Crash Course: Schizophrenia made me a Republican

Plus: Bubonic plague "truthers" none Your daily update from [Salon](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0QWaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tL1cDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~). Written by [Brett Bachman](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0QhaHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9CcmV0dEFCYWNobWFuVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~). none none How schizophrenia made me a Republican "It all seemed so real." Those are the words of Patty Mulcahy, who penned a striking personal essay for Salon this weekend about her battle with paranoid schizophrenia — a condition made worse by the equally schizophrenic right-wing cable news coverage she was consuming at the time of her break from reality. It's a piece that leads to the inevitable question: is the average American who believes Bill Gates engineered COVID-19 to microchip the U.S. population really all that different from someone experiencing a mental health crisis? "Social dynamics can propagate conspiracy-based thinking that mimics biologically triggered delusions," Mulcahy writes, adding that she believes politicians and public figures — Republicans especially — have a responsibility to tone down their rhetoric in order to prevent more people from experiencing a similar break from reality. It's easy to mock people who think Bill Gates wants to put a microchip in them with the coronavirus vaccine. But it's much harder to separate conspiracy theorists' larger existential fears from our own. We're approaching the second year of a global pandemic, which is causing mass anxiety and depression. The internet routinely displays images of future roads in major cities as gushing rivers due to climate change. Billions of fish were boiled in the American Northwest and Canada during an unprecedented heatwave this summer. If someone's mind starts spinning with their wildest fears and finds solace in a conspiracy theory, can you really blame them? [Read the full essay](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RLaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjYvc2NoaXpvcGhyZW5pYS1tYWRlLW1lLWEvP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~). (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) none none "Black Death" had its own conspiracy theorists Everything old is new again — for proof, look no further than the long history of conspiracy theorists stretching back to what is often considered humanity's worst pandemic: the bubonic plague. These "truthers" scapegoated European Jews, turned to astrology rather than medicine and flagellated themselves with the belief that the entire phenomenon was a punishment from God, rather than an illness that could be contracted and spread through human contact. But there were bright spots, too. In fact, medieval plague sowed the seeds that eventually led to the development of the scientific method and modern medicine as we know it — and something equally beneficial to humanity may still arise from our collective discomfort over the past few years. [Learn more about medieval conspiracy theories and the people who spread them](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvbGlrZS0xOS10aGUtYmxhY2staGFkLWl0cy1vd24tdHJ1dGhlci1tb3ZlbWVudC10b28vP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~). (Photo via Getty Images) none - Democracy vs. fascism: What do those words mean — and [do they describe](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0SKaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjYvZGVtb2NyYWN5LXZzLWZhc2Npc20tcGFydC0xLXdoYXQtZG8tdGhvc2Utd29yZHMtbWVhbi0tYW5kLWRvLXRoZXktZGVzY3JpYmUtdGhpcy1tb21lbnQvP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) our current moment? - "Think just a little bit": Nikole Hannah-Jones [busts Chuck Todd](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0SWaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjYvdGhpbmstanVzdC1hLWxpdHRsZS1iaXQtbmlrb2xlLWhhbm5haC1qb25lcy1idXN0cy1jaHVjay10b2RkLWZvci1hc3N1bWluZy1tb3N0LXBhcmVudHMtYXJlX3BhcnRuZXIvP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) for assuming most parents are white - Rodenticides are [killing animals](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RDaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjYvcm9kZW50aWNpZGVzLXNnYXJzLXVuc2FmZV9wYXJ0bmVyL1cDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~) way up the food chain - These MVPs of television [delivered greatness](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RHaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjYvYmVzdC10di1hY3RvcnMtMjAyMS8_dXNlcl9pZD0qfEVNQUlMfCpXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) in a year that almost broke us - Can Democrats break the midterm