Racism and “Mental Health” Oppression
Society defines “normal” people as those who have dominant roles in society—who are white, Protestant, USers, male, owning or middle class. These people’s behaviors are the “standard” for how “normal” people are supposed to act, which sets things up so that people targeted by racism are seen as “other,” “strange,” or “crazy.”
People targeted by racism are made to feel like they aren’t okay, like they have no place in the society, like their cultures are inferior to the dominant white culture. And they can’t show how they feel about this for fear of being further targeted. They are seen as troublemakers or “crazy” if they react to the racism. So they have to hold tightly to their emotions and pretend that it isn’t happening. They also receive the worst treatment in the “mental health” system. (As a result, they may be more aware than white people of how “mental health” oppression works.)
The “normality” enforced by “mental health” oppression reinforces assimilation. People targeted by racism have to adopt white culture in order to survive economically. (And white people feel like they don’t need to learn about the cultures of people targeted by racism, so they miss out on a lot of the world’s richness.) Colonialism and genocide are examples of how violently assimilation has been enforced on people targeted by racism.
The lies perpetuated by racism, held in place by “mental health” oppression, have become part of the societal status quo. Many psychiatrists have given them a medical stamp of approval. When slavery was the norm in the United States, African-heritage people attempting to escape to freedom were diagnosed with “drapetomania.” Not wanting to be enslaved was perceived as a “mental illness.”
The “normality worldview” also reinforces a backward picture of the world. The idea that people targeted by racism are “the minority” belies the truth that they are actually the majority of the world’s people.
Everyone has been hurt by racism and “mental health” oppression—including being made more disconnected and separate from each other, which helps to keep racism going.
As white people heal from the intertwining effects of racism and “mental health” oppression, they can be better allies and friends to people targeted by racism. They can listen more easily to them, and the people targeted by racism can have more space to heal.
Doing this work also makes racism and the damage it causes more visible. It contradicts the pervasive oppressive idea that racism doesn’t exist. It helps white people see the larger context of how racism works, which shifts the blame to society instead of leaving it on the individual, making it easier for them to feel and release outrage about it instead of being stuck in guilt.
(Present Time 198, January 2020)