Post No. 3,198 - From social media this week

My activism this week includes the following (lightly edited), which was written based on my response to this thread: 

Dear Members of Parliament, 

I see the US medical profession is reviewing the Diagnostic and Services Manual (DSM) again. Although that can potentially be a good technical reference, it is heavily biased by the fact that it is a US publication, and thus is written for their ludicrous mismanagement of health and their often backward social values. 

In particular, I came across an article (at https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/apa-unveils-early-plans-next-dsm-2025a1000eu1) which suggests the USA's American Psychiatry Association is thinking of adding a condition for suicidality on the basis that “... a recent report estimated that 19.6% of individuals who attempted suicide did so despite not meeting criteria for any existing psychiatric disorder”. 

I would like to know (but have no way of finding out) how many of those 19.6% were living in poverty, living with conditions that they were unable to get diagnoses for, or a combination of both? (I also note that some mild depression is because the mildly depressed people actually have a better [more accurate] understanding of reality than those who are not depressed - e.g., about the very real existential threats of the climate crisis.) 

That aspect, however, is unlikely, IMO, to have received genuine consideration in the USA (despite the paper also noting "The Social Determinants subcommittee is tasked with assessing the impact on mental health from factors such as ethno-racial backgrounds, sex and gender, belief systems, personality, income, an individual’s living circumstances, and exposures through the years to both advantages and disadvantages") because of that nation's political biases since Reagan, which have become extreme since the current autocrat came to power earlier this year. As a result, they are likely going to blame victims for what is a political problem, with political solutions. 

Whatever comes out of the USA for some time will need, IMO, to be viewed with extreme caution by us - both for the usual adaptation to our culture and political philosophy, and also because of the extremist distortions that it is currently exhibiting, and I urge that changes to the next DSM (which, as also noted in the article, will be years off) be most carefully reviewed for credibility, suitability to Australia, etc before being allowed to influence our lives. 

I also noticed the following article, by Emeritus Professor of Accounting Practice at (UK) Sheffield University Management School Richard Murphy: 

"The crisis we face is because of our failure to meet the needs of young people"   https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/07/26/the-crisis-we-face-is-because-of-our-failure-to-meet-the-needs-of-young-people/   

That article also needs to viewed with some caution, as it is based on what is happening in the UK, including a housing situation that does not have the restorative building programmes that we have had for some time now. 

However, the graph showing differences in stress between "the anglosphere" and western Europe is quite striking, and it may be that we could learn something from an examination of that as well. 

I also note that the UK has recently committed to lowering the voting age to 16. The possibility of doing that here has received some media attention of late (and I consider suggestions of better civics education should also be applied to those who can already vote, as I am of the view that many young people are actually more aware of key issues than older voters). 

I also note that the recent Youth Parliament of Victoria, which is open to people as young as 16, shows the political acuity and capability of young people - and I note, from https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/news/general-news/yp24opening, that "More than 30 pieces of Victorian legislation have originated in the Youth Parliament, including roadside drug testing, over the counter contraception, mandatory bicycle helmets and removal of glass from high-risk entertainment venues". 

We may not be going to lower the voting age, even by providing voluntary voting for 16 and 17 year olds, but it would be good to see any bill that came out of the recent Youth Parliament that addresses climate issues adopted - especially as it would help emphasise the difference between progressive politics and the neoliberal conservatives who are still, in essence, debating whether climate change is real - which shows they don't understand climate science, and do not understand what [people in my home state] and Australians want. 

In response to a social media comment (by an Irish person) on   “Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse”   https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/26/two-in-five-arrested-for-last-summers-uk-riots-had-been-reported-for-domestic-abuse   which included:   

“The link between domestic abuse & the far right has been anecdotal up to now AFAIK. A number of the far right Irish yobs, who regularly riot, have barring orders, served time or been prosecuted for domestic abuse. Their’s is the behaviour of criminality, in public & in private life”   

I posted (lightly edited for flow): 

“I’ve read research indicating that if a person has one form of bigotry they're more likely to have another, and I’ve been on the receiving end of far right hate (in Australia), and that has led me to be wary of being on the receiving end of violence from some of those on the right, but I don’t know that it counts as evidence unless one views the current trend towards fascism and its inherent patriarchal views as part of the equation, in which case, MAYBE   https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743520302097 (2011) Other research that MIGHT be relevant (by the way, it is late here, and I am ill - apologies for any lack of clarity) includes   https://www.livescience.com/16961-sexism-racism-linked-personality.html   https://www.shortform.com/blog/intersectional-racism/   and   https://theconversation.com/the-intersectionality-of-hate-helps-make-sense-of-the-ideology-of-donald-trump-and-the-far-right-230268 ”   

 

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider: 

• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”;  
• I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 

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Note that I am cutting back on aspects of my posts - see here. 

(Gnwmythr is pronounced new-MYTH-ear)  

Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).

#PsychicABetterWorld   and  

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