some recent bigotry on this list

Tue Mar 7 05:02:12 PST 2006

Hello Tree,

You wrote:

"You, Rosana, are absolutely free to hold any beliefs you hold, both as an
individual and as an advocate.  I happen to believe that your use of the
word unstable to reference behavior you do not like is just the kind of
stigma that perpetuates many of the problems people with mental health
disabilities have.  If even an advocate for persons with mental health
disabilities cannot identify stigma when she sees it." 

I wish it were only a behaviour I "don't like". I wouldn't have used the
word "unstable" to reference to a disagreement, or a difference in taste.

I happen to think that mood swings just happen, and it's not the fault of
the person that has them, because s/he can't do anything about it. What *is*
a matter of responsibility is to decide whether to act on them or not. I
might feel like strangling a person, but I don't act on that urge and should
I decide to, I would accept consequences for it (that is, people locking me
away).

Stigma is multifaceted. *Part* of the stigma is rooted in people being
afraid of whatever is different, especially in the brain, and especially in
Western societies. Another part of it is rooted into people witnessing
*some* persons with mental illness using their mental illness (for example,
mood swings) to *justify* their bad behaviour, not accepting responsibility
for what they do wrong (aka acting on mood swings, saying stuff like "it's
not my fault if I yelled at you, I have bipolar"). 

So, I happen to fight stigma by fighting those behaviours as well (not just
"other"'s ignorance).

My "expertise" relates to the fact that I have bipolar, I have loved ones
with it, I am a medical student (master thesis in Psychiatry), the founder
of a self-help online group, a volunteer manager advocating for inclusion of
volunteers with mental illness, a management consultant crafting
accommodation policies, and a writer that got works on psychiatric
rehabilitation and advocacy published quite some times.

This is not to flaunt my expertise BUT to say: in order to understand stigma
and to fight it, multiple perspectives are neeed, not just the one from the
person with mental illness.

Think about yourself being "normal" and witnessing somebody acting out
demanding to have such behaviour condoned in the name of mood swings that
can't be controlled while you, the "normies", can't afford to yell at your
boss. Then tell me why a normal person might have it in with a person with
mental illness.

Rosanna

"Knowledge must come through action"
-Sophocles 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gionnetto

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Tree
Fitzpatrick
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 1:44 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: some recent bigotry on this list

There is no reason to assume anyone that has been identified as having any
mental health disability is 'clearly mentally unstable' simply because they
do something we do not like.

And there is no reason to perpetuate false myths about people with mental
health disabilities by claiming that anyone who exhibits less than perfect
behavior, such as spouting off when angry, indicates that person is
'unstable'.  To be bandying about the word 'unstable', with clear
references, be they implicit or explicit, that the reference is suggesting
that the person in question has a tendency to imbalance is perpetuating some
deeply entrenched myths about what it means to be a person with a mental
health disability.  If Birgitt had not mentioned that the participants at
her event all had bipolar or schizophrenia, but had, instead, simply told a
story about someone who misbehaved and exhibited a bad temper, then I am
fairly certain that Paul would not have employed the phrase 'clearly
mentally unstable', that you would not now be lumping all people who have
ever lost their temper into the category of 'mentally unstable', etc.  The
stigma that inhibits people with mental health disabilities from living full
lives is subtly pervasive in all our thoughts.  You, Rosana, are absolutely
free to hold any beliefs you hold, both as an individual and as an advocate.
I happen to believe that your use of the word unstable to reference behavior
you do not like is just the kind of stigma that perpetuates many of the
problems people with mental health disabilities have.  If even an advocate
for persons with mental health disabilities cannot identify stigma when she
sees it. . .

I have been an advocate for the mentally ill in numerous roles myself,
Rosana.  As an attorney, I represented many people with mental health
disabilities.  I have worked as an advocate for a few advocacy
organizations.  And, as I have disclosed, I am someone with a mental health
disability.  I mention my expertise,Rosana, only because you have mentioned
yours.

Sincerely,
Tree Fitzpatrick, MS, JD

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