Criminalizing Resistance

By Vanessa Krasinski – Resistance

Did you know that wanting freedom used to be classified as a mental disorder?

In 1851, Samuel Cartwright, US physician and slave owner, coined the term Drapetomania, a so-called mental disorder known as ‘runaway slave syndrome.’

It wasn’t a mental illness. This diagnosis was a tool to codify in criminalized resistance.

While Drapetomania is no longer a medical diagnosis, the underlying pattern hasn’t changed.

The pattern: control through language — erase context, deny legitimacy, protect the oppressor.

Yesterday it was “disease”, today it’s “domestic terrorism.” 

Today, those who dissent risk being pathologised and criminalized by those in power. 

But they’ve always tried to rename resistance.

Don’t let them define your terms. Resistance — actions big and small — are a courageous path toward freedom. 

Keep going.

This is like pathologizing non-compliance too.

• Celebrating non-compliance… (a collection)

• Resisting-Illegitimate-Authority — By Bruce E. Levine

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