Tonight I was watching Anderson Cooper's program on CNN and was shocked to hear one of their Trump representatives refer to mentally ill as "crazies", and neither Anderson nor any of the others on the panel said a thing. I'm also not too keen on our President accusing the latest mass murderer and others as mentally ill with no proof. What we do know about the Texas murderer is that he was an abuser of women, children, and even a dog. So all abusers are now labeled "the mentally ill"? Really sad!

I asked CNN for an apology, preferably from the mouth it came from.

[Nammu]

I stopped watching the news as its too disturbing but thanks for requesting an apology. I hope your request is honored.

[BipolaRNurse]

I just posted on Facebook that I am SICK of hearing mental illness blamed for everything that goes wrong in the world. Don't people know that we're more likely to be the VICTIMS of violence than the perpetrators? Frankly, I think the American public is too intellectually lazy to look for the real causes of murder and other types of violent behavior. Lots of hurting folks out there.

[Wild Coyote]

Thank you for your efforts!

I agree with my pdoc. He tells people this violence is motivated by evil, not mental illness.

It would be nice if we heard more of a response from a national organization like NAMI.


WC

[Pookyl]

Thank you. Even in Australia I heard Trump's idiotic sound bite.

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by BipolaRNurse

I just posted on Facebook that I am SICK of hearing mental illness blamed for everything that goes wrong in the world. Don't people know that we're more likely to be the VICTIMS of violence than the perpetrators? Frankly, I think the American public is too intellectually lazy to look for the real causes of murder and other types of violent behavior. Lots of hurting folks out there.

Amen !!!!

[Onward2wards]

The kind of attitude people are complaining about here are not just an American problem - it seems to still persist in many places worldwide. I have lived in three different countries myself, and have seen this attitude all over. That being said, wrong is wrong wherever you are. Intellectual laziness, misinformation and fear know no borders.

[bioChE]

For what it’s worth, the news I heard on the radio said the guy was dishonorably discharged from the military for behavior related to mental illness. If indeed that’s the case, there might be something to the mental illness related to this shooting. Not saying we should be labeled crazies, just throwing that out there.

At the same time, I don’t really get offended by labels, regardless what they are or from whom they come. I don’t really expect the world to come to an understanding or mental illness in my lifetime. I commend you for your efforts, though.

The irony:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.83aeba2f3c99

Psychiatrists are calling him a sociopath and saying he has narcissistic personality disorder, along with other things

He's either too narcissistic or delusional to admit something is wrong with him

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by bioChE

For what it’s worth, the news I heard on the radio said the guy was dishonorably discharged from the military for behavior related to mental illness.

That is, if you consider domestic violence - he beat his wife & cracked his infant child's skull - a mental illness. As a guy with a MI, I take offense at being lumped in with a sorry fack like that! Baboon-like behavior isn't a MI. It's being violent...

IRONY: I hear that a certain prominent politician say prayer is a remedy for such tragedies. Say, weren't the victims in church on that sunny Sunday morning in Texas humbly praying? And it wasn't for protection from the MI...

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by Onward2wards

The kind of attitude people are complaining about here are not just an American problem - it seems to still persist in many places worldwide. I have lived in three different countries myself, and have seen this attitude all over. That being said, wrong is wrong wherever you are. Intellectual laziness, misinformation and fear know no borders.

Intellectual laziness isn't just an American problem...wholescale slaughter seems to be, though (at least in the "developed world".) In such a context, intellectual laziness & pitiful intellectual sloth are problems of a different magnitude.

EDIT: Some will cite the terrorist killings in Europe to refute my argument. At least terrorists adhere to an ideology (which is not to minimize the human carnage left in ISIS's wake). Here in the States, however, slaughter is just violence for the sake of violence...suggesting otherwise is pitiful intellectual sloth.

[RedDawn]

Originally Posted by bioChE

For what it’s worth, the news I heard on the radio said the guy was dishonorably discharged from the military for behavior related to mental illness. If indeed that’s the case, there might be something to the mental illness related to this shooting. Not saying we should be labeled crazies, just throwing that out there.

At the same time, I don’t really get offended by labels, regardless what they are or from whom they come. I don’t really expect the world to come to an understanding or mental illness in my lifetime. I commend you for your efforts, though.

So far there has been absolutely zero reporting of a mental health history.

He has a history of domestic and animal abuse.

Domestic abuse is a huge common issue among mass shooters.

[leejosepho]

Originally Posted by emgreen

Baboon-like behavior isn't a MI. It's being violent...

Agreed, and (from the above link) the same for Trump:

“Trump is a threat to the United States, and to the world, not because he is clinically mad, but because he is very bad.”

Originally Posted by bioChE

At the same time, I don’t really get offended by labels, regardless what they are or from whom they come. I don’t really expect the world to come to an understanding or mental illness in my lifetime. I commend you for your efforts, though.

So you really don't mind any labels? There are a heck of a lot of them that are pretty darn offensive. I don't think stigmatic labels for the mentally ill are OK at all! Don't call me and my sister "crazies"!

[bioChE]

Originally Posted by emgreen

That is, if you consider domestic violence - he beat his wife & cracked his infant child's skull - a mental illness. As a guy with a MI, I take offense at being lumped in with a sorry fack like that! Baboon-like behavior isn't a MI. It's being violent...

IRONY: I hear that a certain prominent politician say prayer is a remedy for such tragedies. Say, weren't the victims in church on that sunny Sunday morning in Texas humbly praying? And it wasn't for protection from the MI...

