To: <s-acc@yahoogroups.com>
From: "Andrew Phelps" <starfish@northcoast.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2009 12:14:48 -0800
Subject: Re: [s-acc] Re: Reasonably held anger (and its discontents)
Hi Lmn and Efg and everybody:
About 1990-92 when I was (as "client") Chair of the Berkeley/Albany [CA) Mental Health Advisory Board, a few of us had private conversations broaching the same topical critiques being brought in here. I can speak some to "what happened" in the sense of what our "uppity" behavior thus rationalized attained and didn't attain.
We were able to put before the Berkeley City Council a measure to oppose the City "funding or supporting" the practice of ECT. We got a 6-3 vote in favor. However it was not binding on Herrick/Alta Bates Hosp. which is the leading ECT provider in Northern CA, the reason being the state constitution.
We were able to deny City support for "Mental Illness Awareness Month" (May) due to the prevailing collusion with the 'medical model' and its discriminatory implications in current practice (then, also now). We provided "client leadership" for the political oversight of our M.H. jurisdiction, and .. actually helped Berkeley/Albany M.H. Dept. survive a major round of budget cuts.
Generally though when we got into dynamics that stretched way beyond our base, such as the organization and direction of "client/survivor" organizing statewide and nationally, our positive results were spotty at best.
In some sense, for me this list and this "social accountability work group" process amounts to an effort to engage the core "behavior management" base of the operant "treatment system" in a revolutionary way. That of course is language and ideation and practical activity which bears a burden of thought and development.
Andrew
Efg wrote:
Hi Lmn,
I have just finished reading 'What is Philosophy?' (Deleuze & Guattari.)
I hear what you are saying about Lacan but nevertheless, his work fascinates me. I never really took to Foucault but find that he can be very useful when wanting to deconstruct concepts such as 'expressing anger = you're nuts.'
I guess the academic rightness began after they took away our pitchforks!
Efg
Lmn wrote:
Hi Efg and Andrew,
From a UK context, there is no room for reasonably held anger that does not make its expression just one more example of why you are nuts in the first place, I would avoid the Lacan school if I were you - the lack at the heart of desire makes it very hard to articulate the experiences of people outside the symbolic order but not outside the real altogether.
There are better resources in Deleuze and Guattari for this (Guattari trained under a Lacanian 'guru' before rebelling under the law of the father). Between them, they put together a really good philosophy for outsiders, if somewhat idealistic re suffering.