1 ebruary Il/, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Fiv
Death of the
David Cooper, THE DEATH OF
THE FAMILY, Pantheon. $5.95.
By SID SCHNEIDER
When R.D. Laing wrote The
Divided Self, a movement was
born. Phenomenology, existen-
tialism, anti-psychiatry and revo-
lution fused. Psychotherapy now
means political change. Organiz-
ations such as Psychologists for
a Democratic Society and the
Radical Therapist Commune in
Minot, North Dakota w e r e
formed. Dr. Laing's associates
have recently been turning out
books which have bsen gaining
much popularity. One of the most
important of these works is
David Cooper's The Death of the
Family.
David Cooper came to England
from Capetown, South Africa,
where he was born and educated.
With R.D.. Laing he wrote Reason,
and Violence, a book which ex-
plores the psychological signiCi-
cance of Sartre's philosophies,
and established a mental hospital
*at Kingsley Hall in East London.
At that hospital, there was no
diagnosis, no one called thera-
pist, and no one labelled "pa-
tient." Kingsley Hall was a non-
hierarchical institution where
persons could voyage through
madness with the encouragement
and guidance of others. Cooper
helped Fidel Castro institute re-
forms in mental treatment m
Cuba. He is now politically ac-
tive in England and is gaining
attention for his radical ideas in
many fields in psychology.
Cooper calls for the abolition
*of the nuclear family structure.
He claims, no member of a nu-
clear family can feel a sense of
autonomy. The mother glues her
son to herself, in Cooper's words,
to replace what she feels is miss-
ing in her; the son, in turn, feels
incomplete and like an appen-
dage to his mother. For a love
relationship to exist between per-
sons, all the persons must under-
stand their own autonomy and
the autonomy of others. The fam-
ily destroys the separateness,
alone-ness that one must under-
stand and respect. It is impossi-
ble to- get a nobjective, unt-
tached understanding of the
world with familial' social izers
gluing themselves to the child.
The family does not allow the
child to freely find his identity.
family:
dysfunctional. Socialization has
come to mean the imposition of a.
role on the child. This role may
be discordant with the child's ex-
perience of reality. The child's
experience may be negated in
the socialization process, and
leave him alienated. The family
and the school are the prima: y
agents of negation.
What is the alternative? In the
third chapter of this book, en-
titled "The Two Faces of Revolu-
tion," Cooper writes that 3ne ex-
ample of a revolutionary alterna-
better way?
tions. It may be that Cubans. be-
cause they will be living in an
industrialized nation, vill be as
greedy as Americans.
Cooper goes on to explore the
relationship of sex and attitudes
about death to revolution. It is
unfortunate, however, that he
leaves some very relevant areas
unexplored. Most obviously, he
never mentions the nuclear fami-
ly is an institution that oppresses
women. If the family is objection-
able because of the manner in
which it delegates roles to the
child, it is twice as objectionable
for the manner in which it as-
signs roles to the wife. It is men-
tioned that the family "suppres-
ses extrafamilial social effective-
ness in women," and, in Cooper's
mind, teaches girls that they are
inadequate for lacking penises.
It is not mentioned that the nu-
clear fahiily as it is now set up
inevitably deprives the wife to do
what she wants if the husband
objects, and leaves to her all the
unpleasant, meaningless work of
the family. The oppression of
women as instituted by the nu-
clear family has damaging psy-
chological effects to half the
population, but Cooper devotes
only a few by-the-way comments
to it.
Neither does Cooper explore the
possibility that the non-hierarchi-
cal schools he proposes, as well
as the Revolutionary Centers of
Consciousness might wIl soen
become hierarchical and impose
their own set of roles and expec-
tations on those who join them.
iThe communes in America tend
to be very disciplined and run in
an authoritarian way. Stephen's
caravan, which was on cairpus
several months ago, was just like
the nuclear family because it im-
posed roles, albeit new, non-e.-
tablishment roles, on its mem-
bers. Throughout history, suc-
cessful revolutions have allowed
little room for individual free-
will.
Above all, revolutionaries must
not let their institutions be as
oppressive as those they are
fighting. Recently, I attended the
Student and Youth Conference on
a People's Peace. Many of the
people there displayed intoler-
ance toward people with differ-
ing ideologies: they hissed and
booed some speakers who were
only expressing how they experi-
enced the reality of America. To
people they agreed with, ihey
yelled, "Right on, brother!" In
the Old Left, 'the word is "com-
rade." It is strange that revolu-
tionaries today use a word that
echoes a familial relationship.
