London Bicentennial (Snippet 4)

 Disaster in London -1898

Source: Daily Capital Journal, Jan. 4, 1898 (Oregon). The information below is found on Facebook, see "Vintage London, Ontario":

   "On election night in 1898, a major disaster happened at the old City Hall on the west side of Richmond St, between Dundas & King.

  A large crowd assembled on the second floor to cheer on London's new mayor-elect, Dr. John Wilson. By 9pm that evening the room was at capacity. Around 10pm a loud crack was heard as a wood support beam under the room snapped. A portion of the floor collapsed, taking with it a couple of hundred people - along with a 500 lb safe. At least 23 people were killed and 150 people were seriously injured. Many prominent Londoners were among the people killed. Various reasons were given for the collapse including blaming the crowd & poor building construction techniques."

photo source - Western Archives The Leonard Family Fonds Box X1920

Schizophrenia May Be Eliminated

 Expurgation (4)

   The title may be misleading. It is the word 'schizophrenia' that is likely to disappear, not the mental disorder. The sub-title may be puzzling since it refers to three other posts I have provided, none of which you will have read. They all have to do with arguments about the purging of words from our dictionaries, just as we are now also arguing about the elimination of names from our maps. The first is about the word 'Accident', which tort lawyers, in particular, want removed (I just looked back at that one and it isn't bad.) The second is, "Illegal Aliens,"since there are none to be found on this planet. The third is  "Mistress",  because there is not a corresponding term to define the person your wife may be fooling around with. This fourth one may be my last, because keeping up with these linguistic battles is a full time job.

    Schizophrenia has surfaced since there seems to be a stigma associated with the illness. I pointed out recently that the American Medical Association wants practitioners to avoid troublesome words like, 'vulnerable' and 'high-risk'. Now the members of the American Psychiatric Association may opt not to label someone as suffering from 'schizophrenia', and the diagnosis may be dropped from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Those involved in the construction of the DSM are well practiced at this type of endeavour and in some cases have gone so far as to even eliminate the 'disease' - 'homosexuality' - for example. Those in the profession seem to be split about how to describe those with a 'split personality'.

  Clearly, yet again, I have tackled a subject about which I am not sufficiently credentialed. So, I will point you to the sources and let you decide this linguistic matter for yourself. The place for laypeople to begin is here: ‘Schizophrenia’ Still Carries a Stigma. Will Changing the Name Help?" Karen Brown, New York Times, Dec. 20, 2021.

"Many people with or connected to the mental illness approve of updating the name, a new survey shows. But some experts are not convinced it’s the answer....The idea is that replacing the term “schizophrenia” with something less frightening and more descriptive will not only change how the public perceives people with the diagnosis, but also how these people see themselves."

Good arguments for both sides are presented, including some mundane ones, like if the patient, loses the label, they could lose their insurance coverage. And, as Dr. Carpenter argues, "A rose by any other name would smell the same...“And if you make the change, how long until the stigma catches up with it?”

   Those serious about schizophrenia should have a look at the survey which is found here and the abstract is provided. 

"Are We Ready for a Name Change for Schizophrenia? A Survey of Multiple Stakeholders,"

(many authors), Schizophrenia Research, Volume 238, December 2021, Pages 152-160.

Abstract

"About one in 100 people worldwide are diagnosed with schizophrenia. Many people advocate for a name change for the condition, pointing to the stigma and discrimination associated with the term “schizophrenia”, as well as to how the name poorly characterizes features of the illness. The purpose of this project was to collect opinions from a broad, diverse sample of stakeholders about possible name changes for schizophrenia. The project represented a partnership between researchers, clinicians, and those with lived experience with psychosis. The group developed a survey to assess opinions about the need for change in the name schizophrenia as well as potential alternate names. We accumulated 1190 responses from a broad array of community stakeholders, including those with lived experience of mental illness, family members, clinicians, researchers, government officials, and the general public. Findings indicated that the majority of respondents (74.1%) favored a name change for schizophrenia. Most (71.4%) found the name stigmatizing. Of the proposed alternate names, those with the most support included “Altered Perception Syndrome”, “Psychosis Spectrum Syndrome”, and “Neuro-Emotional Integration Disorder”. Survey findings provide strong support for renaming schizophrenia. Most expressed hope that a name change will reduce stigma and discrimination."

