Recently, I found in my files, a copy of a postcard sent to one of our late colleagues and even though it was written long ago, it remains relevant in my opinion.  In memory of our beloved colleague and friend.

“Postcard from Humphry Osmond to Miriam Siegler, September 16, 1977”

“I am not sure just how much we have emphasized what has probably been the most important aspect of the medical model, the impaired model and the dying role and which remains one of its greatest assets.  This is to preserve the status of the failing member of society as a human being.  Loss of role, depending upon just how inclusive the role is can very easily end quickly become loss of humanity.  It was probably better to be a leper, a bedlam man or an outlaw than a nithing.  Jack Rosberg has, I think, spotted something very important - craziness is a way in, because its presence indicates that the person is still trying to maintain a role, to signal to the world, “I am here.  I am someone.  I want you to listen to me,” and often “I need your help.”  In a way craziness is at the other end of the scale from the leper.  In leprosy, it was made very clear that the leper had a role divorced from society , that was part of the role.  There were all kinds of prohibitions upon the leper and vastly rite of passage into the leper role.  I do not recall much about similar public religious rites of passage for Bedlam men, ambulatory mentally ill who were given leave to beg.  The worst possible loss of role, that we have vague shadows of for study, seems to be nithing - which we must hunt down.  What happened to nithings?  Was it like being sent to Coventry, being a ghost, having no social presence or impact?  I think there is some anthropological stuff about this and recently, there was a case of shunning among Amish, which actually came to court and was argued unsuccessfully for the shunned.  It did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment within the meaning of the act.  The importance of this is I believe that we can now get some idea as to the limits of the sick, impaired and dying roles.  If we see their main human goals as being to avoid becoming a nithing.  This throws much light too on Renee Fox’s people in Experiment Perilus.  Becoming an experimental subject maybe an admirable (in the exact sense of the word, because people would admire you) way to avoid being a nithing.  This is not, for a variety of reasons, something that concerns most medical people or most nurses, much of the time.  A patient is by definition not a nithing and anyway they have never heard of nithingdom, but in modern techno-palace hospital nithingdom creeps in via the science notion of experimental subject, who can quickly, easily and devastatingly become an experimental object and so, a nithing.  Hope that it will be useful a hunch as it seems, while I write it!  Ever, Ho.”