Laing and Cooper established the
Philadelphia Association-"Phil-
adelphia" means "brotherly
love"! Today's revolutionaries
are at their worst when they bor-
row concepts from the culture
they are fighting.
This book is an important book
to the growing number of radical
psychotherapists and all those
who are determined to create a
new, more humanist society.
--Kell Hv mau. They Became Wha~t They Beheld
-Ken Heyman, They Became What They Beheld
books books books books
Instead, it imposes a set of roles
on him. It would be better, claims
Cooper, if the child were given
enough autonomy to break out
of the "bringing him up" situa-
tion and was given more room
for introspection. The family
forces the child to submit to so-
ciety, when it should teach him
how to deal with it.
R.D. Laing has pointed out
that in England a child has a ten
times greater chance to be ad-
mitted to a mental hospital than
to a university. Perhaps the pro-
cess of socialization has become
Those who do
Erich Goode, THE MARI-
JUANA SMOKERS, Basic
Books, $10.00.
By MICHAEL SPIERER
In The Marijuana Smokers,
Erich Goode has attempted a
dispassionate presentation of
the characteristics of the more
than six m ill i o n Americans
thought to be regular users of
marijuana. A sociologist, Goode
has based his findings on a
survey of more than 200 regu-
lar users of the drug who shared
-through survey, personal in-
terview, and friendly conversa-
tion - their moods, ideas, and
ideologies. The author never
quite achieves complete objec-
tivity. "The central point of the
book," he explains, ". . . is that
we all view reality subjectively.
We notice that which verifies
,ur point of view, and ignore
that which does not. We accept
a 'world taken for granted,' and
an exposure to contrary worlds
does little to shake our faith
in our own."
Goode h i m s e I f clearly evi-
dences this foible. His writing is
saturated with his belief in the
innocuousness of the drug and
the depravity of a cultural en-
vironment which criminalizes its
users. One cannot, perhaps, help
but be sympathetic to such a
position; at the same time one
feels cheated, for though Goode
is obviously a very sensitive,
temotive writer and listener,
whose gentle anger must have
greatly enhanced his ability to
elicit honest responses from the
people he interviewed, one is
nevertheless left with an uncer-
tain feeling about what testi-
mony came from the inter-
O'iewees and what came from
Goode himself.
The validity of the author's
findings are subject to the usual
criticisms of survey research in
general, but by and large the
study stands in overall quality
among the better works on the
subject. The principle problem,
as Goode carefully notes, is in
the applicability of his findings
to other groups of people. Ac-
cording to the survey, the "typi-
cal smoker" is in his late teens
or early twenties, male, living
in or near an urban environ-
ment. He is generally of higher
social class than the typical
non-smoker and is highly un-
likely to be religious in the tra-
ditional sense. He is more likely
to hold what are considered to
be liberal or radical views in
terms of both politics and sex-
uality, and it is this generally
liberal attitude, rather than po-
litical ideology, that contributes
to his experimentation with
marijuana.
The greatest contribution of
Goode's book lies not in the
presentation of his findings, but
rather in the new models for the
consideration of the use of mar-
ijuana. Decrying Jekyll - Hyde
pathology a n d escape - from -
reality concepts, he proposes
considering marijuana use on a
linear continum from the non-
user, through the potential con-
vert, the experimenter, and the
occasional user up to the daily
committed smoker who is "high"
all the time. Only with such an
approach can one begin to ex-
plore styles and degrees of in-
volevement. T h i s notion sug-
gests thatnmarijuana use could
not only not detract from but
could also actually be associated
with an improved volume and
quality of behavior generally con-'
sidered desireable: social activi-
ty, aesthetic appreciation and
creation, political activism and
altruistic gestures.
tive to the nuclear family is
Kingsley Hall. At Kingsley Hall
there was a freedom for every
member of the Hall to find others
and say what precisely was on
his mind. All members strictly
avoided rewarding the behavicr
of another ,ust because it was
socially desirable; everyone's in-
dividual experiences were given
full expression. A revolution
takes place in the individual in
such a situation. Expressica,
reality, and truth, overthrow
repression and social condition-
ing.
