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Authors, sign in!More and more is coming out about what a disturbed young man the young assassin was. It is not even clear he was processing anything from the world around him, political or otherwise.
Perhaps the time is ripe to discuss a very pressing problem: the situation of the mentally ill in our country - and our vulnerability when they are not adequately respected with treatment.
Time and again, communities will be aware of someone actively mentally ill like this, with peers complaining; professors kicking them out of class until they have a mental evaluation...which never occurs.
Did this kid have parents? Where were they and the school psychologist when he was in high school making outbursts and acting dis-associated? There are all kinds of kids in high school and college who are being treated for mental illness and getting along reasonably well.
I think the psychologists need to come up with some sort of unofficial, but respected list of what needs to happen when someone looks and sounds and acts like they may hurt themselves or others, or is disassociated...sort of a bill of rights for the mentally ill and a checklist for follow-through.
I know it presumes that all people want to be in touch with reality all the time, but I don't think we as a people want to go on like this either with relative calm being punctuated with moments of avoidable violence and misery.
I think it is time our communities expect and obtain a continuum of local services for the mentally ill.
Published January 9, 2011 by Jean Binder |
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| Tags:
Criminal Justice
Health Care
Health Policy
Comments (2)
Jean, I had to go back a year and half and reread your blog "Words Can Kill". Quoting from that June 3, 2009 entry, "It is simply because the mad men [and women] are out there - of every stripe - that we need to be careful of what we say. They can be very literal... and when we egg them on, their thinking and their proclivities may harden past the point of moderation. Without the sound of self-righteous cries ringing in their ears, they may not dare to be so bold.
We need to consider that if we willfully rejoice in getting such people hopped up, we may have to live with the shameful consequences of their actions and realize too, the role we will have played in damaging the souls of these avenging angels."
How does the playground rhyme go? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words ——? Oh! how wrong that is. Words are powerful!
I agree with you, our society ignores the warning signs of unstable and easily influenced individuals. We belittle them with words and drive them deeper into their fantasies and insecurity.. Then we incite them with words that challenge them to prove their bravery and power.
Will society hold those, who have been using violent and confrontational imagery, accountable for encouraging such terrorist confrontations that occured in Tucson?
Posted by Ken Poland
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January 9, 2011 10:03 PM
Posted on January 9, 2011 22:03
Ken--This is true. People like this young, unstable young man can't tell the difference between symbolism and reality. I once had a man who acted somewhat like Loughin is reported to have acted. When I read his YouTube scripts, I caught my breath. The man in my class couldn't seem to understand that words are symbols for concrete things or for meaning. He once told some of the other students that he was going to come to campus and blow up the college. When I asked for help from superiors, all I got in response were a few chuckles. Finally, he dropped out of college, telling the counselor that I was teaching a different kind of English than the kind he used.
It wasn't too long after that the two students went on a shooting rampage in Columbine. Right away, all campus personnel were required to wear name tags and take workshops in security.
Everyone needs to take into account that mentally unstable people are out there among us and are ready to act upon what may seem to an innocuous suggestion to the more stable.
Posted by Diane
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January 10, 2011 9:38 AM
Posted on January 10, 2011 09:38