Episode 10: Ableism and the Ethics of Calling Trump “Crazy”
Added 2017-09-20 21:05:25 +0000 UTC“Insane”, “crazy”, “totally fucking nuts”--Trump’s mental capacity is the subject of much speculation, joke making, and earnest concern. But how should the subject be approached by the media?
On this week’s show we explore the ethics of diagnosing mental health from afar, the conflation of mental health issues with moral turpitude, the negative effects of the media’s nonstop stigmatizing of “insanity” and how to balance all of the above in the face of the unique threat of Trump.
Show Notes
Don’t ‘diagnose’ Donald Trump, it’s not helpful
Dr. Dean Burnett | August 4 2016 | The Guardian
Why The "Diagnose Trump" Hashtag Hurts People With Mental Illness
s.e. smith | August 4 2016 | Bustle
Is Political Hubris an Illness?
Evan Osnos | May 5 2017 | The New Yorker
As Presidents Live Longer, Doctors Debate Whether To Test For Dementia
Bret Stetka | February 17, 2017 | The New Yorker
Richard Greene | December, 17, 2016 | Huffington Post
Dan McAdams | June 2016 | The Atlantic
Allen Frances | September 7, 2017 | STAT
Our Guests
Dr. Dean Burnett is a doctor of neuroscience, but moonlights as a comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He lectures at Cardiff University and is also the author of The Idiot Brain.
s.e. smith is a writer, agitator, and commentator based in Northern California, with a journalistic focus on social issues, particularly gender, prison reform, disability rights, environmental justice, queerness, class, and the intersections thereof.
Comments
I have a mental illness and still call him insane. Mostly, I think, because it makes me feel hopeless (and terrified) to imagine any other reason for his behavior. Maybe we are just trying to protect ourselves from ugly truths. I don't know. However, moving forward, I will just call him an asshole in deference to myself and similarly afflicted fam. Good talk.
2017-09-21 20:56:11 +0000 UTCthank you thank you thank you.
sensorsweep
2017-09-21 00:05:35 +0000 UTC
