Bruce E Levine writes a rebuttal to the New York Times review of Laura Delano’s book Unshrunk in Counter Punch.
“Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance, the newly published book by Laura Delano, is scaring the hell out of establishment psychiatry and its Big Pharma partners, who in recent years could count on the mainstream media to ignore books and films that cost them status and business. However, the mainstream media, including the New York Times, cannot simply ignore a book published by Viking, owned by Penguin Random House, especially a book authored by an articulate Harvard graduate and relative of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. So, the NYT has attempted to marginalize Delano and Unshrunk in another way.
In reaction to Delano’s challenging the authority of establishment psychiatry, NYT reporter Ellen Barry, in a lengthy feature story, attempted to marginalize her (shortly after, the NYT published a tamer brief review of Unshrunk, written by non-NYT book author, which only accuses Delano of being “reductionist”). The job of the NYT, long made clear by Noam Chomsky, is to protect the status quo and the ruling class by marginalizing anyone who seriously challenges it and its enabling institutions. Barry does her job, insidiously demeaning Delano’s discoveries, her independence from professional authorities, and her valuing mutual aid; and Barry distorts the radical thrust of Unshrunk.”
