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Comment on How bad were the asylums that Reagan closed in his tenure? Were they really that bad? Did no one take a look at the staff and bed side manner? Or was it really like Born On The Fourth of July?

GreenBeard@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

They were legitimately that bad for the most part. Some were better than others of course, but the best of them were closer to a bad nursing home. The worst were legitimate atrocities. You didn’t put someone there to get better. Those who did were the rarest of exceptions, and were people whose problems had more to do with unhealthy environments. You put people in an asylum to keep them contained.

It’s important to remember, psychology is a relatively young discipline. Historically the best mental counseling was folk wisdom and religion. People had all kinds of ideas, often grounded more in superstition than any kind of demonstrable, repeatable evidence (a problem which unfortunately persists in the field, though it’s getting better). Asylums were more like dubious research labs than medical facilities and the mentally ill were closer to lab rats. Caged lab rats.

The field still has a long way to go, there’s still a lot we don’t know that’s out there to learn, but the methods and techniques are a lot better than they used to be. A lot better.

There’s a lot of reasons not to like Regan, but he did get some things right. That was one of them.

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agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

There’s a lot of reasons not to like Regan, but he did get some things right. That was one of them.

Was it though? Not that I’m saying you’re wrong about the conditions in asylums, but is abandoning the patients to be homeless on the streets really better? It feels like the right thing would have been comprehensive reform with extensive oversight.

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- Bane_Killgrind@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Yeah Regan “The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” That guy, would have ever reformed any public service :/
  
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TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
This isn’t to mention the torture electroshock, and lobotomizations, and forced births, rape and or abortions which would also happen across these facilities. All without the consent of the individuals involved, often times for the crime of being gay or lesbian, or trans, or just being different in anyway. I remember stories of my parents who had friends who were gay or lesbian being tortured with electric shock I these facilities for the crime of being a girl who fancied other girls.

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andrewta@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
My grandma wound up in one. If even half the stuff that supposedly was done to her, was actually done to her, the staff needs to be in prison for life.

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