Quote:
Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic
If you're mentally ill it already is a police state....you can be held against your will more or less indefinitely in a completely legal manner.....forcibly drugged...you have no gun rights....it's actually considerably more restrictive than if you had simply committed a crime....
Police are trained to kill anyone who resists even if they are unarmed and easily subdued. People with MI are routinely killed by the police.
As someone who was formerly of the privileged class I can tell you things look a whole lot different from this side of the tracks. It's not that hard to slip from one to the other let me tell you....I can still pass on most days but what about the days I can't....when someone is out to shoot me because I think differently that is a police state...we are already here....how long until it's the rest of you?
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SometimesP, I feel so much compassion for the experiences you've had.. and for the experiences of all of those with MI. I just want to cry.
MI has always been a world of its own. It hasn't been that long ago that MI were held in institutions, lobotomized, and more. I think there have been great strides made in attempting to treat those with MI more effectively and with less restrictions. That said, there is a large population of the homeless that are homeless because they are mentally ill. For many, they are the ones choosing to be on the streets because their delusions/hallucinations/beliefs make them feel safer in some way on the streets. And as far as being forcibly medicated, I think that happens primarily when someone proves to have become a danger to themselves or others. I don't think that falls into a "police state" type situation. It has got to feel awful to have things like that controlled for someone who is an adult, especially if their delusions cause them to fear the government, doctors, or even innocent people on the street. But that's where the threat of danger to others comes in. There are not easy answers to dealing with those with serious MI. Especially if they don't have a good support system in place. I think a lot of effort is being made to make progress in effectively treating and caring for them. That's what a good society does. It doesn't eliminate the weakest members... it cares for them. But MI in itself can leave those being cared for not recognizing that they are being cared for, not threatened.
I just don't see gun ownership helping those with MI function better. And if those with MI have access to guns, then we see more Gabby Giffords, more Elliot Rodgers tragedies. Please know that I am fully aware that the vast majority of those with MI are not, and never become, violent.