If I said shit like this about gay people, women, or people of color, there would be a shit blizzard blowing on top of me, I would probably be banned.
If I said gay people have AIDS, so lets start targeting gay people and start doing X to prevent AIDS, what would be the reaction?
If I said women get raped in the military, so lets keep women out of the military, what do you think would be the reaction?
If I said people of color have a disproportionate percentage of their population in prison, so let's flood their neighborhoods with the National Guard, what do you think the reaction would be?
So explain something to me. Why is it that people at DK think it is okay to make a false causal relationship between mass shootings and the mentally ill? Or for that matter gun violence in general and the mentally ill. Or even violence and the mentally ill.
So lets get a few things straight! Mentally ill people are significantly more likely to be the victim than the perpetrator. You don't believe me, read this.
So this morning I get my coffee and start reading DK like I do every morning. I scroll down the diary list and I see the diary linked above. I open it even though I know it will make my head explode. Sure enough, it almost did.
The diarist states:
What legislators ought to be doing in every legislature is looking for ways to prevent future Newtowns (and Auroras, and Tucsons and Columbines, etc.) through real analysis of the issues involved...
I'm okay with that part. It sound reasonable. But later we get this gem:
Mental illness has layers. There are components which are not well understood, despite a century of effort, that derive from biological predisposition. Science has advanced far enough that the worst of the effects, the periodic episodes of out of control psychosis, can be mitigated and held at bay for a good while. For the purpose of this diary, let's assume that "mental illness" refers to the way the problem has been described in relation to the school shooters of recent weeks and years. There are actually quite a few categories and shades and degrees that professionals would have to evaluate case by case.
Here we fucking go again. Another person making the assumption that because someone did a horrific act they must be a "lunatic", a "maniac", a "nutcase" or any other pejorative for the mentally ill you want to plug in. If I used the "F-word" for gays, or the "B-word" for women, or the "N-word" for blacks, God have mercy on my soul, because no one here would.
And BTW to the diarist linked above, there is legislation out there that is supposed to help students with disabilities, including mental illness. It is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Evey state is supposed to follow it. You see there is one little problem with it. Congress has NEVER fully funded it. Until funding is where it needs to be, the issue of helping school children with mental illness will never be completely resolved. That issue ISN'T to identify potential shooters or other violent acts BTW. It is to help them to get a good education and to become PART of a greater society.
And one more thing, don't be so quick to hang a label on someone. It will follow them a long way and make their lives hell.
Hope this helped you diarist linked above.