Maggie's Farm

Agree that these things cannot be prevented. Without in any way wanting to minimize this beast's wicked behavior, what strikes me (as in all such cases) is the waste. First of the victims' lives. But second, the wasteland that inadequately treated mental illness makes first of the life of the sufferer, then the pain and rage they turn outwards on the world.

We are so obsessed as a culture with preserving people's "rights" not to be confined, that we often fail to treat them when they suffer from conditions that, by definition, cause them to think nothing is wrong with them, only with the world. Florid mania, in relatives of mine, has led to paranoia and violence. Picture a 5 foot woman surrounded by 4 husky cops, guns drawn to get her to drop a knife she is waving at them. Six months later, illness finaly exhausted, she has forgotten what happened, and thinks nothing is wrong with her. The only way someone like this gets needed care and meds is if they are forced on them, if they are committed long enough to bring mania and or delusions under control.

However another aspect of this story (besides the tale of another mentally ill person who fell thru the cracks and who committed mayhem) is that, yet again, all mentally ill people will be tarred with guilt by association with this bastard of the Virginia shootings. Most mentally ill people are not murderers. Perhaps they voice their violent fantasies more freely than a more prudent "sane" person, but stories like this scare me.

When I read the quickie profiles of the textbook shooter, I shudder. Things like "We all know the characteristics--loner, mental health problems, possibly delusional, yada yada yada. " And talk of people shamed, and brooding, and feeling angry at more privileged others, etc. I wonder how many frustrated, difficult, ugly, awkward but basically harmless and well meaning young people will be further stigmatized and shied away from by their peers, teachers and potential helpers who ignorantly cast them as future shooters.

Remember that to the policeman, the world is divided into perpetrators and those not yet caught. As some commentators have rightly observed, we call everyone with a diagnosis "insane" regardless of the difference between violent criminals, chronically depressed, autistic, manic, paranoid schizophrenics, narcissists, OCD accountants, etc. I would hate to think that in the legitimate desire to prevent future tragedies like this Virginia one, people start thinking of unpopular, obnoxious loners as all either shooters or potential ones....

Stigma is a huge barrier to people seeking care. I recently visited my old college with my kid. We walked by the student health services where I had walked in suicidal a quarter century ago and been sent out with instructions to get on a waiting list at the state clinic as they wouldn't treat me. Not included in tuition. I went back to my dorm room and did not emerge except for the occasional meal for three months. In a black hole. No diagnosis. No meds. No therapy. No followup. I didn't shoot anyone, I didn't want to. But I knew that if I went anywhere and got a diagnosis, got treatment, I would always be an object of suspicion.

I do think that one small part of prevention, should be increased mental health services on college campuses. And not simply the nonsense of quickie cognitive behavioral time limited therapy (which works better the stupider and more naive you are). The mood disorders and schizophrenia tend to emerge during these years, or cause the most disruption. And, yet, ironically, this is often a time when kids are uninsured or underinsured.

University health services are usually adequate for needed things like birth control, antibiotics for strep, etc. But they are terrified of the expense of therapy and meds, and rightly skittish about diagnosing, ie stigmatising kids about to spread their wings. If university health services could view it as part of their mission to diagnose and coach kids with mental health issues how to manage their health, their futures would be both happier and more productive. And there might be fewer tragedies like this one.

Please do not say I am advocating a Nanny State. I am not.

My feeling about mental illness is that with adequate treatment, its sufferers should be able to love and work and take all the boring responsibilities of adult life upon themselves that "sane" people do. With no excuses or whining about life not being fair. With no mooching off anyone, or loafing in depressing idleness. But without adequate care, it is obvious that not only does their illness make them a burden and charge, but a tiny subset may harm society.

BL, I don't think any of us can judge who is salvageable or not. Maybe this guy wasn't. His face is chilling, not just ugly. But we never know. I still tend towards the judgmental, so rather doubt this particular guy could have been saved...Then smack myself upside my head and remind myself that with man these things are impossible, but all things are possible with God...

The thing is, with a dog that bites, you put it down. But you have to try to save another human. It isn't that I am soft on crime or mushy about people being basically good. We're all sinners. As BD reminds us, if we acted on all of our feelings, we'd be in jail

Obviously, I'm no forensic psychologist like that Dr. Helen...but I just don't think even the worst murderers started out wanting to do the appalling things they ended up doing. I think they took one wrong turn then another, and nobody was able to get them to put themselves straight again. The appeasement process occurs in the way people often deal with violent and hostile people as with Hitler--fearing to stand up to them, punish or discipline or treat them early on, leads to far worse trouble later on. Yet even the most self-satisfied amongst us need others holding us accountable, nagging, pushing, cajoling us to do the right thing. Precious few (except perhaps my spouse) can be right in isolation...that old phrase of the church as a school for sinners comes to mind.

Off to sleep. Another college tour with the kid tomorrow, and will try not to scope out this place as the others this week for safe hiding places for my ewe lamb in the event of some violent madman going for people...taking one's darling kid to visit just makes one ache for those stricken Virginia parents...