Ken Pope Resigns from APA

This story was just emailed to me on the PsyUSA mailing list. Ken Pope, long active in the American Psychological Association, just resigned. His reason for his resignation was the unwillingness of APA to take a clear stand against torturing detainees. I won't bother quoting his letter at all. Ken makes his stand very clear.

I support Ken Pope completely in this. I resigned from APA several years ago because I felt that I was paying too much money for an organization that seemed to have no clear agenda. Ken makes it clear that APA has also lost its moral compass.

Some commentary on Ken's resignation also popped up on Daily Kos. Some of the commenters have questioned why more psychologists haven't resigned. In fact, others have. We don't know how many; they just didn't send out announcements. Other commenters questioned the value of withholding dues as a protest. Personally, I think it's a valid response. They are making their protest known, but they are still part of APA and still have the ability to influence it.

I hope that Ken's action will inspire others to withhold dues or to resign. Maybe APA will finally get the message and follow the lead of the AMA which has forbidden it's doctors to participate in interrogations.