curse? Maybe — consider the [example of 1934](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0R9aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjYvY2FuLWRlbW9jcmF0cy1icmVhay10aGUtbWlkdGVybS1jdXJzZS1tYXliZS0tY29uc2lkZXItdGhlLWV4YW1wbGUtb2YtMTkzNC8_dXNlcl9pZD0qfEVNQUlMfCpXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - The recipe for this easy-to-make, [old-fashioned coconut pie](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0SQaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvdGhlLXJlY2lwZS1mb3ItdGhpcy1lYXN5LXRvLW1ha2Utb2xkLWZhc2hpb25lZC1jb2NvbnV0LXBpZS1oYXMtYmVlbi1wYXNzZWQtZG93bi10aHJvdWdoLXRpbWUvP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) has been passed down through time - Denzel Washington is commanding in Joel Coen's [bloody, bold and resolute](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RNaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvdHJhZ2VkeS1vZi1tYWNiZXRoLXJldmlldy8_dXNlcl9pZD0qfEVNQUlMfCpXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) "Tragedy of Macbeth" - The COVID vaccine patent war has [an unsettling parallel](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RGaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvcGF0ZW50LXZhY2NpbmUtaGl2Lz91c2VyX2lkPSp8RU1BSUx8KlcDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~) in HIV drugs - The war on culture: How conservatives and progressives [joined forces to crush art](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0SAaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvdGhlLW9uLWN1bHR1cmUtaG93LWNvbnNlcnZhdGl2ZXMtYW5kLXByb2dyZXNzaXZlcy1qb2luZWQtZm9yY2VzLXRvLWNydXNoLWFydC8_dXNlcl9pZD0qfEVNQUlMfCpXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - The soulful revenge of "Last Christmas," Wham!'s [potent yuletide breakup song](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RWaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvbGFzdC1jaHJpc3RtYXMtd2hhbS1nZW9yZ2UtbWljaGFlbC8_dXNlcl9pZD0qfEVNQUlMfCpXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - Corporate America's [top 10 blunders](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0ReaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvY29ycG9yYXRlLWFtZXJpY2FzLXRvcC0xMC1ibHVuZGVycy1vZi0yMDIxLz91c2VyX2lkPSp8RU1BSUx8KlcDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~) of 2021 - Magic and mysteries woven into ["The Wheel of Time" main titles](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RYaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjQvdGhlLXdoZWVsLW9mLXRpbWUtbWFnaWMtd2VhdmluZy1hamFoLz91c2VyX2lkPSp8RU1BSUx8KlcDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~) - And, finally, consult our how-to guide for crafting [your ideal gingerbread](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0SNaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvdGhpbi1hbmQtY3Jpc3B5LW9yLXNvZnQtYW5kLXBpbGxvd3kteW91ci1ob3ctdG8tZ3VpZGUtZm9yLWNyYWZ0aW5nLXlvdXItaWRlYWwtZ2luZ2VyYnJlYWQvP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) Not a subscriber yet? [Sign up](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0QgaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tL25ld3NsZXR0ZXJXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) to receive Crash Course. none Why we'll never have a real meritocracy What is a person worth? Under our current conceptions of market-economy capitalism, there is only one measure: wealth. Political scientist Mary Barker writes that this is the reason meritocracy will never exist as its proponents envision it — especially when some people own the means of production and some labor on their behalf. Money is not the common standard that it seems to be. This is because there are two different ways of earning it. Capitalists benefit from portfolio income, which is timeless, spaceless and potentially limitless. Other people don't. Owners' income is not limited to the labor that they alone put into an enterprise, which is bound by space (a person can only be in one place at any given moment) and time. Instead, owners get the profits produced by their entire labor force. They earn when anyone in the enterprise is working. They thus earn from multiple bodies in multiple spaces. They can simultaneously earn in Tulsa, Phoenix, Richmond, Paris, and Bangkok. They can also earn round the clock. They can earn while they are eating or sleeping. They can earn while they are watching a movie or reading a book. Their earnings, then, are divorced from their person — from their labor and from their bodies in space and time. They have broken through these limits. Their earnings are spaceless and timeless. Moreover, capitalists can pass these benefits on to heirs, who need do nothing to receive the privileges. That is the true meaning of entitlement. It refers to those who hold the titles. (Duke and count were hereditary