Revolutionary Centers of Con..
sciousness could be spontaneous-
ly set up, where individuals
could go through this microso-
cial revolution. Cooper calls for
a Madness Revolution, so that
all individuals can reinvent them-
selves, and dissociate from their
conditioning. One must be one-
self-not a conditioned role-and
in harmony with oneself before
one can love another. Che was
right when he said a revolution-
ary is motivated by great feel-
ings of love.
Along with the Madness Revo-
lution will come a macrosocial
revolution aimed at destroying
capitalist institutions, claims
Cooper. Capitalist institutions,
without exception, have all thec
faults of the nuclear family.
Cooper argues, under capitalism,
people are conditioned to take
and consume beyond their true
appetites, even if this entails the
exploitation of the third world
Cuba, he says, aims to abolish
money within ten years. There,
he adds, people will consume ac-
cording to their true appetites.
Cooper writes, "We have to para-
lyze the functioning of each fani-
ly, school, university, factory,
business, corporation, television
company, film industry segment
-and then, having stopped it, in-
vent mobile, non-hierarchical
structures that distribute the ac-
cumulated possessions over the
whole world."
The typical response to this is,
"things are no better under so-
cialism," but Cooper does not
answer this argument. It may be
that it is the industrialization and
computerization of our society
that is causing a vast discrep-
ancy between what we experi-
ence and what is expected of us
by massive anonymous institu-
Dylan:
Bob Dylan, TARANTULA,
Dylan Liberation Front, $1.00.
By MICHAEL LEE PARSONS
People love to build idols. Per-
haps it is reassuring to know
there is someone more import-
ant than oneself. More likely, it
is a case of greatness by associa-
tion (or worship). To what ex-
tent any particular reason holds
is of little importance; people
build idols. Even our precious
counter-culture has this nasty
habit. In fact, wa may have tak-
en it to its greatest heights since
the Pharohs. From the very
start, we have been busy making
stars and superstars. At the top
of the god-heap are Bob Dylan,
the Beatles, and the Rolling
Stones. They are revered as the
first voices of youth culture, our
prophets. They are followed in
importance by a whole mass of
lesser lights (Hendrix, Joplin,
Clapton, Cocker, etc.). And at
the very top, the pinnacle, Dylan
- our first seer, the first poet
uniquely ours, Bob Dylan, poet-
musician-spiritual leader-Super-
star. That was Dylan's posi-
tion at the time he wrote Tar-
antula. He was at the top, ac-
claimed by straight and h i p
worlds alike, the Superstar. We
made him something bigger
than life, something to be look-
Today's writers-...
Sid Schneider, a senior,
teaches the Course Mart
course, Problems in Counter-
culture.
Michael Lee Parsons is a
sophomore in the Residential
College.
Michael Spierer, a doctoral
candidate at the University of
Wisconsin, is working on a
degree in clinical psychology.
ed at from a distance. Greater-
than-human demands were
made of him, and greater-than-
human importance was attach-
ed to his words. He was to prove
he was more than a singer, the
poet of our generation. He
would write a book, to prove
himself a poet to all (and so
make us bigger). So Dylan wrote
a book, Tarantula, in 1965. But
before it could be published, he
had the famous motorcycle ac-
cident, and stopped being a
Supperstar, and began to write
simple songs, and Tarantula was
never published.
But now, six years later, the
ever-present bootleggers h a v e
succeeded in providing us with
the book (in loose-sheet, Xerox
form). So the eyes of 1971 can
have a new look at that old Dy-
yan when he was still our Sup-
erstar, and make some judg-
ments. But we won't be looking
at Dylan only. He will force
us to look at ourselves, collec-
tively and separately, as well.
After all, it was we who made
him into a god (with some media
help). And if he was foolish
enough to believe us for awhile,
he was also smart enough to
wake up a long time before the
rest of us.
The book functions well as
a look at the time of his change,
A great part of the book is self-
indulgent, cute, meaningless
words. The Superstar at w o r k,
grinding out pablum for the
masses (and himself): plenty
of obscure metaphor, and hum-
ourous juxtaposition of person-
alities and ideas. In 1965, we
surely would have found realms
of meaning for every phrase.
We might have found ourselves
with a new T. S. Eliot.
in a sunburned land sleeps
with a snowy
head at the west of the bed/
madonna, Mary
of the Temple. Jane Russell.
Angelina the
whore, all these women, their
tears could make
oceans/in a deserted
refrigerator carton,
little boys on Ash Wednesday
make ready for
war and genius ...
