Law and (Dis)Order: B.D. Wong and Psychosis

In the second season of Law and Order SVU we are introduced to the department's psychologist(chiatrist?) Dr. George Huang (B.D. Wong) who comes off as the slightly nerdy, well-informed and dare I say dashing man - duckbill hairstyle and all. As he steps into the multicultural circle of the SVU unit he is met with extreme distaste from those officers, namely Stabler, who can't fathom that this small time doctor knows about the big leagues. Oh, but he does! With a simple look at the case file, Huang can attest to the killer's personality right down to his intimate habits and possible working environment. How does he know? Psychology of course, something that doesn't stand up to Stabler's years of experience and NYC swagger. He finally becomes one of the crew, though, and most certainly post-9/11 becomes an asset to the team. What amazes me about Huang in these episodes is that he is so spot-on. I had no idea that forensics and criminal psychology was so great at identifying the criminal body and mind (insert sarcasm here). Huang finally makes the beginning credits and notorious shot of the SVU unit with arms crossed and gazing into the camera as if to say, "we know who you are." And I am led to believe that yes, Dr. Huang, you know who I am. I could possibly make a point here about the impulse of psychological knowledges that were used to describe, codify and order the terrorist body in times of national dilemma but the show doesn't seem to follow this call. There victims and killers span seem to be relatively white washed with obvious motives (money, sex, control). The slew of psychological disorders are saved for them - antisocial, DID, gender dysphoria. As for their racialized counterparts they seem to lack psychological distress. Why is this? My guess would be that rehabilitation, as it is shown in the show, is reserved for white bodies. They do their crimes because they have mental disorders. They often have family trauma, mommy and daddy issues, pedophilia urges and an inability to articulate their feelings. Whereas the criminals of color seem to be just bad. They are caught up in gang activity or just on the wrong side of life. Thus, in the midst of psychological narratives for terrorist bodies of color abroad there actually seems to be a lack of necessity for bodies of color within the nation state. While psychology may appease those going to war by ensuring them, that indeed they know the terrorist mind it doesn't seem to work the same in the context of SVU and the space of NYC. This contradiction is well worth noting in times of prison popularity. While the liberal eye is asked, for a moment, to reflect on what is going on with the white criminal mind they are also asked to kindly dispose of bodies of color without the same kind of respect. Now, psychological narratives are fucked up, I am not asking that they should be reserved for profiling (EVER) but I will say that they work in insidious ways to dissagregate those who may be curable and those who just need to be locked away.