Two-thirds of American millennials surveyed in a recent poll cannot identify what Auschwitz is, according to a study released on Holocaust Remembrance Day that found that knowledge of the genocide that killed 6 million Jews during World War II is not robust among American adults.
Twenty-two percent of millennials in the poll said they haven’t heard of the Holocaust or are not sure whether they’ve heard of it — twice the percentage of U.S. adults as a whole who said the same.
The study, conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, interviewed 1,350 American adults in February and recruited by telephone and an online non-probability sample.
Is there a better reason to abolish Tenure and get rid of the Public Schools? It was real. It systematically, like an assembly line, murdered 11 Million people.
Rap mogul Kanye West has confounded the music and entertainment industry over the past week for his embrace of pro-Trump policies, activists and campaign gear, and Maxine Waters thinks he should just shut up.
Kanye’s swing to the right has not been received well by those on the other side of the aisle.
On Monday, Yeezy was back at it, tweeting statements from other people about Republicans freeing slaves and the perils of the welfare state and socialism.
Rep. Maxine Waters was asked by Politico about the rapper’s recent embrace of mainstream conservatism.
She responded by saying that West “talks out of turn” and that he should “think twice about politics, and maybe not have so much to say.”
“Kanye West is a very creative young man who has presented some of the most revolutionary material in the African-American community. But we also think that sometimes Kanye West talks out of turn and perhaps sometimes he needs some assistance in helping him to formulate some of his thoughts.
We don’t think that he actually means to do harm, but we’re not sure he really understands the impact of what he’s saying, at the time that he’s saying it and how that weighs on, particularly the African American community — and for young people in general. And I think maybe he should think twice about politics, and maybe not have so much to say.”
Waters was named one of the nation’s “most corrupt” members of congress by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Thank You Mr Johnson, the DC, and especially Kanye.
Democrats, The Party of Slavery, Jim Crow, the KKK, Lynchings, and on and on. Auntie Maxine is nothing new. She's just this year's model.
Yale University has placed one of its deans on leave after learning of a series of racist comments attributed to her Yelp account.
In one review, June Chu referred to fellow patrons at a local restaurant as “white trash” and “low class folks,” while in another she complained of “barely educated morons trying to manage snack orders for the obese."
Yale University has placed one of its deans on leave for the rest of the academic year after discovering a series of racist and offensive comments on her Yelp account.
June Chu was appointed Dean of Pierson College in May of 2016, and an investigation by The Yale Daily News reveals that throughout her tenure she has periodically left reviews of local establishments in which she makes disparaging comments about white people and the poor.
“These reviews make it clear how Dean Chu thinks about people who are different from her.”
On one occasion, according to screenshots of her reviews, Chu referred to fellow patrons at a local restaurant as “white trash” and “low class folks,” while in another instance she perplexingly praised a movie theater for its lack of “sketchy crowds,” despite its location in a relatively affluent area.
The reviews were noticed by Dean of Student Affairs Camille Lizarribar, who brought them to the attention of Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway, but the Daily News reports that screenshots of the provocative posts had been circulating among students for months beforehand.
Chu sent an email to Pierson students Saturday apologizing for those particular comments, which were the only ones of which Holloway had been informed, but the Daily News contends that several other of Chu’s reviews are also deserving of scrutiny.
In one of the many spiteful reviews discovered on her account, Chu rants about having to “remain in line with all the other idiots” at a movie theater, complaining of the “barely educated morons trying to manage snack orders for the obese.”
Holloway nonetheless commended Chu for being “very honest” in her email to the college community, saying he believes that she is “terribly sorry” and has “learned from this,” and noting that he has decided not to ask for her resignation.
“I have learned a lot this semester about the power of words and about the accountability that we owe one another,” Chu wrote in her apology message. “My remarks were wrong. There are no two ways about it. Not only were they insensitive in matters related to class and race; they demean the values to which I hold myself and which I offer as a member of this community.”
Many Pierson students, however, were far less impressed than Holloway with Chu’s mea culpa, saying they’ve lost respect for her not only because of the offensive nature of her comments, but also because she demonstrated such poor judgment in making them.
Kelsang Dolma, for instance, told the Daily News that the comments “floored” her.
“It is always so refreshing to see an Asian American woman in leadership positions, and many of my female and POC friends were eager to see what she would do for us,” Dolma said. “I look forward to continue having [Chu] as my dean, but this incident has left me and other Piersonites disillusioned.”
One anonymous student argued that it was “inappropriate for someone in her position” to make such “demeaning and offensive” statements, pointing out that “These reviews make it clear how Dean Chu thinks about people who are different from her, and how she feels about New Haven, the city all of us call home for a few years.”