Much of the book is filled with
that; the workings of the poet-
god we wanted. But in places,
enough places, Bob Dylan comes
out, without his Superstar
clothes. So that, instead of an
Eliot, we find ourselves with a.
Dylan (much to our gain).
Dylan didn't get to be a Sup-
erstar by being a Superstar; he
started out a singer, a sensitive,
articulate human being. There
is a real Bob Dylan, and a far
better one than the Superstar.
When that comes to the surface
in Tarantula, popping up in the
middle of pretensions, and the
pains and angers of the mid-
60's, things change. Dylan knew
the sham of superstardom, and
saw through all of it.
"There lies bob dylan
demolished by Vienna politness-
which will now claim to have
invented him
the cool people can now
write Fugues about him
& Cupid can kick over his
Kerosene lamp
Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin
stand as testimonial to the im-
possibility of living the life de-
manded of a Superstar. John
Lennon, who was a Superstar,
at the top with Dylan, saw
through it in his last album,
the dream is over
once I was Beatles,
but now I'm John
the dream is over-...
In 1965, at the height of his
stardom, Dylan saw, and said in
Tarantula nearly the same
Sham of the Superstar
thing, though we can only read
it today. All the better, could
we have even understood such
a thing in 1965?. To not be kill-
ed by his worshippers, he sim-
ply warned them, and walked
away, into his own life.
this is my last letter-iv'e tried
to please you, but i see now
that you have too much on
your mind-what you need is
someone to flatter you -
I would do that, but what
would bethenworth? after all
i need nothing from you -
you are so much tied up in,
though, that you have turned
into a piece of hunger - while
the mystics of the world jump
in the sun, you have turned
into a lampshade - if youre
going to think, dont think
about why people dont love
each other think about why
they dont love themselves -
maybe then, you will begin to
love them - if you ha ve
something to say, let me know
as i said, there's simply
nothing i can give you ex-
cept a simply -- there is noth-
ing i can take from you except
a guilty conscience - i cant
give nor take any habit -
see you at the masquerade
ball..."
There is more to the book
than I have talked about here,
but I think you'd be better off
reading it yourself to discover
your own favorite episodes, and
lines, and thoughts. There is
a great deal to be found in
Tarantula, bullshit and all. It is
something of a testimonial to
Dylan that such a book, written
in many ways as a hype six
years ago, holds so much great-
ness today. I know that Dylan
makes a great deal more sense
to me now. In fact, I think Ill
end it here and go listen to
Self-Portrait...
-Ken Heyman.
The Became What They Beheld
Cooper's ideas for a Madness
Revolution should be read and
discussed by all revolutionaries
in the overdeveloped -)uniries
like our own. Revolutionaries
must learn to understand their
own separateness and autonomy,
and the separateness of others.
They must understand how the
family and all bourgeois institu-
tions are delegating to them roles
which they must not accept
(Cooper claims Cuba still has
families because of interference
from Russia, which is counter-
revolutionary in this respect).
1
U-M Hispanic Society
presents
"THE BLACK LEGEND"
Varieties of Criticism against Spain
a lecture by
CHARLES GIBSON Ph.D.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 17, 1971-8 p.m.
RACKHAM EAST Conference Room
INTERGOVERNMENT SYMPOSIUM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
FACULTY CLUB LOUNGE, MICHIGAN UNION, FIRST FLOOR
An Inter-Government Symposium will be held Saturday, Feb. 20, 1971 to provide an exchange of information in
order to develop working models for student governments at all levels. The Symposium is designed to produce an evaluation
of the student government interaction between governments, the University, and the student body at large.
All Student governments, the students and the faculty of the University are invited to participate. The Sym-
posium will be centered around a pre-established agenda. Plan on being there for part or all of the day but be there.
-AGENDA-
9 a.m.
10 a.m.
Sharing Our Ultimate Concerns
An informal seminar designed to help participants
discover, express, and share their attitudes, feeling,
Define-Representative Government
What Is the Role and What Are the Responsibilities
of a Govt. Within the College from Which
It Generated
2:00 How Should Questions Be Handled That Are of
Mutual Interest to a Number of
Governments on Campus?
If There Are Any Problems with Over-Lapping
Representation, How Should They Be Handled?
(i.e., an Engineer Is "Represented" in Both
Engineering Council and in Student
Government Council.)
10:40 Comments from Gallery
11:00 How Can a Government Be Effectively
Renresentntive If o Goernment Does Not
and doubts about God, themselves, religion, and life
Onen to oil interested nersons.
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