Maggie's Farm

I think it was a mistake to incarcerate/commit the mentally ill to these institutions. I also think it was a mistake to completely abandon the idea of some kind of long term or permanent secure housing for the seriously mental ill patients. It is clear to any thinking person that there are some people who are mentally ill and need to be housed and monitored. They are a threat to themselves and to others. The problem is multi-faceted: How to do it legally. How to do it safely and humanely. Who decides which people get committed? How do you prevent mistreatment by low level staff and even the higher level professionals? I don't know the answers. But I do know that what we are doing today is a failed methodology.

It is often said that most mentally ill people are not a threat to others and I imagine that is statistically true. But I believe that the converse is true too; that most people who are a threat to others are mentally ill. Today we essentially have no system of identifying those who are a threat or to deal with them if we identify them. The only system we have is after they knife someone or murder them (or multiple victims) we arrest them, charge them and "maybe" incarcerate them. We don't even accurately determine when we release them if they are still a threat.

It is interesting that I can call the police today and tell them my neighbor or my ex should not have guns because they are potentially violent and the police can without due process take those guns and perhaps even do more to that person. But there is no commensurate procedure to identify "crazy" people who may be violent EVEN if we were to allow due process. This is a mistake and everyday there are headlines that prove it is a mistake.

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It is often said that most mentally ill people are not a danger to themselves or others. I believe this is statistically true. However I also believe that it is true that most senseless violent crimes are committed by mentally ill people and there should be some way of identifying people like this and removing them from the streets.

But then magically reappeared.

I agree. The point is that the government is failing at this and they are the only group empowered to do anything about it. Because they are failing the problem is escalating and will probably at some point require extra-judicial action to correct it. There isn't a limitless pile of money to throw at this and we are turning major cities into third world hell holes by ignoring the problem.

Should we kill them all? No! Should we continue to let them kill and injure us? No! Sooner or later the least common denominator solution will be applied because the government continues to fiddle...

But did the cultures thrive because of this or in spite of this? My question is how many murders, old world disease outbreaks, rapes, assaults, and robberies is acceptable before something is done to counteract these misfits? If the city of Seattle knowingly and intentionally allows/encourages the homeless thus abetting their crimes shouldn't the city of Seattle pay reparations to those injured by that decision? Here is the problem we are dancing around, sooner or later the people will rebel and take matters into their own hands. Personally, I would prefer that they kill the politicians rather than the homeless but the politicians probably live in gated communities. But when that righteous anger happens THAT will be further proof that the government has failed in their primary duties and was or should be rightfully removed with prejudice.