Sure, I genuinely believe that political discourse has become increasingly uncivil as of late, I despise the politics and actions of the Tea Party, and I watch and laugh at Stewart's show on occasion.
But I'm also a person with multiple mental disabilities, and I don't appreciate conservatism being compared to a mental illness. It not only makes me feel like I don't matter and that my opinions are de-facto unimportant because I'm not "sane", but it also undermines the terror and true threat that these people present to our country and our civil liberties.
I hear it from both sides. Michael Savage thinks liberalism is a mental illness and is not afraid to say so. Many a conservative or moderate has teasingly made reference to "The Loony Left". Wingnut is a term I've heard used freely by both progressives and conservatives of all stripes, with variations abound. I've been guilty of using them myself many times, before I stopped to think about its implications, and I've since slowly tried to eradicate it from my vocabulary.
And in terms of the Rally To Restore Sanity, they've made it out to be a battle cry for rationality, in a world increasingly plagued with irrationality and borderline anarchy.
Well see, there you go. If you're genuinely suggesting to me that my mental illnesses, or "lack of sanity" in such gross terms, means that I am incapable of being calm, rational, or informed about current affairs, do you really think that I'm going to march alongside you?
Better luck next time, Stewart and Company. I'm sitting this one out until you and your writers figure out that people with mental illnesses and disabilities are not disposable metaphors.
Even the DSM-IV says it isn't a delusion if it's a strongly held (political, religious) belief that many people share.
ReplyDeleteWhat about calling it the "Rally to Restore Rationality"? That would be a great alliteration.
I like that too. Maybe you should be a writer for the Daily Show, Adelaide.
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