Naziism (Still) Influences Modern Psychology
How the diagnosis of “Asperger’s” is related to Naziism
Happy April
I originally wrote the article below two years ago. Unfortunately, this subject matter is still highly relevant, and the history behind certain diagnoses and terminology is still poorly understood by the general public.
April is Autism Acceptance Month and Autism Canada has partnered with an aspie supremacist. I will not give either of them attention for this, but you can confirm via Internet search or through visiting Autism Canada’s social media pages.
May 2022
I’ve been reading quite an eclectic mix of books lately and have a few different concepts floating around in my mind. They intertwine and yet in some ways, they are opposing ideas.
Firstly, there continues a modern debate over parenting styles. In their more extreme iterations, authoritarian proponents believe children should be “seen and not heard”, should be “put in their place”, and would benefit from a “good smack” every now and again.
On the positive parenting side, these parents are accused of being too permissive, of trying to be “buddies” with their kids rather than being the adult in the relationship, and of coddling or spoiling their children.
I hadn’t even set out to read histories of the various approaches to child-rearing, but I got a glimpse of it in some of the books I’ve read recently.
One of these books spans across the 1920s through the 1960s, mostly covering the 1930s-1940s, and explores how psychiatry was shaped by Naziism in World War Two (WWII).
Unfortunately, we still have people who think the best way to teach children is through tough love, intimidation, and brute force. Despite 77 years having passed since the end of WWII, much of the Nazi influence on early psychiatry remains today.
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