun violence.
5) Make it as hard to get a gun as it is to get an abortion. They do, after all, have the same end result.**
(Links and footnotes note included in my response to The NYT)
*Not that anyone really is a “lone wolf.”
**Before you flip out, should you be so inclined. try asking about my views on abortion.
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What I Want The World To Know About Wanting The World to Know, Part 2
A few weeks ago, I’d written about writing To The World and how counter-productive I think it is. That’s coming from a place of deep concern for those who experience mental and emotional distress. Not enough people are angry about the hideously broken system […]
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A few weeks ago, I’d written about writing To The World and how counter-productive I think it is. That’s coming from a place of deep concern for those who experience mental and emotional distress. Not enough people are angry about the hideously broken system that is mental healthcare and I want that to change. One of the ways I see that happening is for people to raise their voices…effectively, at appropriate targets.
Most writers of the articles I detailed in my first post about this would probably vigorously deny that they commit any of the errors therein. If that’s the case, then you’re not really writing to The World. That’s fine – preferred, in my opinion, but then stop claiming to. What does “What I Want The World To Know” really mean? It seems to me that it means, “Ouch, Stop Hurting Me.” It seems to me that it means “I Want Stuff To Change.” It seems to me that it means “Can We Come Together On This Thing Here?” Those are all beautiful statements, far less presumptuous and tired than “What I Want The World To Know,” so why not say them? Authenticity is more than a buzzword. (more…)
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