Segregation Of The Insane

koan · Post by **koan** » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:23 pm

I've been fascinated with the subject of insanity for a long time. I did an independent study called "madness may be sanity" in Gr. 12 English Lit. and have known a number of both bi-polar and schizophrenic people during my lifetime.

The book, Madness and Civilization, A history of insanity in the Age of Reason, by Michel Foucault, seems to present that madmen are the victims of segregation and that it was better in the old days. I'm keen to read it because, though I used to think that madness was subjective, I have matured since Gr. 12 to the point of seeing how there is a difference between loose connection with reality and being a danger to oneself or others. Certainly the latter warrants some attention.

I haven't gotten into the book too far. He begins at the point where all the leper hospitals were empty and they found a new use for them.

Meanwhile... I wonder what other thoughts there are on the subject of madness. Is it fair that someone else can determine where the line of reality sits? What if you were told that you were insane? How could you prove you weren't? Would it make you insane if they held you for very long?

It asks the question, what is reality?

Kindle · Post by **Kindle** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:10 am

KOAN ............seems to present that madmen are the victims of segregation and that it was better in the old days.

I would agree with this 100%. It makes sense that there is more insanity today than before as multiple generations in families no longer live together under one roof (caring for one another) and we are now more and more isolated within our lifestyles with our cable shows, cell phones, texting and computers.

As people themselves isolate themselves (on top of families ignoring one another), is it any wonder that people live more and more in their minds instead of reality.

When you play out both parts in your mind there is nothing to balance what is thought and what is fact.

Cyberworld is a good example. People create elaborate fantasies out of viewing avatars and putting their own spin on the typed word..........

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:19 pm

I think there a fine line between sanity and insanity. That is what is scary to me. IMO

Peg · Post by **Peg** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:57 pm

Would it make you insane if they held you for very long?

I believe it may be possible. Growing up, I always heard how this well to do guy had his wife locked up in a mental hospital and she eventually did go insane.

Kindle · Post by **Kindle** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:12 pm

Peg;1162190 wrote: I believe it may be possible. Growing up, I always heard how this well to do guy had his wife locked up in a mental hospital and she eventually did go insane.

Prisoners of war are also kept in isolation to make them more manageable.

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:15 pm

I remember filming at this hospital in New Westminster, BC. They rented this one building out, that was no longer used, to film crews and there were all kinds of ghost stories. I had some pretty strange experiences there, myself, while working on a film and wandering around on my own.

It used to be the children's ward and, back when it was built, people were brought in through the tunnels to avoid public display of admittance. They arrived as children, grew old and died there. The grounds has their own cemetery. Some of the children were admitted for things like hyperactivity but were actually crazy by the time they died.

Woodlands Asylum/"School"

Almost 3,000 people who died in government care and were unclaimed were buried at Woodlands between 1926 and 1957. In 1977, a Social Credit cabinet order-in-council resulted in the people's headstones-about 1,800 of them-being pulled up and the area grassed over and redesignated as a park. McCallum discovered that some of the headstones were used to construct a staff barbecue patio and stairs. After 1958, unclaimed bodies were sent to UBC as cadavers.

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:26 am

I've always found it interesting that insanity is most prevalent amongst the highly educated, intelligent and wealthy classes.

qsducks · Post by **qsducks** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:28 am

G-man;1162700 wrote: I've always found it interesting that insanity is most prevalent amongst the highly educated, intelligent and wealthy classes.

Oh good, I'm safe!:yh_rotfl

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:33 am

qsducks;1162701 wrote: Oh good, I'm safe!:yh_rotfl

Oh, Com'on! You think you're a duck! :wah:

qsducks · Post by **qsducks** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:36 am

G-man;1162706 wrote: Oh, Com'on! You think you're a duck! :wah:

I am a DUCK and it's my season...think Easter! Hey, what does Gman stand for? My mind is wondering:yh_rotfl

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:03 pm

qsducks;1162709 wrote: I am a DUCK and it's my season...think Easter! Hey, what does Gman stand for? My mind is wondering:yh_rotfl

G-man stands for truth, justice, and the American way.

qsducks · Post by **qsducks** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:17 pm

G-man;1162719 wrote: G-man stands for truth, justice, and the American way.

No comment.:sneaky:

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:28 pm

qsducks;1162728 wrote: No comment.:sneaky:

Hey, I know that the term insanity is no longer used in the scientific sense, but... on this forum, I judge the level of insanity by the number of posts; the more posts that a member has, the more insane that member is.

Now where's a phonebooth so I can change?

Kindle · Post by **Kindle** » Tue Mar 24, 2009 4:10 pm

G-man;1162700 wrote: I've always found it interesting that insanity is most prevalent amongst the highly educated, intelligent and wealthy classes.

Have you read The Professor and The Madman? This is a perfect example of what you stated.

I suppose it must seem rather odd that a madman had anything to do with the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, particularly since he became an indispensable asset to the project. But then, William Chester Minor wasn't always crazy.

The son of American missionaries, Minor attended Yale University and eventually became a doctor. He volunteered his medical skills as a captain during the Civil War, which might have contributed to his mental demise. His paranoia and obvious mental instability eventually caused him to be discharged from the Army; and he traveled abroad in the hope that he would find a cure. Unfortunately, his imagined cure never materialized... Instead, he murdered a man in a fit of paranoia, thinking that someone was trying to break into his room to murder him.

He was incarcerated and eventually deemed criminally insane, which resulted in his institutionalization. He spent a time in the asylum collecting books and making himself as comfortable as possible. Then, he read the call for volunteers that came out from Professor Murray, and he volunteered to help. The editors could not have imagined Dr. Minor's position; nor could they have imagined how invaluable his services would become.

The fact is... Dr. Minor was given remarkable freedom, and the ability to accumulate rare books. And, without Dr. Minor's assistance in the effort, it's easy to imagine that the task of creating the Oxford English Dictionary might have taken considerably longer.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 10:12 pm

Segregation Of The Insane

Its not right !

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 11:51 pm

Nomad;1165481 wrote: Segregation Of The Insane

Its not right ! What isn't?

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 10:50 am

oscar;1165492 wrote: What isn't?

Segregation of the insane. Do not threaten me. I will retaliate.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 1:46 pm

Nomad;1165622 wrote: Segregation of the insane. Do not threaten me. I will retaliate. Insanity should be multiple. Safety in numbers. I want a fight.