Should racism be treated as a psychological disorder?

[Feminitopia]

According to DSM-IV, a mental disorder is a psychological syndrome or pattern, which occurs in an individual, and causes distress via a painful symptom or disability, or increases the risk of death, pain, or disability.

A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and to people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social encounters, work and school. (source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-cond ... n-20030111)

Under this definition, should racism be classified and treated as a type of personality disorder? Consider that racism interferes with a persons ability to have healthy interactions with people of other races, which is particularly harmful in a multi-ethnic society. People who harbor racist beliefs have a propensity for violence and other anti-social behaviors, and they are much more likely to hold paranoid belief systems or buy into dangerous conspiracy theories (such as a Jewish elite controlling the banks).

Would these individuals benefit from therapy? Would society benefit if racists were treated in a medical environment?

[Domenic and friends]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

[Rhyfelnydd]

No, it isn't the result of a mental unbalance or similar things. It is just a learned thing it is no more a disorder than holding other opinions.

[Scyobayrynn]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

Indeed it can be unlearned on a societal level, bravo.

[Feminitopia]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

But many psychological disorders are the result of environmental influences as well, particularly in early childhood. These preferences and prejudices are cemented as they age into adulthood, and I think many people would benefit from therapy as a way to remove them. I think if racism were officially classified a psychological disorder (which many professionals already consider it to be), the perception of it being pathological would help marginalize racist thought.

[Napkiraly]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

But many psychological disorders are the result of environmental influences as well, particularly in early childhood. These preferences and prejudices are cemented as they age into adulthood, and I think many people would benefit from therapy as a way to remove them. I think if racism were officially classified a psychological disorder (which many professionals already consider it to be), the perception of it being pathological would help marginalize racist thought.

And potentially make those suffering from mental disorders even more stigmatized since it'd be associated with such things. It's bad enough they're associated with spree killers and other things.

[Scyobayrynn]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

But many psychological disorders are the result of environmental influences as well, particularly in early childhood. These preferences and prejudices are cemented as they age into adulthood, and I think many people would benefit from therapy as a way to remove them. I think if racism were officially classified a psychological disorder (which many professionals already consider it to be), the perception of it being pathological would help marginalize racist thought.

If you retain it as a mental illness then you retain its structure in society's lexicon.
This retains the idea, and thus perpetuates it.

[United Marxist Nations]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

But many psychological disorders are the result of environmental influences as well, particularly in early childhood. These preferences and prejudices are cemented as they age into adulthood, and I think many people would benefit from therapy as a way to remove them. I think if racism were officially classified a psychological disorder (which many professionals already consider it to be), the perception of it being pathological would help marginalize racist thought.

You realize that we don't classify things as mental disorders based on political expediency, yes? Remember, there was a time in which being a "difficult" woman as also characterized as a mental disorder that was often "cured" with a lobotomy. So, no, I don't think it is, in case you can't tell.

[Gig em Aggies]

No Racism is learned habit its not something you are born with and someone who truly doesn't believe in propaganda anymore can unlearn it.

But many psychological disorders are the result of environmental influences as well, particularly in early childhood. These preferences and prejudices are cemented as they age into adulthood, and I think many people would benefit from therapy as a way to remove them. I think if racism were officially classified a psychological disorder (which many professionals already consider it to be), the perception of it being pathological would help marginalize racist thought.

Then that means more then 75% + people on this planet would be classified as having a psychological disorder. Rasicm is learned so it can be unlearned it's not a disorder

[A Shadow Out Of Time]

If and only if it falls under all of the 4 D's of Psychopathology: Distress to the individual, Deviance, Danger to self or others, and Dysfunction in society. Psychiatry is not and should not be in the business of pathologising mere ideas and thoughts - what is this, the new version of Sluggish Schizophrenia, where Soviet psychiatrists categorised a distrust in Soviet Communism as a psychiatric disorder?

But yeah, if a person believes black people are about to take over the US government and purge whites in a holocaust, and it's causing them distress, causing them to dysfunction, and they're becoming a threat to others or themselves... might be a good idea to let them get checked out for personality disorders or psychosis, and see if a swift course of olanzapine helps them cope. If a diagnosis is to be made, Paranoid Schizophrenia or Paranoid/Antisocial Personality Disorder. Not a new one that specifically pathologises racism.

[The Empire of Pretantia]

But many psychological disorders are the result of environmental influences as well, particularly in early childhood. These preferences and prejudices are cemented as they age into adulthood, and I think many people would benefit from therapy as a way to remove them. I think if racism were officially classified a psychological disorder (which many professionals already consider it to be), the perception of it being pathological would help marginalize racist thought.

Then that means more then 75% + people on this planet would be classified as having a psychological disorder. Rasicm is learned so it can be unlearned it's not a disorder

Make that 100%. Humans are all batshit.

[Julian Res Publica]

Racism correlates with stupidity and the lack of education, so no, it's simply ignorance.

[The Novakian Empire]

Fuck no.

[New Grestin]

Racism is a by-product of ignorance, not mental illness.

[Jacobania]

Then that means more then 75% + people on this planet would be classified as having a psychological disorder. Rasicm is learned so it can be unlearned it's not a disorder

Make that 100%. Humans are all batshit.

Including The Batman, himself.

[Scyobayrynn]

Racism correlates with stupidity and the lack of education, so no, it's simply ignorance.

If only that were true.

[Threlizdun]

Mental illnesses tend to be defined in terms of both perceived harm and abnormality. Racism is instituonalized in most societies, and is not abnormal, as unfortunate as that is.

[Palakistan]

No, it isn't the result of a mental unbalance or similar things. It is just a learned thing it is no more a disorder than holding other opinions.

That's what I think.

[Hoskhsueu]

No. Society already treats more things as mental disorders than it needs to. I'm not saying there are no mental disorders, but calling everything that can be wrong with someone that has to do with their mind a mental disorder removes people's agency. I think removing people's sense of agency, as well as what people said earlier about stigmatizing the mentally ill by grouping them with racists, would cause more harm than marginalizing racism (if that would even happen) would help. Is the inverse of racism being a mental disorder that not being racist is just a form of being lucky in the genetic lottery and thus there's no moral component to being or not being racist?

[The Empire of Pretantia]

Make that 100%. Humans are all batshit.

Including The Batman, himself.

Especially the Batman.

[The United Countries of America]

No. Racism is a learned thing, not an inherited thing.

[Twilight Imperium]

Including The Batman, himself.

Especially the Batman.

I've often found racists to be a superstitious, cowardly lot.

[Sun Wukong]

Group selection is an entirely normal psychological process in humans. It's not always healthy, but to call it insane would be like calling anger or jealousy insane.

[Ayothaya]

Ignorance, hatred, prejudice and ideology - components of racism - are all mostly negative, but I don't think they are illnesses. If we're going down that path then we'd have to classify the human condition itself as a kind of psychological disorder.

[Anglo-Saxon North America]

Racism and being-an-ass to homosexuals can both fugk right off, but seriously? Delisting homosexuality and adding on racism as mental disorder? That's a bit silly.