titles that came with property. If you have the title to your car, you own it.) Obviously, the poor don't "own" food stamps in the same way. Thus, we misapply the word entitlement when we refer to government programs for the poor, who almost by definition do not own. [Read more](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0R3aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjUvd2h5LXdlLWNhbnQtaGF2ZS1hLW1lcml0b2NyYWN5LXdlLWhhdmUtbm8taWRlYS1ob3ctdG8tbWVhc3VyZS13b3J0aC8_dXNlcl9pZD0qfEVNQUlMfCpXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). none - "Joan Didion, 'Goodbye to All That' and the struggle to see yourself clearly," [The Los Angeles Times](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RVaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubGF0aW1lcy5jb20vZW50ZXJ0YWlubWVudC1hcnRzL2Jvb2tzL3N0b3J5LzIwMjEtMTItMjQvam9hbi1kaWRpb24tZ29vZGJ5ZVcDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~) - "The Jaded Adult’s Guide to Drinking Around the World at Epcot," [The Daily Beast](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RjaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZGFpbHliZWFzdC5jb20vdGhlLWphZGVkLWFkdWx0cy1ndWlkZS10by1kcmlua2luZy1hcm91bmQtdGhlLXdvcmxkLWF0LWVwY290P3JlZj1ob21lVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) - "First They Fought About Masks. Then Over the Soul of the City," [The New York Times](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0Q5aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMS8xMi8yNi91cy9va2xhaG9tYS1tYXNrcy5odG1sVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) - "Is Donald Trump an Anti-Semite?" [The New Yorker](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RLaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3eW9ya2VyLmNvbS9uZXdzL2RhaWx5LWNvbW1lbnQvaXMtZG9uYWxkLXRydW1wLWFuLWFudGktc2VtaXRlVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) - "What the press lost in 2021," [On the Media](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RTaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud255Y3N0dWRpb3Mub3JnL3BvZGNhc3RzL290bS9zZWdtZW50cy93aGF0LXByZXNzLWxvc3QtMjAyMS1vbi10aGUtbWVkaWFXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) none none Far-right denounces Trump after pro-vaccine comments Some of the most devoted followers of former President Donald Trump are finally turning on him after a series of pro-vaccine comments last week — first at a Texas rally with Bill O'Reilly where [he was booed](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0R2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjAvZG9udC1kb250LWRvbnQtbGFzaGVzLW91dC1hZnRlci1jcm93ZC1ib29zLWhpbS1mb3ItZ2V0dGluZy1ib29zdGVyLz91c2VyX2lkPSp8RU1BSUx8KlcDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~) for disclosing that he had received a booster shot, and again after that in an interview with the online commentator Candace Owens. Ali Alexander, one of the founders of Trump's "Stop the Steal" movement, wrote on Telegram that "This losing is getting boomer level annoying." Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones also weighed in during an "Infowars" broadcast, saying, "Hell, we're fighting Bill Gates and Fauci and Biden and the New World Order and Psaki and the Davos Group ... and now we've got Trump on their team!" Even right-wing cartoonist Ben Garrison, who has spent years drawing beefed-up versions of Trump in various states of undress, had enough of the former president's comments. In [a new cartoon this week](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0Q-aHR0cHM6Ly90d2l0dGVyLmNvbS9raW1wb3NzaWJsZWZhY3Qvc3RhdHVzLzE0NzQxMTgwMzk5MDU4NTc1NTdXA3NwY0IKYbvSqslhgzWGQ1IbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), Garrison drew a frightened-looking Trump riding on a "vaccine bandwagon" alongside TrumpWorld villains like the "corporate media" and "Big Pharma," among others. [Learn more](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2Fsb24uY29tLzIwMjEvMTIvMjQvbG9zaW5nLWZhci1yaWdodC1zdXBwb3J0LWFmdGVyLXZhY2NpbmUtZW5kb3JzZW1lbnQvP3VzZXJfaWQ9KnxFTUFJTHwqVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~). (Photo via Getty Images) Have a tip for Salon? Feedback on this newsletter? [Let us know](mailto:brett.bachman@salon.com). Our mailing address: 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200 Wilmington, 19801 DE [Unsubscribe from this list](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9yZWFkLmxldHRlcmhlYWQuZW1haWwvY3Jhc2gtY291cnNlL3Vuc3Vic2NyaWJlP2lkPUAzNTQzOTUyVwNzcGNCCmG70qrJYYM1hkNSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) Copyright © 2021 Crash Course, All rights reserved. [Made with Letterhead [Letterhead logo]](~/AASU4wA~/RgRjrC_PP0QiaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbmVwbm83czh5c1cDc3BjQgphu9KqyWGDNYZDUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~)