The Prisoner, the Psychiatrist, and the Lion

Hola mi Gente,

Today I join the working… The following did really happen. 

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Quacks

Schools serve the same social functions as prisons and mental institutions -- to define, classify, control, and regulate people.

 -- Michel Foucault

And speaking of quacks, allow me to share the following (true) story. I won’t name names here folks, but some of you might know…

Some time ago, a recently incarcerated man was going through “orientation” at a New York State prison. Orientation, from a penal perspective, is very similar to the process of brainwashing: your head is shaved, you are stripped naked and deloused, and humiliated. Your name is taken away and you’re given a number instead. You’re instructed that that number is now your name and must, upon pain of punishment, respond when it is called out. You’re also given a series of measures in order to gauge your academic attainment and personality.

As part of the psychological profiling, this individual was called into a psychiatrist’s office for an examination. As part of the questioning process, the following interchange took place:

Psychiatrist: What would you do if you were to suddenly discover that a lion was in your cell?

Incarcerated Person: well, I would reach for my gun under my pillow and shoot the lion.

Psychiatrist: (somewhat taken aback) Where would you get such a gun?!

Incarcerated Person: From the same place you got the lion... bitch!

Of course, the man in question was immediately diagnosed as suffering from an anti-social personality disorder, forcefully taken out if the office, and beaten by guards. The psychiatrist, on the other hand, is probably still “practicing.”

My name is Eddie and I'm in recovery from civilization...