Political abuse of psychiatry.
Authoritarians always target mentally disabled people as low hanging fruit, and the definition of mental disability is always flexible.
People are rightfully upset about the Minnesota bill by state lawmakers to try to dictate a medical diagnosis of "Trump Derangement Syndrome" toward any Republican detractors. And I'd like to point out that this slide toward political abuse of psychiatry has been going on for some while, and is an integral part of authoritarian control by totalitarian governments.
“Trump derangement syndrome”: US lawmakers push to classify Trump criticism as mental illness - Critics of the bill argue it raises concerns about politicizing mental health diagnoses, which could potentially misappropriate care resources and suppress political expression and dissent. by Vira Kravchuk 17/03/2025 Euromaiden According to state documents, the bill’s co-sponsors—Senators Glenn Gruenhagen, Justin Eichorn, Nathan Wesenberg, Steve Drazkowski, and Eric Lucero—define the condition as an “acute onset of paranoia” regarding Donald Trump’s presidencies. The proposed legislation suggests symptoms include “Trump-induced general hysteria” that prevents distinguishing between “legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology in President Donald J. Trump’s behavior.” The senators claim these symptoms can manifest as intense verbal hostility toward Trump and potentially “overt acts of aggression and violence” against his supporters. The term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has been frequently used by Trump and his communications team. (emphasis added)
Pathologizing going against "back to normal" and "return to office" in the pandemic was rolled out as a psychological problem by government bodies in the U.S. It’s a convenient tool to dictate behaviour with medical apparatus in society. Notice how they changed “mental health” which was about relieving suffering and instead changed it to “behavioral health” — a scheme to control behaviour instead. This change alone should have alarmed people awhile back like it did me.
It may seem "silly and "not a real threat" that we can safely ignore because it's against the first amendment and politicians can't determine medical diagnoses, but I think that's a big mistake because we’ve seen over and over again healthcare providers and scientists following the politics, and the fact remains that hospitals and doctors have to follow the law — healthcare IS political, like it or not. So just like I think it's a mistake to ignore the threats toward Canada out of normalcy bias, I feel compelled to point out that we were told that Roe V Wade was settled law, right?
'I had anti-government views so they treated me for schizophrenia' 22 January 2025 Nyima Pratten BBC Eye Investigations Many people we spoke to were given anti-psychotic drugs, and in some cases electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), without their consent. While there have been reports for decades that hospitalisation is used in China as a way of detaining dissenting citizens without involving the courts, a leading Chinese lawyer has told the BBC that the issue - which legislation sought to resolve - has recently seen a resurgence.
So often threats against mentally ill people are not taken seriously or not even reported on, because most people have normalcy bias about it and operate on the idea that it won't happen to them, because they don't think they're mentally ill and they don't believe they're presenting as "hysterical" even while their Congressperson's spokesperson characterizes public dissent as "temper tantrums" in the news, like mine did.
A lot of these state bills get copied to other states until they can find states to pass them, and then they get normalized and brought to the national level. I don't mean to say it shouldn't be mocked, because it absolutely should be mocked. That's exactly what should be happening, and it is. This kind of bill needs to be lambasted and roasted as the obvious attack on free speech and mental healthcare that it is, and tamped down hard so no state lawmakers anywhere else feel it's worth their time to propose.
And remember, attacking the messenger is very very effective.
MPR News - Updated: March 18, 2025 12:49 PM - Minnesota state Sen. Eichorn arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said in a statement, “The felony allegation against Senator Eichorn is deeply disturbing, and raises serious questions that will need to be answered by the court, as well as his caucus and constituents.” (emphasis added)