image from The Mental Illness Quiz
don't take the quiz . . . it's a long route to a Match.com-alike
Sadly, of course, you can no longer hospitalize somebody against his will unless he's already exhibited that he is a danger to himself or others. Well, now that's done.
All the gun laws in the world won't keep somebody from shooting somebody if their grasp of reality is tenuous or non-existent, and if shooting somebody, or several somebodies, seems like a good idea. One Wal-Mart wouldn't sell him ammunition; another one did.
I don't think the horrible incident has much to do with Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and their ilk, either. If it wasn't that bunch of wingnuts it would have been some other bunch of wingnuts that set him off. That's how crazy people behave, and to attribute this tragedy to either side in the incipient civil war is counterproductive and absurd.
A terrible, terrible thing happened in Tucson, yes.
It doesn't necessarily mean anything more than a man was sick in the head, his family had no idea how to deal with the problems he presented, and people got hurt and killed. It doesn't represent an entire trend throughout the country.
With this one exception, in my opinion: People who are in need of mental health care and medication ought to be able to get it instead of being lost in their own heads among the rest of us.
Friko, you asked what I do when I'm suffering from insomnia.
This is it.
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15 comments:
It's freightening how many "normal" people there are in the world who are insane; how many of us are medicated to function and those who should be and are not.
I agree with you that all the laws and regulations in the world won't protect us from crazies and that appropriate services for the mentally ill are sadly nonexistant. But I also believe that angry political rhetoric has contributed to an atmosphere where hate and intolerance are encouraged. In this kind of environment, why should we be surprised when an unbalanced individual takes it too far. We can do better.
I agree it's a terrible thing, and probably the conservative commentators had little to no influence on Mr. Loughner; and people with mental illness should be able to get help. (So, yeah, some sort of national health care including treatment for mental illness.) But do we really want to start hospitalizing people against their will even if they haven't posed a danger to themselves or anyone else? That could get pretty dicey. Man . . . it's a complicated world we live in!
Charlene, yes.
Nana, I agree with you, and I'm sick of the angry political rhetoric.
Sightings, being the child of a mentally impaired mother, I can tell you that there is danger, and there is danger. My personal experience colors my view of this issue.
I'm tired of the rhetoric on all sides, I have stopped watching the news, barely reading the headlines. I have never seen our country so divided, it's scary.
It is all very sad. But you are right June....if someone gets it into their head--rational or unhinged--to do something there's very little that can be done to deter it. There will always be people who will tell you what you want to hear and justifications for the asking. Mental illness is pervasive and we haven't cornered the market in this country. I would like to see people being civil to one another again, though. Makes life much easier to live whether we agree or not.
Happy New Year to a fellow insomniac. Perfect time to express your opinions. Sometimes I think my most lucid moments arrive in the middle of the night when I have no desire to go to bed. Who knows what I might miss?
Yes, mental illness. Unfortunate all don't receive or seek the care they need. Difficult to watch in those we love.
And so, how can we make a difference? As is so many problems that we seem to have.....wars, warming, lack of wisdom, etc., etc., what harm can a change do? Even if nobody else is to blame for the shooting in Arizona except the shooter, what harm is there in softening our words and being mindful of how they sound to others. Even if global warming does not exist, what harm in conserving and watching what we put into the air and water? Etc.
I've experienced a young friend of the family transforming, as mental illness showed itself in her late teen, early twenties. She certainly saw the world around her from a changed viewpoint.
What might she have done if she had a gun?
There are too many incidents and accidents where the fact that a firearm is involved makes mistakes irreversible. Is there not a way that gun proponents can participate sanely in the crafting of safety rules/laws that everyone can LIVE with?
Evolve!
Seriously. When are you going to write a book?
June, Let's band together and change the country! Sometimes solutions seem so simple - but that is before politicians get hold of them... Get some rest.
It doesn't help that Reagan opened up the mental hospitals all those years ago. A lot of the homeless need help with their mental illnesses. I can't imagine being on the street and having to defend yourself against other more violent homeless people. And on top of that, to have to put up with the disdain of those of us who have a home. That would be one hard life.
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Well said. Amazing how the media really didn't talk about the real issue (mental health) or lack of.. Maybe no insurance no health care and I could go on and on but won't..
Very well put. Yours is about the best analysis of this tragedy that I have read anywhere and I thank you for it.
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