Tag: history

By G. Eggle (Pseudonym)

CONTENT WARNING FOR MENTION(S) OF UNREALITY, GASLIGHTING, DRUGS, SLAVERY.

When thinking of paranoia, media images of people babbling about the government watching them may come to mind. Yet this is exactly a line of reasoning used against people, particularly people of color who are/were activists, to discredit their fears of surveillance often legitimized by their anti-government activities, and their knowledge of subtle and complicated government activities intended to harm others. For example, many governments in the Global South, particularly well-known in Latin America, have had political figures overthrown or sponsored by the U.S. government, yet many people in the United States would likely label this as “a conspiracy”. Other examples include phenomena of surveillance through mobile phones, such as activists’ communications and online activity being monitored by organizations such as the FBI (which similarly has evidence). 

Paranoia as a highly stigmatized aspect of mental illness also acts a double whammy for many people who have had struggles with substance abuse in the past, as there are several substances that can worsen paranoia significantly (ex. crack cocaine, amphetamines such as adderall). Many houseless people can have this struggle on top of their houselessness. This can make it harder for people to get help for the multiple struggles that they face. It also plays a part in the stigma of particular mental illnesses/neurodivergencies such as Borderline Personality Disorder, where paranoia can present as a symptom. In general, the stigmatization of paranoia and its weaponization serves to complete the same functions as usual: isolating and increasing the suffering of marginalized people, as marginalized people tend to have the most reason to oppose the government. 

The fact that paranoia has been used to pathologize people’s legitimate facts and knowledge also can create a more frightening and disorienting space for someone entering leftism. Particularly if they have struggled with it in the past, it can be very upsetting (as an understatement) learning that things that you have had to reassure yourself are “not real” in the constant attempt to keep yourself mentally tethered could in fact be real in some cases. This is not to say that every fear a paranoid person has had in the past is true, and this article is not intended to distribute medical advice, but to recount some aspects of personal experience and acknowledge the difficult and scary aspects of the situation. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that what is a “reasonable” vs. an “unreasonable” fear is highly subject to all the usual -isms that all things are subject to. Identity-related fears, such as the fear of surveillance as an activist of color, fear of attack for a large variety of marginalized people, fear of getting sick for immunocompromised people, etc., may be not taken seriously in some cases for these reasons – they are seen by white, able-bodied, cisgender, and such therapists as “unreasonable” since they have not experienced these things, heard about them, or been at risk of them. As usual, medical literature has drawn from the experiences of mostly white, able-bodied, cisgender men, and decisions about what is reasonable is based on their experiences and the desires of the state (suppression of dissent and critical thinking). 

Additionally, this opens the wider conversation about what neurodivergent traits are seen as “acceptable” or “relatable” particularly by highly regulated (along the lines of acceptability, popularity, etc.) spheres such as social media but also within interpersonal relationships. While this is a much larger conversation, it is clear from the examples above that paranoia generally does not fall into those categories. But why? As hinted at above, it is likely that some of the stigmatization of paranoia in general comes from the fact that it is stereotyped as involving anti-government theories (while this is not always the case in real life). Those in power have something to gain in their attempts to delegitimize people by weaponizing medical diagnoses – as historically done against marginalized groups with examples such as “hysteria” against women and pathologizing U.S. slaves’ desire for freedom, and continues to be done today – against them. This pressure also serves to isolate those people, distancing them from others, from both potential help if they are suffering and from potential community and comrades to believe them, and take action against the injustice or atrocity that they are aware has been committed. 

Due to the constraints of the pamphlet this was a very sparse overview of the topic. In general, though, it’s to ask you to think about what “conspiracy theories” you believe related to government activities – those that you do believe as a leftist, and those that you do not, and to think about your reactions to the people who voice them. And, outside of government-related theories, to (re)think about your reactions and thoughts on paranoid people in general.