From: Duffy Dumb <urk_vagh@yahoo.com>
To: "FC Discussion List" <fc-discuss@lists.riseup.net>
Cc: Qqq
Date: Sunday, July 6, 2008, 8:15 PM
Subject: Re: [fc-discuss] Boston APA torture demo
Qqq, and Freedom Center listmembers:
It's important to see the inner politics of the APA. People who receive services are more familiar with the psychologists who treat them than with the profession as a whole.
"Psychology" means 'science of mind' and the "treatment" curriculum is only part of what they are about. There is to be sure a central
clinical project, which is known FWIW as the APA Practice Organization. But there are 56 Divisions of the APA and many of them have "social justice" orientations. Including Div. 35 Feminist Psychology, Div. 48 Peace Psychology and Div. 56 Trauma Psychology. The inner politics is that the clinical divisions/Practice Org. have a mass constituency ("us") and that since the 1950s or so they have held power and bullied the other psychologists.The battle over APA's role in "interrogation" torture has given the social justice psychologies a taste of power. IN PRINCIPLE, there's a logic of possible coalition where if we can work collaboratively with the social justice psychologists, that coalition will change the balance of power in official psychology and put the clinical divisions/Practice Org. in a more defensive position. Instead of "controlling the 'clients'" they will find themselves controlling the "compliant" folks and arguing against those of us who are "creatively maladjusted" and lined up with the social justice psychologists.
Today this project of "coalition" is .. closer to being realized than a few years back. The work that Zyx and others do with "peer trauma advocacy" has moved our case closer to the surface, while the experience of "interrogation" torture advocacy has revved up the nerve of the social justice psychologists, has encouraged them that "telling the truth" is (sometimes, anyway) "on the table."
On Fri, 7/4/08, Qqq wrote:
Qqq: I was thinking more of from the other point of view and how most people in public perceive us which is something they do without questioning their own beliefs and certainly without questioning the beliefs of "experts"
Again, this is how "most people in public perceive us" but the focus of a demo at Boston APA would not be "most people" but the professional psychologists (whether 'clinical' or 'social justice' or neither in orientation).
.. It's building COALITION with the social justice psychologists. In the long run, if we network with them and build coalition, it will perforce challenge the public to change.
Qqq: Oh I agree with this completely. Anything that challenges the status quo in a controlled and well thought out way is a good thing to me.
There are many (quite a few, if not a majority) of the social justice psychologists who see that there is a breakdown in how clinical psychology relates to "madness" yet are afraid (professionally) of challenging that.
Qqq: Yes if it is seen in terms of psychology/sociology It works much better. Psychiatry is a quantum dysfunctional leap from there which I why I think there needs to be a separation in the system.
This type of demo is about the truth of "mind science." Not about "treatment paradigms."
Qqq: well maybe but I also think we need to change the ambience to one that is as "abnormal" as can be in order to make the connection to those who define themselves as "normal" but us as "abnormal"
Again, what is 'normal' in an ambience of social Justice advocacy is distinct from what is 'normal' in daily life. Our skit was 'normal' as social justice advocacy.
In fact the 13 Social Justice Divisions organize a "mini-program" within the four day conference proceedings and present on topics related to "interrogation" torture and APA's involvement in such. So, if we could get Debi Reidy (herself a Pioneer Valley researcher) to do a program on "social death sentence" as our subjective experience of behavior management, or some kind of promotion of the "creative maladjustment" perspective [here I'm speaking to the social psychology of 'self' not the ego involvement of 'mad pride'], we could be in the discussion directly. But for now, today, we aren't likely ready or organized enough, YET.
Debi Reidy's "Stigma is Social Death" (Holyoke, MA 1993) is the best I've ever seen, but it is in fact something we've had trouble following through with.
Qqq: where can I read abut this Andrew? Specifically.
I have a
copy online which comes with her permission.It's marked Holyoke, MA, Feb. 1993. Pat Risser who was involved (as a subject, I believe) has it online also.
I saw a movie Thurs. by Cde (a graduate of U. Mass. Amherst now living in San Jose, CA) designed just this way. What you are talking about however is ideal and not easy to promote practically.
Qqq: well I am still looking for ways to do that and I will NEVER let this go till I suck my last breath.
Cde would like to circulate her "Julian Street Inn" 1/2-hour documentary. I can put her in contact with folks if they are interested, and I KNOW she misses the Pioneer Valley very much.
Nonetheless, whatever we can do that will get through to social justice psychology, let's do that. In mass psychology terms, it's "working the resistances."
Qqq: agreed and I am working them in my own locale on a Daily basis and I actually believe some local change is coming because of it
Andrew Phelps
Bcc: Cde