“I will never be able to look at her in the same way,” another anonymous student concurred. “Dean Chu is trained in human development and psychology so should clearly understand the gravity of her actions, yet the fact that she would put such things on the Internet shows that she really should not be in a position of advising students.”
Tom Conroy, the Director of the Office of Public Affairs & Communications, told Campus Reform that he didn’t have “anything to add to the announcement today by the Pierson Head of College that she was placed on leave.”
Campus Reform reached out to Chu for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
From her bio, at the end of our first post on Madame "White Trash"
Chu, according to her Pierson biography,
has a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of
California-Davis. She joined the college after serving as an assistant
dean of undergraduate students at Dartmouth College. During high school,
Chu also worked in a summer program at the Yale Daily News, the same
student newspaper that exposed her controversial reviews.
You're more likely to be lynched if, . . . fiercehealthcare April 18, 2016 | By Zack Budryk Mental health treatment and diagnoses vary significantly by race and ethnicity, according to a new study published in Psychiatric Services. Researchers analyzed electronic health record data for 7.5 million patients at 11 healthcare systems, 1.17 million of whom received a mental health diagnosis in 2011, and found rates of diagnosis were significantly higher for non-Hispanic white patients compared to most other racial or ethnic groups. The study also found that patients of all races and ethnicities were doubly likely to receive medication for mental health issues as opposed to formal therapy. "While further studies are needed to determine the cause for differences in diagnosis and treatment of mental health conditions based on racial or ethnic background, this study is important in showcasing that disparities exist and provides useful information for healthcare professionals who treat patients with mental health conditions," said lead author Karen J. Coleman, Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente Southern California. Study announcement
Thank You Mr Budryk and FH. To those affecting umbrage at our characterization of Diagnosis as a Lynching, . . . you're new here, right?
Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Latinos United for a Change wrote in a letter to the school's editor that people experiencing white privilege should see a doctor.
In their letter, the students argue that race-based scholarships are necessary in order to make up for the sins of white ancestors.
A group of students at Iowa State University is advising its white peers to “head to the doctor” in order to be treated for their white privilege.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a sickness spreading at Iowa State. So the next time you use your mandatory health insurance and head to the doctor, tell him or her if you are experiencing these little-known symptoms,” a group known as Latinos United for a Change wrote in a letter to the editor:
"While there is currently no way to cure white privilege, there are definitely ways to deal with the symptoms." Tweet This
· “You can get your hair cut wherever you want.”
· “You can walk into the supermarket and find your favorite foods.”
· “You can see yourself positively portrayed in the media.”
· “You can speak your native tongue without getting looks or comments from other people.”
“If you have symptoms like those described above, you may want to be checked for white privilege,” the group writes. “White privilege is like a virus. Carriers are often unaware of their infection for decades while spreading their disease to everyone they come in contact with,” they added.
The purpose of the letter was to respond to “the institutionalized white supremacy” at their school. Apparently, two op-eds published in the school’s paper convinced the students of the patriarchal nature of their institution—one made a case against political correctness and the other explainedwhy race-based scholarships may be inherently unfair.
“Both of these pieces (and many before them) use a lot of privilege reasoning behind the arguments of the authors. So this is our letter to the editor, pointing out the privilege behind those opinion pieces,” the group commented on its Facebook page.
In their letter, the students argue that race-based scholarships are necessary in order to make up for the sins of white ancestors.
“White people have spent decades building wealth while many of our ancestors were blocked from buying property, owning homes and building businesses,” they write before arguing that the monetary success of white people has correspondingly resulted in their race’s overall financial demise.
“As a result, white families have double the wealth on average than families of color, meaning we often have less financial support from our families,” they wrote.
They then say that, although the First Amendment is worthy of appreciation, such bigoted opinions should not be allowed to circulate on a college campus.
“White privilege isn’t one person. It’s not your neighbor or your classmate. While we can all appreciate the First Amendment, it is reckless and dangerous to allow such hateful and blatantly wrong rhetoric to continue to circulate,” they said.
The authors of the letter then conclude by returning to the topic of white privilege, calling it an “epidemic” so vast that it could not possibly addressed in a single letter or even cured at all.
“White privilege is so ingrained in our society that there’s no way that we could cover this epidemic in one letter to the editor. But don’t be scared. While there is currently no way to cure white privilege, there are definitely ways to deal with the symptoms,” they said.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski
Thank You Mr Gockowski and Campus Reform.
"While there is currently no way to cure white privilege, there are definitely ways to deal with the symptoms."
Sound familiar?
"While there is currently no way to cure 'Mental Illness', there are definitely ways to deal with the symptoms."