   This issue was raised a few years ago, in this article which also includes many examples of how 'schizophrenia' is defined in other languages: "Name Change for Schizophrenia," (many authors), Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 40, Issue 2, March 2014, Pages 255–258.

I suppose the first order of business will be to change the name of the two journals in which these studies appear.

Those interested in the illness rather than the word should see:

"A Brief History of Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia through the Ages, Neel Burton, Psychology Today, May 4, 2020 and "10 Facts You Should Know About Schizophrenia," Michele Debczak, Mental Floss, Aug. 29, 2019.

The Bonus:

   If you are interested in words and those who used to be called 'crazy' or 'mad', have a look at: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (it was published in England as, The Surgeon of Crowthorne.) For a shorter version see: Chapter 7, "The Hermit and the Murderer" in his book: The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. If you don't enjoy this recommendation, I will give back all of your money.

Expurgations (1) Accident

Although it seems to me that there is an increase in crassness, there is also evidence of a growing sensitivity among us. As an index of such sensitivity one can use the number of pleas made for us to stop using words that are offensive and chart the disappearance of such words. I have noticed recently that many words are simply gone and some are about to go and I thought I should keep you on alert since they do not yet show up in a Dictionary of Archaic and Obsolete Words. Hence Expurgations, which will inform you of the activities of the Bowdlerizers.

By ‘offensive’ words you are probably thinking of ‘naughty’ ones, which used to comprise the largest category, or blasphemous ones which ranked pretty high or, now, any term that remotely relates to race or ethnicity - such as some that are found linked to the names of sports teams. I should add, by the way, that I will tread lightly about this subject, since up here in Canada we have “Hate Laws” and “Human Rights Tribunals” so any offensive word applied to a person is viewed rather harshly. For example, if in a heated moment I exhibited hate by calling you a “Twerp”, I would be sent to prison; if I called you a “Plump Twerp” I would be put to death since a hate crime of that magnitude is a the only one for which there is still a death penalty.

It seems fitting to begin with the letter A, so the soon-to-be-obsolete word-of-the week is ACCIDENT, particularly if used adjacent to “Automobile.”

I kind of expected this one since I have noticed on TV news that no matter how ‘accidental’ a catastrophic incident looks to me,  the focus of the reporter is always on finding out who the culprit was that caused it.

The fact that many are calling for the elimination of the term ‘automobile accidents’ was called to my attention by this article: “It’s No Accident: Advocates Want to Speak of Car ‘Crashes’ Instead,” by Matt Richtel, May 22, 2016, New York Times.

If most car crashes are caused by drunkenness, or texting or driver error or plain stupidity, then it’s not like “God made it happen.” The bureaucrats have become involved (generally not a good thing for language) and those in Nevada just suggested that the a-word be changed to ‘crash’ in such things as police reports. In New York city the Vision Zero Action Plan [?] states that “The City of New York must no longer regard traffic crashes as mere “accidents,” but rather as preventable incidents that can be systematically addressed.” While the Times has not figured out how it will address the problem, the Associated Press already has: “accident, crash – Generally acceptable for automobile and other collisions and wrecks. However, when negligence is claimed or proven, avoid accident, which can be read by some as a term exonerating the person responsible. In such cases, use crash, collision or other terms. See collide, collision.”

As you will see from the use of the word “negligence” above, lawyers are likely to be involved, and linguists, semanticists and philosophers needed. I will leave you here since I am simply alerting you, not attempting to explain to you. About many accidents, my position would not be a particularly sophisticated one and can be summarized in a phrase I would put in Latin, if I could:: S*** Happens.

By the way, there is a new book about the subject of words and it has a very clever title: Accidence Will Happen: The Non-Pedantic Guide to English Usage by Oliver Kamm.