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> Let’s be clear: schizophrenia does not cause racism Depends on the type of racism. If it's a false sense of superiority - probably the most common type of ra

> Let’s be clear: schizophrenia does not cause racism Depends on the type of racism. If it's a false sense of superiority - probably the most common type of racism - well, maybe. But if it's the belief that some type of people are hostile to you for some reason, and your personality makes it so that you return it, then it is a persecutory delusion, just like conspiracy theories.

silisili 3y ago
I'll just note that while Terry loved the word, he didn't ever really seem to use it as a racist slur, except by coincidence. He just directed it at anyone and anything he didn't like.
- ghnws 3y ago
  People also use extremely offensive language (including racial slurs, but not limited to them) under drugs, alcohol etc. because the words are extreme and nothing else. Using a racial slur does not necessarily make one a racist.
  - valianteffort 3y ago
    It's more than a stretch to say people using slurs are racist. These are symptoms of a hypersensitive culture that rewards pseudo-virtuous people who publicly call out "racism". I grew up with a diverse group of friends, we used every slur under the sun to shit talk eachother and still do when being idiots. Those slurs have no meaning to us beyond the comedic value they provide in their vulgarity. I'd be shocked to discover any of us were racist, pretty strange to have not noticed after >20 years.
valianteffort 3y ago
[flagged]
skissane 3y ago
Schizophrenia absolutely can induce racism in some people. Schizophrenia (and other related disorders) can induce in some people obsessive socially unacceptable thoughts, which can include racist thoughts. It doesn't happen to everyone with schizophrenia – there are plenty of people with schizophrenia who aren't racist. And even if a person with schizophrenia is racist, it isn't necessarily due to their schizophrenia – they could well be racist for the same reasons many people without schizophrenia are racist. But that said, there absolutely are some people who aren't racist, and then they have a psychotic episode, and as a result of that psychotic episode they develop racist delusions/obsessions. This can take the form of persecutory delusions, but not always. Schizophrenic delusions can take make many forms other than just persecutory, so in some people schizophrenia can induce non-persecutory racist delusions.
- johnisgood 3y ago
  can, just like many things. As for socially unacceptable thoughts, yeah what yesterday was acceptable is today unacceptable. :)
  - skissane 3y ago
    More to the point, in Terry's case, we don't know. It is possible, that without schizophrenia, he would never have been racist. (At least if we define "racism" in terms of explicit statements/actions, as opposed to unconscious biases.) It is possible that he always was racist, and would have been even without schizophrenia, but schizophrenia took away his ability to hide it from others, or made him not care about doing that. Nobody can really know.
  - squigz 3y ago
    > what yesterday was acceptable is today unacceptable. This is how society works to make progress, yes.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]

silisili 3y ago

I'll just note that while Terry loved the word, he didn't ever really seem to use it as a racist slur, except by coincidence. He just directed it at anyone and anything he didn't like.

ghnws 3y ago
People also use extremely offensive language (including racial slurs, but not limited to them) under drugs, alcohol etc. because the words are extreme and nothing else. Using a racial slur does not necessarily make one a racist.
- valianteffort 3y ago
  It's more than a stretch to say people using slurs are racist. These are symptoms of a hypersensitive culture that rewards pseudo-virtuous people who publicly call out "racism". I grew up with a diverse group of friends, we used every slur under the sun to shit talk eachother and still do when being idiots. Those slurs have no meaning to us beyond the comedic value they provide in their vulgarity. I'd be shocked to discover any of us were racist, pretty strange to have not noticed after >20 years.

valianteffort 3y ago

[flagged]

skissane 3y ago

Schizophrenia absolutely can induce racism in some people. Schizophrenia (and other related disorders) can induce in some people obsessive socially unacceptable thoughts, which can include racist thoughts. It doesn't happen to everyone with schizophrenia – there are plenty of people with schizophrenia who aren't racist. And even if a person with schizophrenia is racist, it isn't necessarily due to their schizophrenia – they could well be racist for the same reasons many people without schizophrenia are racist. But that said, there absolutely are some people who aren't racist, and then they have a psychotic episode, and as a result of that psychotic episode they develop racist delusions/obsessions. This can take the form of persecutory delusions, but not always. Schizophrenic delusions can take make many forms other than just persecutory, so in some people schizophrenia can induce non-persecutory racist delusions.

johnisgood 3y ago
can, just like many things. As for socially unacceptable thoughts, yeah what yesterday was acceptable is today unacceptable. :)
- skissane 3y ago
  More to the point, in Terry's case, we don't know. It is possible, that without schizophrenia, he would never have been racist. (At least if we define "racism" in terms of explicit statements/actions, as opposed to unconscious biases.) It is possible that he always was racist, and would have been even without schizophrenia, but schizophrenia took away his ability to hide it from others, or made him not care about doing that. Nobody can really know.
- squigz 3y ago
  > what yesterday was acceptable is today unacceptable. This is how society works to make progress, yes.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]