[fla-left] [civil rights] Ex-cons may get voting restored (fwd)

[Ken Hanly]

Wow. At my limit before breakfast. I meant to refer primarily to people in
insane asylums or
"outpatients" . Of course the more usual term used to refer to these people is
"the mentally ill" and they are in mental hospitals. I find those terms more
problematic than insane and asylum.
Many people termed "mentally ill" are, as Thomas Szasz claims, people who are
having problems with living and simply cannot cope. The medical model is used
to unnecessarily restrict their freedom and is an insult to their dignity as
persons, as is withdrawal of their right to vote. "asylum" is a place of
refuge. Would that mental hospitals were that. Of course Justin's point is
well-taken. There are crazies outside the asylums and sane enough people
inside for that matter. You could even argue as Fromm and others  do that
society as a whole can be insane and coping successfully would involve some
degree of insanity.

   Cheers, Ken Hanly

JKSCHW at aol.com wrote:


> In a message dated 00-03-22 21:53:12 EST, you write:
>
> <<
>  > Why on earth should ex-felons not vote. Here we let some of the insane
>
>  And just what the fuck do you mean by "The Insane"?
>
>  Carrol
>   >>
>
> Neoconservatives, congressmen, plainclothes police officers, mainstream
> economists, fundamentalist preachers, NRA fanatics,  Marxist-Leninist true
> believers, the usual lot. Hell, they even let _me_ vote. --jks