Stereotypes (Or: The butler didn't do it)

If we're honest with ourselves, I think most of us would have to admit that we have biases and prejudices, either conscious or unconscious, based on our experiences and education. It's how we respond to others, based on those assumptions, that helps define us as human beings.

For instance, we have a good friend who has been acting for a number of years. He's a very intelligent and capable young man. He also has a mild physical disability. Anyone who spends more than . . . oh, two minutes with him realizes that he is no more defined by a slight impairment than is a person defined by wearing glasses, and yet some people judge him based on only that one aspect. Several years ago, he encountered a playwright who didn't want to cast him in a role; I fear he may have met our friend and, not being well acquainted with him, assumed that his physical disability meant he was somehow lacking in other capacities. The writer and then saw fit to add a line of dialogue "explaining" our friend's difference to the audience - something no other writer or director to date has felt the need to do. It was obvious to the audience that the unlucky actress who had to speak the line was uncomfortable with it.

I found myself wondering why on earth would the playwright find that reference necessary? In my more charitable moments, I hope that he meant no deliberate harm, although to point out a difference that made no difference was both insensitive and unnecessary. I can't help but feel it was done out of ignorance and/or prejudice, both of which this world has in excess. For evidence of that, one has merely to turn on the news, pick up a newspaper, or read any number of websites.

We have more than enough of both ignorance and prejudice in everyday life; for proof we need go no further than the daily news - but that's an issue for another occasion. Today we're discussing stereotypes.

This same friend recently has been performing in a murder mystery, one we attended over the weekend. (And no, I'm not going to mention the name of the play, it doesn't deserve the publicity. If you've seen it, you'll recognize it; 'nuff said.) As usual, the cast did an excellent job, although this time they did it with with less-than-stellar source material. The best description I can give you is that it was a seriously stereotyped who-dun-it, although for once the butler wasn't the culprit. The characters involved all had somewhat good motives for doing in the victim and possessed what could be termed the "requisite personality quirks" to make them somewhat viable suspects. I should have known who was going to be the guilty party when an issue was made of one particular character having utilized the professional services of a psychiatrist at some point in the nebulous past. In this case, it was for an anxiety disorder and a "type of claustrophobia".

WTF?

Since when does either condition indicate a potential murderer? That makes as much sense as saying that someone with acrophobia is more likely to be a shoplifter than the average person, - namely, none at all! And speaking of "the average person",

Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.

That's from the National Institute of Mental Health website. That's a lot of people. The term "mental disorder" covers a wide array of conditions, including depression, anorexia, bulimia, phobias, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, autism, and personality disorders, among others. We are your brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, your friends and your neighbors. Lots of people suffer to one extent or another from conditions that are technically in the mental illness category, but have never been formally diagnosed, and just live with it. Have a fear of heights? Of spiders or snakes? Of the dark? A touch of claustrophobia, maybe? Do you check and double-check the door to make sure it's locked before you go to bed? Have a "blue mood" that just won't go away? It doesn't mean you're crazy, but you too could be suffering from a mental disorder.

To stereotype all persons with mental illness* by thinking they're dangerous or "crazy" is nothing short of asinine. Most people with mental disorders are indistinguishable from anyone else you encounter on the street. We're just like you because we are you. Yes, there are those whose disorders are more obvious; that is often the result of inadequately controlled symptoms and/or extreme cases of illness. Finding the right medication(s) and the right dosage can take, quite literally, years. Sometimes nothing works, or the treatment comes with side effects that make it impossible to continue, or the medication is unaffordable. Sometimes the medication actually makes the condition worse.

Personally, I've suffered from clinical depression for most of my life, but it was only formally diagnosed in the last few years. There are a lot of us. According to NIMH,

Approximately 20.9 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year, have a mood disorder.

And, also according to the site, 14.8 million of those will suffer from a major depressive episode in a given year. I could tell you all about that state from the inside, but instead I'll direct you to DesertRose (of Human Equality blog fame), who has survived in far more difficult territory than I've ever experienced. I highly recommend reading all four articles in her "Crazy Does Not Equal..." series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4).

I go could on for pages and pages and throw out statistics and studies, but I suspect I'd lose anyone who's stuck with me this long, so I'd better just wrap up. What's particularly sad about mental illness is that it's still one of those subjects people hesitate to talk about because it's so misunderstood and stigmatized. It means that sufferers often don't seek help or have adequate support systems. We don't tell people about it, where we might if we had a more "conventional" disease like cancer or heart disease or endometriosis. We're afraid of being stereotyped and treated as if we're going to become dangerous or experience a break with reality at any moment. But the thing is, we should talk about it, we should educate people. Years ago, epilepsy was thought to be caused by demon possession. Now we know that it's based in brain chemistry. It's the same for mental illnesses; they're chemically based, and not caused by some character weakness or moral failure. It's time to break the silence.

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*I phrase it this way because otherwise one can unconsciously confuse the illness with the person, e.g. a person who has cancer is not the cancer itself.