Psychiatric Disabilities
Sometimes its necessary to be a little delusional to believe you can take on something as huge as starting another political party. (You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps!) So it is no surprise that you may come across people with psychiatric disorders in your politcal adventures. You will come across people occasionally with a mild nurosis since these are fairly common and harmless, but rarely also, someone bodering on dangerous may seek to join the ranks. In order to protect the members and the reputation of the oraniztion, a statergy must be developed to deal with such individuals successfully.
As we are brand spanking new, we fortunately have not had such experiences, but we can study the stories offered from members of the Sweedish PP. Add your own information as well. This is a wiki. Examples that have happened:
Controlling personality: "I wish that all communication between you go through me"
Alcohol Problems: People attending meetings, leafleting, canvassing, etc. while intoxicated
Provocative behavior: "It was a shame that Hitler lost the war"
Sexually inappropriate: "Your daughter lives on xxx street." (Or any other type of sexual harrassment)
Outlandish Bragging: "I was a secret spy for the military"
Extreme conspiracy theorists: (Certainly followers of David Icke fall in this category)
Agitators: Exhibitors of violent behavior cannot be tolerated, but must not be abrubptly confronted, either. Always attempt to diffuse and coax the agitator out of the situation, or disperse if neccesary to protect meeting members. Always attempt to de-escalate.
What to do?
Need to discuss, or get some good advice, on how to handle a difficult individual? Normally no one talks about it when there is a stigma associated with it, so it can be difficult to discus issues with the person directly. Instead, contact other party members and leaders for advice, or intervention. Don't be put off by not being answered by the first person you reach out to for assistance. Call the next higher up until you get some help. Phone numbers are listed in the wiki (on the blog?)
