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Dec 15, 2008, 11:16 AM
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Member Since: Jun 2007
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 5,518
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Last summer in Chicago, a woman who suffered from epilepsy became homeless because she could not work and her family could not care for her. Her bed was the floor at the train station. After suffering a seizure, it left her in a state of confusion - typical for those who suffer from epilepsy.
She approached a woman at a bus stop. The woman complained to the bus driver, who called the police to have her removed. The policeman tried to apprehend her, but she fought him off. Mind you, she was in a state of CONFUSION - probably thought she was being mugged. The general public doesn't care much for the homeless, and some think it's funny to provoke and abuse them.
While trying to fight off the policeman, she grabbed his gun from his holster and shot him in the head. Fellow officers opened fire on her.
The newspapers described her as a deranged lunatic, and the fellow officers were called heroes.
Are people who suffer from epilepsy not allowed to defend themselves? Is "deranged lunatic" the proper label for those who suffer from epilepsy? Does the diagnosis of epilepsy warrant imprisonment and execution?
I suffer from amyloidosis and stagger when I walk due to neuropathy. By all appearances, it looks like I'm drunk. I also become confused due to brain involvement - i.e., can't remember sometimes how to pick up a spoon or open a door. If/when I become homeless, will I be considered a deranged lunatic worthy of execution? If a "stranger" with a gun approaches me, I would have no right to defend myself?
Then again, this probably isn't a top news story - or even bottom news story. I seriously doubt mainstream society gives a hoot about our homeless population, especially those who suffer from illness. 
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