Sounds like an incurable mental disorder. fiercehealthcare January 12, 2016 | By Zack Budryk In a simulation, physicians provided more compassionate care to white actors playing dying patients than their black counterparts, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Researchers placed 33 hospital-based doctors in simulated interactions with actors who read from identical scripts and had the same vital signs. Doctors told both groups of patients the same things, but differed in nonverbal cues such as body language and eye contact. Researchers found the doctors were far likelier to stand close to the bedside and touch the person in a sympathetic way for white patients. For black patients, they were more likely to stand at the door and hold a binder in their hands.Study abstract Thank You Mr Budryk and FH.
On second thought, that's impossible, because Health Care Workers can't be incurable. Their Brain Chemical Imbalances,
So, . . . , "Why don't we all just VOTE for a FREE State Issued Certificate of Bio psychiatric competence?" instead of this never ending 'Hope Remains For A Cure, So Research Must Continue'
If we're going to beat the very idea of Constitutionally mandated Due Process of Law providing Equal Protection Under The Law into the gutter anyway, . . . why not go whole hog and institute these extra constitutional, illegal programs for everyone.
It would be an awful lot cheaper than the way we're currently running things.
Two generations of molecular genetic researchers have attempted, yet failed, to discover the genes that they believe underlie the major psychiatric disorders. The most recent failure is a molecular genetic study that was unable to find genes for symptoms of depression.1 Like most genetic researchers in psychiatry, the authors failed to consider the possibility that no such genes exist, and instead concluded that much larger samples of at least 50,000 subjects are needed to detect genes. Also like other genetic researchers in psychiatry, they based their search on the belief that previous kinship studies of families, twins, and adoptees have definitively established the genetic basis of the psychiatric disorder in question. This position is promoted by mainstream psychiatry and by supporters of psychiatric genetics, a subfield of psychiatry founded in Germany around 100 years ago and currently centered in the Unites States and Europe. The questionable validity of DSM psychiatric disorders and the “mental illness” concept are important topics, but here I will focus on genetic research using these concepts.
As far back as 1969, genetic researchers in psychiatry performed a molecular genetic study of manic-depression (bipolar disorder) and concluded that they had found proof that the condition was caused by genes: “Affective disorder in which mania occurs is probably linked on the X chromosome… This finding clarifies some aspects of transmission. It also proves a genetic factor in manic-depressive disease.2 Like subsequent gene discovery claims in psychiatry, these results were not replicated by other research teams. As Stephen Faraone and his psychiatric genetic colleagues recognized in 2008, “It is no secret that our field has published thousands of candidate gene association studies but few replicated findings.”3 In a sense, however, these negative results are a “secret” because the media usually tells a much different story to the general public. The public has been misled by sensationalized reporting in the popular press, often in concert with leading researchers, to believe that genes for the major psychiatric disorders have been found.
Molecular genetic attempts to uncover “schizophrenia genes” go back to the beginning of the 1970s and earlier.4 In a highly publicized case a generation ago, Sherrington and colleagues believed they had identified a genetic marker for schizophrenia, but this result was not replicated.5 Despite the sequencing of the human genome and the publication of more than 1,700 schizophrenia molecular genetic studies, we have witnessed over 40 years of gene finding claims, and over 40 years of subsequently non-replicated findings. A 2012 study, co-authored by many of the world’s leading schizophrenia molecular genetic researchers, compared 732 previously identified “hypothesis-driven candidate genes” for schizophrenia with genome-wide association study (GWAS) results. The researchers found no association between these previously identified genes and schizophrenia, and concluded that their negative results “suggest, but do not prove, that many traditional ideas about the genetic basis of SCZ [schizophrenia] may be incorrect,” and that “it is possible that the next few years will lead to marked changes in major hypotheses about the genetic basis of SCZ.”6
Clearly, psychiatric molecular genetic research is massively plagued by false positive results, and systematic error appears to have been repeated year-after-year, and decade-after-decade. In this context, leading psychiatric genetic researchers have publicly asked funding sources not to “give up” on schizophrenia molecular genetic GWAS research.7 Researchers tend to downplay the implications of years of negative findings at the same time that they claim that some new technology or method will finally deliver the promised genes.
