Law Commons^™

The Ada And Persons With Mental Disabilities: Can Sanist Attitudes Be Undone, Michael L. Perlin

Journal of Law and Health

This leads to my thesis. What I call "sanist" attitudes and "pretextual" judicial and legislative reactions dominate social and legal discourse about mentally ill persons (and those so perceived). These attitudes affect and infect interpersonal relationships, social, cultural and political actions, judicial decisions, legislative enactments, scholarly writings, administrative rulings, and litigation strategies. They largely operate on an unconscious (and often invisible) level, and are frequently found in the writings and public pronouncements of otherwise "liberal" or "progressive" individuals. They are also rationalized through the non-reflective use of a false kind of "ordinary common sense" (OCS) and through the use of …