(no subject)
I've been thinking a lot lately, ever since Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced their rallies, about the name of Jon's rally: "Rally to Restore Sanity".
Sanity.
That is a loaded term, and I have to assume no one with a disability was in on planning this. More specifically, I assume there was no one with a mental disease they were willing to share that was in on planning that.
Why do I say this?
"Sanity" is a word that doesn't have a psychiatric definition. Its definitions are legal and colloquial. In a legal sense, according to Webster's New World Law Dictionary, "sane" and "sanity" are defined as, "The condition of having a sound and rational mind; being mentally healthy and having the ability to distinguish right from wrong. In all jurisdictions, being sane is presumed, and it is up to the defense to prove the contrary to be true." The colloquial meaning is along much the same lines.
"Insane", on the other hand, is legally defined as, "A mental disorder that deprives a criminal defendant of capacity to be tried." Colloquially, we see it used pejoratively. The legal definition is not deliberately judging people, just seeking to have them treated properly if necessary; the everyday use means crazy, seeing things, mood swings, hearing voices...shall I continue?
The word "sanity" is inherently ableist. It's otherizing in that it separates people with mental illnesses from the rest of the population. It doesn't try for integration; it just says, "You are defective. You are not as good as us." I don't think "sanity" or "sane" can be reclaimed terms. The majority uses them to separate those scary people from the rest of society, so by definition, there is no reclaiming to be done.
Can you imagine what it's like? Can you picture how it is to hear you're not right, you're messed up, you're not accepted, you need to be fixed or else you can never integrate?
Sure, people with mental disorders can often be treated and "pass" in the rest of society. So it's not meant as a slur, right? It's no big deal. Those people who can't be "fixed", they really don't deserve to be part of the mainstream.
"Insane", on the other hand, has the potential to be reclaimed. Those of us with mental disorders might refer to themselves as such, just as "crazy" is becoming a reclaimed term. It's loaded, to be sure. All it takes is one person with no mental illness using it carelessly, unthinkingly, to set it back. And that happens. It happens frequently, and not just with mental disorders. There's the r-word. Gimp. Cripple. Lame. Hearing impaired. Handicapped. Handicapable (oh, how I loathe this one). It's the able-bodied and healthy-minded that push others down, that hurt without thinking.
And we should be able to say something. We should feel free to say, "This isn't right," and be heard. We should be able to yell when someone steps on our toes, because the majority should not get to dictate the minority's reactions. It's plain not right. I don't give a rat's ass about how it's said; it's more that it is said, that it gets out there, and that it gets heard. The majority should not get to dismiss the minority because they're being proactive and even aggressive. It's self-defense.
And we get to defend ourselves.
That is why I don't like the rally's name. That is one of the problems I have with Jon Stewart and many other talking heads. I feel marginalized, even by these supposedly progressive individuals. I don't think they mean to do it, I really don't, and that almost makes it worse. They don't think about how much their words hurt, and since they are largely respected individuals, it makes it seem okay to other able people. In the meantime, many of us with disabilities are having to fight harder and harder to not have to deal with this.
We're people, too. Start treating us like it.
This entry was originally posted at http://subluxate.dreamwidth.org/590210.html.
comments at Dreamwidth. Comment here or there, whichever you like.
Sanity.
That is a loaded term, and I have to assume no one with a disability was in on planning this. More specifically, I assume there was no one with a mental disease they were willing to share that was in on planning that.
Why do I say this?
"Sanity" is a word that doesn't have a psychiatric definition. Its definitions are legal and colloquial. In a legal sense, according to Webster's New World Law Dictionary, "sane" and "sanity" are defined as, "The condition of having a sound and rational mind; being mentally healthy and having the ability to distinguish right from wrong. In all jurisdictions, being sane is presumed, and it is up to the defense to prove the contrary to be true." The colloquial meaning is along much the same lines.
"Insane", on the other hand, is legally defined as, "A mental disorder that deprives a criminal defendant of capacity to be tried." Colloquially, we see it used pejoratively. The legal definition is not deliberately judging people, just seeking to have them treated properly if necessary; the everyday use means crazy, seeing things, mood swings, hearing voices...shall I continue?
The word "sanity" is inherently ableist. It's otherizing in that it separates people with mental illnesses from the rest of the population. It doesn't try for integration; it just says, "You are defective. You are not as good as us." I don't think "sanity" or "sane" can be reclaimed terms. The majority uses them to separate those scary people from the rest of society, so by definition, there is no reclaiming to be done.
Can you imagine what it's like? Can you picture how it is to hear you're not right, you're messed up, you're not accepted, you need to be fixed or else you can never integrate?
Sure, people with mental disorders can often be treated and "pass" in the rest of society. So it's not meant as a slur, right? It's no big deal. Those people who can't be "fixed", they really don't deserve to be part of the mainstream.
"Insane", on the other hand, has the potential to be reclaimed. Those of us with mental disorders might refer to themselves as such, just as "crazy" is becoming a reclaimed term. It's loaded, to be sure. All it takes is one person with no mental illness using it carelessly, unthinkingly, to set it back. And that happens. It happens frequently, and not just with mental disorders. There's the r-word. Gimp. Cripple. Lame. Hearing impaired. Handicapped. Handicapable (oh, how I loathe this one). It's the able-bodied and healthy-minded that push others down, that hurt without thinking.
And we should be able to say something. We should feel free to say, "This isn't right," and be heard. We should be able to yell when someone steps on our toes, because the majority should not get to dictate the minority's reactions. It's plain not right. I don't give a rat's ass about how it's said; it's more that it is said, that it gets out there, and that it gets heard. The majority should not get to dismiss the minority because they're being proactive and even aggressive. It's self-defense.
And we get to defend ourselves.
That is why I don't like the rally's name. That is one of the problems I have with Jon Stewart and many other talking heads. I feel marginalized, even by these supposedly progressive individuals. I don't think they mean to do it, I really don't, and that almost makes it worse. They don't think about how much their words hurt, and since they are largely respected individuals, it makes it seem okay to other able people. In the meantime, many of us with disabilities are having to fight harder and harder to not have to deal with this.
We're people, too. Start treating us like it.
This entry was originally posted at http://subluxate.dreamwidth.org/590210.html.
comments at Dreamwidth. Comment here or there, whichever you like.