A parallel process has occurred in the behavioral genetics field,8 where many years of concerted gene finding attempts have failed to identify genes for traits such as IQ,9 personality,10 and traits studied in the social sciences.11 As critical behavioral geneticist Douglas Wahlsten wrote in a 2012 review, “In human behavior genetics…powerful new methods have failed to reveal even one bona fide, replicable gene effect pertinent to the normal range of variation in intelligence and personality.”12
Researchers in psychiatry long ago abandoned the search for a major causative single gene, and now view schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions as “multifactorial complex disorders,” seeing them as being caused by a complex interaction of multiple genes and multiple environmental risk factors. It is important to note, however, that the failure to discover genes is currently a defining feature of “multifactorial complex disorders” in psychiatry. While continuing to search for genes, researchers frequently claim that the environmental factors contributing to the development of psychiatric disorders are unknown, or are not well understood.
In 2008, leading genetic researchers developed the “missing heritability” position to explain the fewer-than-expected gene findings for some common medical conditions, and the lack of findings for the major psychiatric disorders.13 Regarding schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, ADHD, depression, and other psychiatric conditions, proponents of this position argue that genes are “missing” because researchers must find better ways to uncover them. From the “missing heritability” standpoint, genetic variants that underlie psychiatric disorders and psychological trait variation will be found once researchers develop better methods and collect larger samples. However, psychiatric gene searches are based on the mistaken assumption that genes must exist, due to researchers’ failure to examine the numerous potentially invalidating flaws of previous psychiatric family, twin, and adoption studies. The best explanation for why psychiatry has witnessed five decades of gene finding failures, despite well-funded concerted worldwide efforts using cutting edge technology, is not that “heritability is missing,” but rather that previous and current claims that these family, twin, and adoption studies prove something about genetics are mistaken. I hope to discuss the invalidating flaws, biases, and false assumptions underlying these studies in future postings.14
Interestingly, when the environmental causes of non-psychiatric medical conditions are widely understood and recognized, in most cases society pays little attention to uncovering a possible genetic component. For example, in light of increasing head injuries and concussions, the U.S. National Football League (NFL) is currently in the process of changing professional football rules to reduce the violent head collisions that cause concussions. Although some medical researchers have looked at possible genetic factors relating to concussions, I am unaware of anyone connected with the NFL calling for twin studies of concussion, or for molecular genetic studies attempting to pinpoint concussion susceptibility genes. Few argue that we must assess NFL players for a genetic vulnerability in order to understand concussions, and no one to my knowledge is attempting to calculate concussion “heritability” estimates. The reason is clear: when the environmental causes of a condition are understood and recognized (such as blows to the head), the possibility that some people are more genetically vulnerable (predisposed) than others for developing the condition becomes largely irrelevant.
In psychiatry, despite clinical and research evidence that many people eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are impacted by trauma, abuse, and other adverse experiences,15 the field’s attention is largely focused on what it believes to be the genetic and biological bases of psychosis. Based on how they typically approach psychiatric disorders, if psychiatric genetic researchers were put in charge of preventing concussions in professional football, it is likely that they would (1) emphasize that concussed players have a genetically-based brain disease, (2) prioritize the use of twin studies and molecular genetic studies in an attempt to unravel the “genetic architecture” of concussions, (3) argue that the environmental causes of concussions are not well understood, (4) pay little attention to the role of head trauma, and (5) conduct genetic counseling sessions with newly drafted players. This is clearly the wrong approach, even if some players are more genetically predisposed than others to suffer concussions.
Nevertheless, politically and economically powerful groups with an interest in diverting attention away from the harmful environmental conditions they often create are very interested in supporting, financing, and promoting genetic approaches. For example, the tobacco industry has promoted the study of genetic predispositions for developing lung cancer.16 Studying possible genetic predispositions is much more than a research approach—it is one of the methods used to promote the idea that environmentally-caused medical conditions and psychiatric disorders are mainly the result of heredity.17
Although some researchers currently claim that several genes for the major psychiatric disorders have already been discovered, these claims are likely to suffer the same fate as similar non-replicated claims we have heard for decades (easily found in Google searches such as “schizophrenia gene discovery,” “ADHD gene discovery,” “bipolar gene discovery,” and in the online archives of scientific journals that have published the “thousands” of subsequently non-replicated gene finding claims). Science writer John Horgan wrote about these non-replicated claims in 2004, and the point is even more relevant today with an additional nine years of gene finding failures behind us:
“Over the past 15 years or so, researchers have announced the discovery of ‘genes for’ attention-deficit disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, manic depression, schizophrenia, autism, dyslexia, alcoholism, heroin addiction, high IQ, male homosexuality, sadness, extroversion, introversion, novelty seeking, impulsivity, violent aggression, anxiety, anorexia, seasonal affective disorder, and pathological gambling. So far, not one of those claims has been confirmed.”18
Statements of this type are rarely found in the popular media.
