Templeton murder victim identified

BTDT is trying to make the point that mental illness and the way we deal with it are a major commonality between most of the murders (mass or otherwise) that make the news. There may be other issues as well from gang fights to uncontrollable anger to sociopathic greed, but why not try to address the biggest one?

I suspect that one reason we don’t address it has much to do with the fact that people understand (at least subconsciously) that doing so won’t be simple or cheap. Psych hospitals aren’t cheap to operate and psychiatrists and psychologists aren’t low-paying jobs either. (Although some prison guards make as much or more than the average psychologist.)

Like current criminal “rehabilitation,” treatment of mental illness can often fail to correct the problem. Is it worth investing tax dollars in programs that don’t have a high success rate? Many people don’t think so. Even among those of us that do think that mixed success is better than none, there would be disagreement as to how much is enough to justify the expense.

Finally, there is the issue as to what would constitute a label of mental illness of a sufficient degree to cause a public danger. In the current political climate, I would fear that definitions would be bent/interpreted to meet the prejudices of those in power. Would someone be deemed mentally ill for believing in a “9-11 conspiracy?” How about the “Obama birthers?” Are OWS supporters crazy to think that Wall Street and big business has virtually complete control of the federal government (and many lower governments)? What about “global warming deniers?” Does anyone who accepts the basic beliefs of a political party other than your own constitute a public danger due to their “gullibility?” (To read many of the self-proclaimed conservative commentators here, I suspect they might think so.)