[circlecity]

"Nah, this is nothing more than the tried and true - from the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea no less - the medicalization of political dissent; that is, turning political dissent into a psychiatric illness, so that you can silence political dissidents by locking them up in psychiatric hospitals "for their own good."

Interesting in light of yesterday's comments by the head of NPR that Juan Williams should have kept his comments between himself and his psychiatrist.

[Ronin]

I'm glad I am not the only person that had a shiver up my spine when I read that.

Other FReeper posts on the politicization of the psychiatric services in the Communist countries are germane as well. It IS the way they think.

"Our way is so obviously right, correct, proper, true and just that anyone who disagrees with us MUST be crazy, and it is our humane duty to cure them of such mental illness."

Failing that, they'll reach for that box with the big red button on it.

[billorites]

Vivian Schiller certainly woke up to a nightmare on Thursday. Sacking Juan Williams and calling him crazy in public are examples of a CEO who is totally out of her depth.

After a respectful pause, I expect Ms. Schiller will depart NPR to "explore other career opportunities" or "spend more time with her family."

[Elsie]

Interesting in light of yesterday's comments by the head of NPR that Juan Williams should have kept his comments between himself and his psychiatrist.

CAn you say:

DE-FUNDED?

[Oceander]

Exactly. And the claim that the leftists/communists in, e.g., the Soviet Union, used psychiatry as a means of suppressing political dissent is well-documented and has been the subject of numerous scholarly articles. Here's a quick survey of the number of links that come up on the subject when you search on the terms soviet use of psychiatry for political dissent.

The willingness of the left/liberals to abuse psychiatry for such rank political purposes is nothing less than frightening. And I would not be too sanguine about it not happening here, either.