The time has come to suspend psychiatric molecular genetic research and to undertake a thorough public reassessment of the original family, twin, and adoption studies that inspired the fruitless search for genes in the first place. At the same time, the familial, social, and political causes of psychiatric conditions must become the focus of attention.19
In a mocking jab at critics such as R. D. Laing and Thomas Szasz, psychiatric investigator Seymour Kety, the lead researcher of the influential yet severely flawed Danish schizophrenia adoption studies, famously wrote in 1974: “If schizophrenia is a myth, it is a myth with a strong genetic component!”20 Schizophrenia molecular genetic research was relatively new in those days, but now the results of decades of molecular genetic research are in: There appear to be no genes for schizophrenia. We could therefore revise Kety’s position to bring it in line with current scientific results: “If schizophrenia is a genetic disorder, it is a genetic disorder without any genes.”
2 Reich et al. (1969). Family History Studies: V. The Genetics of Mania. American Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 1358-1369.
3 Faraone et al. (2008). The New Neuropsychiatric Genetics. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 147B, 1–2
4 Elston et al. (1973). Possible Linkage Relationships Between Certain Blood Groups and Schizophrenia or Other Psychoses. Behavior Genetics, 3, 101-106.
5 Sherrington et al. (1988). Localization of a Susceptibility Locus for Schizophrenia on Chromosome 5. Nature, 336, 164-167.
6 Collins et al. (2012). Hypothesis-Driven Candidate Genes for Schizophrenia Compared to Genome-Wide Association Results. Psychological Medicine, 42, 607-616. For an opposing viewpoint within psychiatric genetics, in 2012 Michael Owen claimed that “possibly thousands” of schizophrenia genes have been discovered: “We now have molecular genetic evidence that a very large number of genes, possibly thousands, contain risk alleles for schizophrenia in the population.” See Owen, M. J. (2012). Implications of Genetic Findings for Understanding Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38, 904-907.
7 Sullivan et al. (2012). Don’t Give Up On GWAS. Molecular Psychiatry, 17, 2-3
9 Chabris et al. (2012). Most Reported Genetic Associations with General Intelligence are Probably False Positives. Psychological Science, 23, 1314-1323.
10 Plomin, R. (2013). Child Development and Molecular Genetics: 14 Years Later. Child Development, 84, 104-120; Wahlsten, D. (2012). The Hunt for Gene Effects Pertinent to Behavioral Traits and Psychiatric Disorders: From Mouse to Human. Developmental Psychobiology, 54, 475-492.
11 Benjamin et al. (2012). The Genetic Architecture of Economic and Political Preferences. PNAS, 109, 8026-8031; Charney, E., & English, W. (2012). Candidate Genes and Political Behavior.American Political Science Review, 106, 1-34.
12 Wahlsten, 2012.
13 Maher, B. (2008). The Case of the Missing Heritability. Nature, 456, 18-21; Manolio et al. (2009). Finding the Missing Heritability of Complex Diseases. Nature, 461, 747-753.
14 For problems with family, twin, and adoption studies, see Joseph, J. (2004). The Gene Illusion: Genetic Research in Psychiatry and Psychology Under the Microscope. New York: Algora. (2003 United Kingdom Edition by PCCS Books); Joseph, J. (2006). The Missing Gene: Psychiatry, Heredity, and the Fruitless Search for Genes. New York: Algora; Joseph, J. (2010). Genetic Research in Psychiatry and Psychology: A Critical Overview. In K. Hood, C. Tucker Halpern, G. Greenberg, & R. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of Developmental Science, Behavior, and Genetics (pp. 557-625). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
15 Kessler et al. (2010). Childhood Adversities and Adult Psychopathology in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. British Journal of Psychiatry, 197, 378-385; Read, J. (forthcoming). Childhood Adversity and Psychosis: From Heresy to Certainty. In J. Read & J. Dillon (eds.). Models of Madness (2nd ed.). London: Routledge; Read et al. (2009). Time to Abandon the Bio–Bio–Bio Model of Psychosis: Exploring the Epigenetic and Psychological Mechanisms by Which Adverse Life Events Lead to Psychotic Symptoms. Epidemiologia e Psichiatria Sociale, 18, 299–310.
17 See Chaufan, C. (2007). How Much Can a Large Population Study on Genes, Environments, Their Interactions and Common Diseases Contribute to the Health of the American People? Social Science and Medicine, 65, 1730–1741.
19 Belle, D., & Bullock, H. (2013). Poverty, Unemployment, Economic Inequality, and Mental Health. In M. Shally-Jensen (ed.), Mental Health Care Issues in America: An Encyclopedia (Vol. 2; pp. 541-546). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
20 Kety, S. S. (1974). From Rationalization to Reason. American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 957-963.
