A psychiatrist thinks we should treat alt-right bigotry like a disease.

The psychiatrist in the article linked at the end of this blog post thinks we should treat alt-right bigotry like a disease.  This would help us understand how to use public health methodologies for a solution to alt-right bigotry..

He says alt-right bigotry is not technically a discrete medical disease, but that “there are good reasons to treat bigotry as a public health problem.”  He says, “some of the approaches we take toward controlling the spread of disease may be applicable to pathological bigotry: for example, by promoting self-awareness of bigotry and its adverse health consequences.”

“[W]hat if, in an important sense, bigotry is both virulent and contagious – that is, capable of both causing damage and spreading from person to person? Wouldn’t a public health approach to the problem make sense?”

The article reports that bigots and the population targeted by the bigotry both suffer cardiovascular disease at higher rates than normal.

This article also cites a researcher’s article titled “Hatred – A Public Health Issue.” That article says, “Hatred can be conceptualized as an infectious disease, leading to the spread of violence, fear, and ignorance. Hatred is contagious; it can cross barriers and borders.” In our age of rapid digital communication, hatred can travel quickly and “go viral.”

The psychiatrist who authored the article at the following link recommends using insights from public health methodologies for countering the spread of alt-right bigotry. See information at: https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/psychiatrist-thinks-we-should-treat-alt-right-bigotry-disease?src=newsletter1098127

 

 

 

About GlenAnderson 1499 Articles
Since the late 1960s Glen Anderson has devoted his life to working as a volunteer for peace, nonviolence, social justice, and progressive political issues. He has worked through many existing organizations and started several. Over the years he has worked especially for such wide-ranging goals as making peace with Vietnam, eliminating nuclear weapons, converting from a military economy to a peacetime economy, abolishing the death penalty, promoting nonviolence at all levels throughout society, and helping people organize and strategize for grassroots movements to solve many kinds of problems. He writes, speaks, and conducts training workshops on a wide variety of topics. Since 1987 he has produced and hosted a one-hour cable TV interview program on many kinds of issues. Since 2017 he has blogged at https://parallaxperspectives.org He lives in Lacey near Olympia WA. You can reach him at (360) 491-9093 glen@parallaxperspectives.org