HOW IT WORKS

“Modern man no longer communicates with the madman. There is no common language, or rather, it no longer exists; the constitution of madness as mental illness bears witness to a rupture in a dialogue. The language of psychiatry, which is a monologue by reason about madness, could only have come into existence in such a silence.” - Michel Foucault, Madness and Civilisation, 1961

It can all get a bit much sometimes can’t it? Yes mate - bet you need that fiver for a hostel. Why are they always picking up fag butts on the floor outside the station? Released early! No wonder there’s so much crime nowadays! Country’s a joke, I heard. It never used to be like this, you see. They used to pull people apart. They used to split their bodies into four. There used to be law and order. Say what you like about Saudi justice - but you wouldn’t steal there! It’s a difficult one isn’t it. I do feel sorry for them, but you just can’t be crashing out like that - in public! British values, remember them? I wouldn’t let my daughter out dressed like the other girls nowadays, would you? It’s a crazy world we’re living in - I just keep myself to myself these days. It’s not like it used to be, today. No wonder they are like that - I don’t blame them, I mean, I do feel for the younguns, what have they got going for them? I was working at 13 you know - no such thing as ‘contracts’ in the good old days! But - it was a different time, a safer time, you could leave your doors unlocked, yes, even the front door! Wouldn’t do that now, would you, leave your front door unlocked! It’s bloody madness. And it’s no wonder, not with these lot cutting about, no regard for others. It wasn’t always like this - not in my day.

I think it’s getting worse you know - babies vaping, teenagers with machetes on scooters, everyone’s addicted to painkillers, seen them zombies in town, like something out of Detroit or Los Angeles - our Jane’s a teacher and some of the stuff she talks about - god. Makes your skin crawl, it does. Never had anything like that when I was growing up. Did you? Was it like this round your place? Mental man.

The world’s gone mad. I hear people screaming in the street. I see people on the tube asking for money. Everything’s about sex, drugs, politics. Sex, drugs, politics. Sex, drugs, politics. My son showed me something the other day. They’ve started writing something. You should have seen the state of it; an orgy of rubbish, celebrating the worst in us. I asked him about it. Apparently it’s meant to help others. Blind leading the blind, I say. It’s Madness man. 

It began with painting, sculpting, laughing, writing, humouring, entertaining, gazing. We were expelled, set adrift, forbidden and deported. Then they took us, confined, embarrassed, shamed, cut, tortured, sliced, hurt, thrown away with the others, incriminated and condemned. “We understand you” they finally said, as they locked the door, took us away from the world, from our families, our understandings, jobs, pains, loves, dreams, and homes. They began to forget, “what happened to them?”, “are they being dealt with?”, “I’m sure someone will help them”. It became more reasonable, they said, “we get it”, they smiled, still the key turned in the lock at night. They grinned when they changed my sheets in the morning, “it’s okay”, “this is normal”, “we get it”. Then they began to lie. “We don’t do that anymore”, they said, confinement was over, everything is okay now, here’s a number, give them a call, “if you’re going to do it, just don’t do it in rush hour”. But we’re still here, still beholden to them, attracting glances, frowning eyebrows, arms behind our backs, keys in the lock, a number, a menace, a statistic, a problem. 

How do you survive? How do you escape them? Is it always going to be like this? Is this it?

Madness explores what others do to avoid condemnation to jails, institutions, and death. Madness explores how purpose can be found in an age of nihilistic self-obsession. Madness explores how they treat you, how they treat us, how we treat them, and how that can change. You should read Madness. It may be able to help you too.