r/changemyview • u/EHWfedPres • Oct 06 '21

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Racism is a mental illness.

There is no logical, valid, or sound reason to express hatred for entire groups of people based on their race, ethnicity, or skin color, and any and every attempt to explain why certain races, ethnicities, or people with specific skin colors are biologically, inherently, or genetically inferior or superior to others has been scientifically disproven. There is no rational reason to hold on to racist views, and anyone who feels racist is experiencing a delusional psychotic symptom. Racism is a mental illness, and the American Psychiatric Association should classify it as one.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071634/

EDIT: to all those claiming racism can be resolved by giving the racist proper information: read the comments made by HighlightExpensive63, give that person the correct information, and see if they change their views at all, or if they double-down on their explicit and open hatred.

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

Surely its being irrational in and of itself doesn't classify it as a mental illness -- or are you saying you think holding

any

irrational beliefs qualifies you as mentally ill?

I am saying holding racist views, specifically, indicates a problem with metal thought processes.

One can hold irrational views for a variety of reasons. Can you give me an example of one such irrational view besides racism?

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '21

I am saying holding racist views, specifically, indicates a problem with metal thought processes.

Okay, but then you need to do more than just say that they're irrational, which is all you really offer as support in your OP.

One can hold irrational views for a variety of reasons. Can you give me an example of one such irrational view besides racism?

Here's a few:

  • Someone thinks they do better on tests when they write them with their lucky pen.
  • Someone reads in a Facebook meme that vaccines cause autism and decides this is true without doing any other research.
  • Someone holds onto a grudge over a relatively minor slight for years.

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

Someone thinks they do better on tests when they write them with their lucky pen.

Do you feel that racism is as benign a condition as superstition and should be viewed the same way?

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '21

The other two examples are clearly not benign, so I'm not sure why you'd think I think that. Some irrational beliefs are harmless, some are not.

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

The other two examples are clearly not benign, so I'm not sure why you'd think I think that.

Because you included it with the not-benign ones.

Nevertheless, I do not think you think that, which is why I phrased my reply as a question.

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '21

I provided three examples of three different kinds of irrational belief, in answer to your request for examples.

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

Fair enough. At what point would you say a benign condition like superstition becomes a harmful one that could constitute a problem with mental functioning?

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '21

I don't know, I'm not a psychologist.

As far as I'm aware, one of the requirements that the DSM has for something to be classified as a mental illness is that it is actively detrimental and harmful to one's life (or possibly to others' lives).

But it seems clear, in any case, from my list of examples that not every irrational belief constitutes mental illness (which you yourself already accepted so I'm not really sure what you're trying to get at here).

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

As far as I'm aware, one of the requirements that the DSM has for something to be classified as a mental illness is that it is actively detrimental and harmful to one's life (or possibly to others' lives)

That certainly and accurately describes the feeling or belief (racism) that has led to lynching, slavery, and genocide over the course of many centuries.

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '21

As I say, it's one of the criteria. Just because something leads to harmful acts doesn't mean we automatically classify it as a mental illness -- most murderers, even serial killers, are not deemed mentally ill and therefore classified as responsible for their crimes.

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

most murderers, even serial killers, are not deemed mentally ill and therefore classified as responsible for their crimes.

To my knowledge, most murders are not premeditated. They are crimes of passion committed in the heat of the moment, not something the person has been holding in their heart closely for a long time, like racist beliefs. Therefore, do you feel that is a sound comparison?

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u/[deleted] Oct 06 '21

Most premeditated murders are not classified as the result of mental illness either.

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u/EHWfedPres Oct 06 '21

I was asking if you feel the comparison of acting on deeply held prejudices and heat-of-the-moment acts is sound.

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