Place under such prohibition.
Mental illness is the last taboo. This taboo makes prejudice and mistreatment acceptable and even socially desired.
I have been watching a lot of movies and old television series on Netflix the last few days. My daughter is sick, and I've been home from work. It never ceases to amaze me how often mental illness is brought up in movies and in crime shows. People with mental illness are often portrayed as villains.
In crime shows, we are sought as perpetrators. In science fiction thrillers we are an object of scorn and fear. In horror movies, we are either the thing people are afraid of becoming, or the thing people are trying to escape. People are afraid of us in these movies and television shows. They are afraid to be around us, and they are equally afraid of becoming us.
It is my belief that society needs mental illness to be taboo. If it is taboo, then no one needs to bother themselves with learning about mental illness. No one needs to care when "the mentally ill" are bussed from state to state an dumped like human garbage. No one needs to care that the medical treatment for mental illness is substandard. No one needs to care that people with mental illness die 20 years earlier than the average 'normal' person. Really, making mental illness a taboo makes it easier for society. No one needs to worry about how to help a villain.
As with most prejudice, this attitude of taboo comes from fear. Society fears mental illness and the people who have it. Don't believe me? Think about how many movies follow the GASLIGHT formula. Gaslight is a movie from 1944 staring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. In this movie, a man marries a woman to kill her for her inheritance. He sets up an elaborate hoax including using medication, lighting and secret rooms to make her think that she is insane. This movie and this idea is so popular in movies that the word 'gaslight' has become an urban slang term. To 'gaslight' means that you make someone think that they are crazy or insane.
The idea that you could lose your mind, or to lose touch with reality is frightening in these movies. But equally frightening is the treatment that the characters receive. The idea of being crazy conjures up straight jackets, chemical straight jackets, restraints, and being hospitalized and shut away from society. These characters are often chased like criminals, and scorned for their behavior.
Mental illness is feared. The treatment that people receive for mental illness is feared. The scorn and social stigma that people receive for mental illness is feared. Mental illness is taboo. As long as mental illness remains a taboo, then we don't have to deal with it. We just have to fear it. We just have to discard those who have it.
And now for a word from our life coach cats:
Face your fears. Learn about mental illness.
End the taboo.
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