If that’s the reason they cited MI, I certainly don’t want to be lumped in with that either. Thanks for the clarification, I hadn’t heard that level of detail.

[waterknob1234]

This event was so tragic. I am a Christian. I always knew that a day would come when someone went into a church and started killing people for their religious beliefs, or for whatever reason. You cannot blame this act on mental illness. This man knew what he was doing and this was motivated by pure evil. There are many of us that suffer mental illness that most people would not know suffer the disorder. We are your neighbors and coworkers. Some of the people I have known who suffer mental illness are the most beautiful and kind hearted people in the world. Some are also very intelligent. Beethoven suffered from depression. All the world's ills cannot be blamed on "mental illness." This man was just bent on doing evil.

I am so glad you complained.....thank you! That is unacceptable.

Regarding violence and mental illness, it sadly is a REAL problem. Not everyone with mental illness has aggression and violence as a symptom but to deny it exists just because you personally have not experienced it does little to help the individuals, family members and society who deals with it. We must speak openly about mental illness and all of the symptoms which can present. We need to be able to be open and honest, not deny and sweep it under the rug. My husband worked in a state hospital for many years with the sickest of the sick.......he was attacked and assaulted 30 times by people with REAL mental illness. Being violent does not always mean a person is evil, sometimes they are sick. Evil is figurative and not an answer.

Yes, we want to protect our reputations and not be lumped in with people who have different symptoms than we but we don’t need to deny other people’s sucfering to validate our own. This shooting was not religiously motivated and I personally believe it’s more re likely than not that this man had mental illness. Not the same kind as me, but mental illness all the same. Sane people do not shoot up churches.

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

This shooting was not religiously motivated and I personally believe it’s more re likely than not that this man had mental illness. Not the same kind as me, but mental illness all the same. Sane people do not shoot up churches.

Thank you for the self-rightiousness tone of your diagnosis, doctor. You're missing the point of this thread altogether.

I stated my beliefs and the self righteous tone was not intended.

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

I stated my beliefs and the self righteous tone was not intended.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest you can't express your opinions. My "self-righteous-ometer" reading might have just been a knee-jerk reaction, too.

Thank you for the apology.....I truly did not mean to sound self righteous but people often assume it of me so I guess I come off that way.

Over my years in and out of group therapy, I was in group with a few people who stated one of their symptoms was “wanting to harm others”. I wanted to sit as far away from these people as possible. It’s scary but it’s reality. What if I would have said “you’re not mentally ill, you’re just evil.....get out of here, you don’t belong”. Maybe they would have left and did something terrible.....maybe by reaching out and asking for help with this, lives were saved. When we label symptoms as evil it doesn’t help. How many people are so sick right now they are AFRAID they will hurt someone but can’t say anything because they think they are evil and think doctors will say they are evil. Sometimes mental illness can make people violent........and until society stops treating mental illness as a hush hush situation, people don’t reach out for help when they really need it. I just want people to get help and society to be safe.....nothing self righteous about it. (((Hugs))))

[ReptileInYourHead]

Well said Elsa, thanks.
Not all of us believe in or can define ‘evil’.
If one does not subscribe to a religion with strict guidelines of appropriate behaviour then what are we to gauge evil with?
Harm? Malice? And what causes people to be evil if not the devil?

[Open Eyes]

It's very unfortunate that when something like this horrific tragedy takes place the term mentally ill is used to describe the individual who commits these horrific acts. The least people could do is find a better label like mentally deranged and disordered where the individual is Antisocial in a way that poses a major threat to others.

Originally Posted by ReptileInYourHead

Well said Elsa, thanks.
Not all of us believe in or can define ‘evil’.
If one does not subscribe to a religion with strict guidelines of appropriate behaviour then what are we to gauge evil with?
Harm? Malice? And what causes people to be evil if not the devil?

I do not subscribe to the common theories on these matters. One has no need of religious doctrine to define an evil act. That’s what we have laws for. Laws should be determined by what is best for society and determine by all people, not just members of certain cults. Besides, “guidelines “ say nothing about rape, molestation, assault, mental torment, etc.....all of which is very evil indeed.

My friend recently told me about a mentally ill women who sadly killed her children. She had reached out for help but nobody listened. I did not see the case or women testifying, but trust my friends instincts that she was not well ......she did it due to a religious delusion. I do not think she is evil if this is the case. We simply need more awareness about this issue and all of the symptoms need to be addressed and validated. I’m too ashamed to talk of my own experience with this matter but I’m not evil.

I don’t know this guy, I don’t know his story. I don’t know if proper intervention could have avoided this tragedy.......I know know if he could have been helped or saved and all those lives not lost. I like to think he could have. I like to believe that awareness, proper respectful treatment and intervention could have a positive effect. I like to believe there is hope.

I’m not religious but I have had experiences I struggle to see as anything but supernatural. I’m not religious so perhaps I don’t understand it all......but I thought if one were, they should be mourning the loss of all the lives.....including the shooter? Wouldn’t it be gods job to judge and ours to mourn? Maybe this guy was a sociopath with no worth to anyone. He was somebodies son though. It’s all just a tragedy and I don’t think our current treatment protocol is sufficient.......I guess we don’t have the resources to follow through on everyone who has a record of violence against others. Perhaps this could have been avoided if we had. There needs to be more help.....it needs to be a priority.