Demented Diagnosticians

mental illnessOne of very favorite columnists, Ann Coulter, has been editorializing about locking up the mentally ill to prevent mass murders.   One of her recent columns  carries on with her argument.

She acknowledges that the majority of mentally disturbed individuals aren’t dangerous, but also states that more than half of all mass murder is committed by the mentally ill.

She’s probably correct on both counts, but it’s beside the point.

Here’s my problem.  Does Ann or anybody outside the mental health profession have any idea who is diagnosing the mentally ill?

While conservatives were sleeping, the Left took over the media, popular culture, the academy—and health care.

I’ve worked with the mentally ill for the past 10 years, specializing in alcoholism and addiction.  I’ve attended countless conferences, all of which are presided over by Public Health officials and the most insufferably smug, self-righteous people I have ever encountered—all with a dozen initials after their names and all of a leftist bent.

Remember a couple of things about the Left.  They want to expand the dependent population.  Therefore they must find more and more people who “need help.”  They see themselves as saviors of those who need help, therefore more noble than other people.  Now apply this to mental health.

The Left has created language that arises from leftist premises and frames the discussion in that language.  Some of it you’re most likely familiar with: social justice, environmental degradation, cultural sensitivity (now changed to “cultural competence” by the Ministry of Truth). But for the past few years, ever since the passage of Obamacare, leftist jargon words such as “hegemony,” “marginalized populations,” “underserved populations,” clinicians becoming “change agents,” and so on are appearing more and more in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare conferences and trainings assert that AIDS, asthma, and diabetes are “social justice” issues.  In other words, AIDS has nothing to do with your behavior.  It is because you are in a “marginalized population.”  Ditto, diabetes.   Asthma is caused by environmental degradation due to evil corporations dumping poison into “redline communities.”

One paper presented at a recent conference asserted that your zip code determines your life expectancy—that is, if you live in a primarily black neighborhood (a “redline” area), you will likely develop diabetes and die young.  Okay, let’s get real here.  Some ethnic groups are notorious for eating unhealthy food.  I’m of Jewish descent and frankly, it’s astonishing we’ve survived as a people for 3500 years: we eat fried fat (gribenes) for heavens’ sake!  Anyway, my point is that this agenda states that if you get diabetes and die young, it is because you are an oppressed minority, not because you eat crap and perhaps have a genetic predisposition to diabetes.

All of this stuff is drawn straight from the liberation theology playbook.  It assumes that if you are poor, it is the fault of some rich person—classic class warfare.  It also seeks to shame all those of European descent for the bad treatment of all minority groups.

I was required to take a multicultural knowledge and awareness test at a workshop in December that asked me to “scale” my agreement or disagreement with the following statements (these are just a random sample):

“I feel all the recent attention directed toward multicultural issues in counseling is overdone and not really warranted.”  

“I think that clients should perceive the nuclear family as the ideal social unit.”  

“I believe my clients should view the patriarchal structure as ideal.” 

If you understand what passes for leftist “thought,” you’ll know that I’m supposed to disagree with those.  But I’m supposed to agree with these:

“I am aware that being born a White [sic] person in this society carries with it certain advantages.” 

“I understand the impact and operations of oppression and the racist concepts that have permeated the helping professions.” [sic} again.

They can use words like “hegemony,” but can’t construct understandable sentences.

Those of us who have been regulated into being licensed or certified are also regulated into obtaining 40 hours of continuing education per year.  So along with listening to 40 hours a year of the preceding tripe, I am given the opportunity to study those who are presenting it.

Like I said, they’re leftists.  They make excuses for bad behavior.   Bad behavior might be diagnosed as a personality disorder (narcissistic personality disorder for instance), but is that going to be criteria for denying a person’s Second Amendment rights?  I’m not sure, but it’s unlikely since most of Congress and those staffing the West Wing seem to have it.

Here’s what I fear.  I read the other day that veterans are being diagnosed with post-traumatic-stress-disorder in record numbers.  In some states, if you’ve ever been diagnosed with any mental health issue, including PTSD, it’s enough to deny your application to buy a gun.  So, we trusted them to carry weapons to defend our freedom, but now that they’re home, we’re not going to trust them with a weapon?  People with PTSD are considered likely to “snap.”  But the diagnosis is often suspect—given to those who are justifiably shocked, saddened, angry that their best friend was killed by an IED.  They can be helped by talk therapy, the love of their families and friends, and basically getting on with their lives.  They don’t need to be labeled with PTSD.  But once more, the vast majority of those doing the diagnosing are hard-core leftists.  And get this.  They are now financially motivated by Obamacare to hyper-diagnose.

Think for just one minute about the diagnoses they might give the average Tea Partier: Paranoid Disorder because we think they want to take away our guns and tax us to death (diagnostic code 301.0), Intermittent Explosive Disorder because we angrily confronted our House rep at a town hall (diagnostic code 312.34).  PTSD because we fought for our country (diagnostic code 309.81).

The uncomfortable truth known by conservatives is that whether you live in a free society or a police state, there are going to be appalling acts of violence.  We can’t prevent most of them.  Lock up violent gang members, those who have harmed children, and cold-blooded murderers and never let them out.  Leave the rest of us alone.

Written by Cynthia Toordeman

 

Ann-Marie Murrell

Ann-Marie Murrell is one of the creators of PolitiChicks and co-owns the site with Morgan Brittany. Ann-Marie is co-author of two bestselling books, “What Women (Really) Want” and "PolitiChicks: A Clarion Call to Political Activism". She has appeared on dozens of television shows including Fox & Friends, CNN, Hannity, the Dr. Phil Show, Huckabee, Lou Dobbs, C-SPAN, One America News, Stuart Varney & Company, Newsmax, MSNBC, and more. In addition to PolitiChicks, Ann-Marie has written for multiple other news sites. You can find Ann-Marie Murrell on Facebook and Twitter: @PolitichickAM E-mail: thepolitichicks@gmail.com

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