Surviving institutionalization: A personal account of abuse, compliance, and resistance
By
Rachel Litchman
Crackling crust, pillowy middle. The kind of bagel that earns a second cup of coffee.
Summary
Rachel Litchman shares her personal experience of being institutionalized in psychiatric and residential facilities as a child, where horrific abuse was normalized and compliance was demanded under the guise of helping residents "get out." She argues that institutions never truly disappeared in the US despite the narrative of deinstitutionalization in the 1980s, and draws connections between the lessons of institutional survival and the current political climate under Trump's attacks on marginalized communities. The article explores how compliance was a tool for exploitation rather than liberation, and how resistance became a necessary survival strategy.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledStaff alleged that compliance would help us 'get out.' But compliance merely demanded submission to our routine exploitation and acceptance of destructive narratives.
There is a presumed history of institutions closing in the United States through the 1980s. But the reality is that institutions never disappeared.
In these places, horrific abuse was the norm.
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