Last night I tuned into the Hannity & Colmes show on Fox.
I watched and listened...mouth agape as one of the Hosts Shawn Hannity and one of the Guests a Police detective who last worked on the "Son Of Sam" murders began to throw around the words "whacko's" and "crazzies" in the same sentences as "Depressed" and "suicidal" and I thought...I hope someone in the fiels of mental health jumps on this!! I plan on writing the show as soon as I can not that it will ever bring about an apology. The most disturbing thing they where speaking of was that "the college couldn't have expelled this man (VA Tech Shooter)
because VA has a law prohibitting Colleges from discriminating against students for reasons of mental health. (well lets hope so! and lets hope most states do!)
This ruling in VA the host explained was a result of a Suit brought against a college for suspending a student who was suicidal. They are mixing apples with Crab cakes here! If anyone with any type of mental health issue...particulary depression or anxiety were tobe banned from campus across the country...that would be a lot of folks. Even if people with a history of suicide or suicidal ideation were to be banned from getting in or staying ina college...to even suggest this is ridiculous. You can't screen for the criminally insane! They are not always among the mentally ill. I am so furious with the things said on that show! They lumped all mental illness together and in 2007 got away with using the words Whacko's and Crazzies and mental illness in the same sentences over and over. One guest compared people let out of State Hospitals in the 70's and the Police NOT being able to get a list of those people when the Son of Sam was being looked for with Colleges geting a list of anyone "potentially dangerous" to other students via mental health disclosure?
We need to speak up!
At the least if this man was mentally ill and sought treatment and wasn't recognized then mental health care providers amy have failed HIM.
He was a angry misguided and now getting the ultimate judgement. He can't be killed "again"...much as some people probably wish they could.
But on the issue of his being mentally ill....let us not allow these " Reporters" confuse the public about mental health and the mentally ill versus the crimianlly insane!
Anya