Mab Segrest

Administrations of Lunacy: Racism and the Haunting of American Psychiatry at the Milledgewille Asylum by Mab Segrest is a difficult read not because of the actual writing but because the facts presented indict not just our collective past but our toxic present in crimes against humanity, all under the guise of "medical treatment."

The horrifying history of what has taken place in mental hospitals and insane asylums is widely known. Not usually in great detail but enough that it is easy and smug to shrug and claim "I didn't learn very much new" when we read more detailed accounts. This is a particularly effective knee jerk response when we just don't care enough about those groups that were, and still are, being hurt by these institutional monstrosities. Don't make that mistake with this book, read it with an open mind and accept that, if you're going to claim some of society's positive as your own because you are a citizen, you must also claim the same society's horrendous negatives as your own. We are all in this together and the sooner we stop being defensive about it and start working to improve our society, the better.

Mental health treatment, in the absolute loosest sense, became the de facto method by which to maintain control over marginalized groups, in particular for this story African-Americans. The transition, starting mostly under Reagan, into using the "justice" system to replace the finally abandoned asylum system to control and punish, indeed to terrorize, African-American communities has been one of the few areas that seem to consistently have bipartisan support, though usually with different terminology.

This book looks closely at the system through the lens of what at one time was the largest such institution, and one that had the full and complete backing of the governments and communities, by which I mean the inherently racist governments and communities of Georgia and the United States as a whole. This example takes place in the south, and while there may have been a more open willingness to support clearly racist practices, it was and is far from limited to just the south. As I mentioned before, if we claim to be a citizen of any state in the country and, indeed, of the country itself, then we are all implicated to some degree and it is our responsibility to learn from the mistakes of the past.

I recommend this read to anyone who doesn't use the cop-out "but none of my relatives ever..." when avoiding responsibility for past atrocities. Don't dwell on how much or whether you are responsible, rather focus on learning and making the world better. We can't improve what we don't understand and this book does a wonderful job and taking facts and connecting them into a coherent whole rather than a bunch of separate items that can be dismissed as isolated instances. This is not and was not isolated, accidental, or unknown to the powers that be and most of the surrounding communities. Care for each other, is that really too much to ask?

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)

What a great book! Segrest is a clear and perceptive thinker and an eloquent writer, and her story is definitely worth telling and remembering.

Most of the book tells us about Segrest’s work combating the Klan, the White Patriot Party, and other racist forces in the South. Alongside this is her own family’s story. She describes their history, their contradictions, and their adoption of the racist beliefs of their Southern community. And she details her own reaction to the dramatic events of the Civil Rights struggle, her turning away from her family’s beliefs, and her sense of herself as both insider and outsider.

When she came out as a lesbian, the outsider status became more defined, and she started working to bring all the different parts of herself together – as Southerner, as privileged white person, as invisible lesbian. It was then she began to join with others, and to take an active role in the struggle against hate crimes.

Segrest follows these personal and political histories with an essay, “A History of Racism in the US”, which describes the way racism has enabled a small elite to hang on to power throughout different economic models. It’s interesting to read how being “white” became an identity. Basically, it was a way of dividing up the underclass so they wouldn’t get together and fight the owning class. It was a privilege conferred, and it was shored up with lots of “us vs. them” propaganda. Definitely a clever diversion, and it hasn’t stopped working – at least not yet.

My favorite part of the book is the last essay, “A Bridge, Not a Wedge”, in which Segrest tells a gay and lesbian audience why we need to pay attention to racism – both in our community and outside it. It’s passionate, exciting, and beautifully written, and I think I will be referring to it for many years.
… (más)