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A year ago, January 29th, Aaron Campbell was shot and killed by Portland police. He was unarmed and mentally distraught — his younger brother had died of heart and kidney failure earlier that day. Campbell's death set off an uproar, especially among Portland's African Americans. Soon after, City Hall was besieged by angry protesters and Reverend Jessie Jackson flew to Portland to demand accountability and reform within the Portland Police Bureau.
Central to the debate is the question over the police's use of lethal force. 2010 would see three more police shootings before the year's end, spurring some public perception that Portland officers use excessive force. A group at the forefront of the debate is the Albina Ministerial Alliance, led by Reverend T. Allen Bethel. Among its recommendations for reforming the police bureau, the Alliance called for changes in Oregon law on the use of deadly force by police.
Are you a police officer? Do you live in a community fraught with tension between citizens and police? What do you think has changed about police actions in the last year?
Tagged as: aaron · anniversary · campbell · shooting
Photo credit: Squid Vicious / Creative Commons
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Totally agree with you. Believe strongly that mental illness is on the rise and law enforcement is just that law enforcement. And what our community needs is more mental health care providers and crisis intervention for many situations. There should be a mental health professional/LE for each 10 officers.
Do also find myself occationally questioning the officers mind frame as well as the "subject." A guy with a gun on a power trip combined with a bi-polar or otherwise mentally ill person with no perspective is a really bad combo!
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sunshineriver>>. how can anyone disagree with such a screen name>>??? it is practically blasphemey ?//// mental illness is a terrible thing >. but i dont think one in ten cops should be a mental health worker>> maybe it makes sense to teach a little personal accountability in schools instead. Mental illness is a progessive desease >. maybe when we find poeple using drugs or CHOOSING to collect "benefits" we should nip the tenedency in the bud before they proceed to such a state of feeling totally worthless. JUST A THOUGHT >. u cool with that sunshineriver??
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We cannot afford an army of psychiatric interventionalists in a bankrupt state. We cannot even afford school nurses.
We have a solution that is less than the cost of water fluoridation. For less than a dollar per capita, we can put Prozac in the Water Supply and we may again be a functional, peaceful, and progessive society with less addicts, homeless and violence.
We are putting out fires left and right exhausting the fire-fighters, instead of preventing fires with small buckets of timely applied water on small smoldering campfires.
Madmen survivalist running around with shotguns and ambushing law enforcement. College dropouts getting mid-evil with a Glock. Bombers striking Christmas parties. Suicides come like a holiday tradition.
STOP THE MADNESS. AND REDUCE THE DYSFUNCTION. Imagine a society where everything worked and people were mature responsible adults. People will be as happy as they make up their minds to be. --A Lincoln
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ITS A BRAVE NEW WORLD >. WHERE ALL ARE DRUG INDUCED AND PASSIVE >. PROGRESSIVES UNITE IN THIS DENIAL OF INDIVIDUALITY >. WHAT U THINK ABOUT THAT UMM EMILY??
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" Prozac in the Water Supply" just what the fringe element needs for their next recruiting drive...
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Desperate Times, Require Desperate Measures. --W. Shakespeare
I think medicating the water supply has a role in HIGH RISK POPULATIONS: Prisons, Juvenile Detention Centers, Abused Women Shelters(at high risk of depression), Mental Asylums, Inner City Schools with rampant drug and violence, Homeless Shelters. It is Vitamin Water for Mental illness.
Crazy people are like the poor. They will always be with us.
Make them sane and change the game.
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So it's a year later & what's been done? One cop was finally fired - which took long enough & only after continuous outrage from the community. But other officers directly responsible for Campbells' murder haven't been punished at all, other then afew measly suspensions. Ofcourse, no cop has been charged with murdering Campbell.
Still, unresolved, as far as many are concerned.
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I think the situation with police recruitment is analogous to that of finding young men fit for military service. Only one out of every four potential recruits are physically fit, have no record of drug additions, have no criminal record and are able to pass the written exam.
In short, the pool of fit individuals for police academes or the armed forces is shrinking. Police departments are compelled by this scandalous circumstances to choose from a small pool the best of a poor lot. They often end up with brutish oafs and budding psychopaths. (Both conditions exacerbated by the use of steroids).
An anecdote: Way back in the early fifties, the Marine Corps brigs (jails) were having trouble with prisoners being cruelly treated by the turnkeys (wardens, guards). At that time men could ask for those assignments. Because of this self selection process the brig staff were made up of Marines who enjoyed positions in which they could mistreat others behind a cloak of legitimacy. Once the Corps realized the probable source of the problem, they started assigning those jobs to men on a more or less randum basis. The instances of prisoner mistreatment was reduced rather quickly.
It is no stretch to consider that given our culture of violence men who want to be cops may be attracted to the jobs because it provides a cover for latent sadism and a psychopathic attraction to violence.
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Gereng >>. i really do appreciate the insight of your years and experience >.THANKS FOR POSTING
i look forward to reading you again
and i agree >. many people who are cops or government officials are power happy individuals protected by a culture of "team players"
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"Aaron Campbell and Jared Loughner both suffered what appeared to a be acute psychotic episode. One ended up dead, the other in prison."
Yeah, the only difference between Campbell & Loughner being that Campbell was going through extreme mental distress at a particular moment, following his brother's death earlier that day. Campbell was NOT psychotic! He never threaten, nor did he ever cause harm to anyone. On the contrary, Campbell was actually cooperating with police. Campbell was clearly not armed & police knew this. His back was to them when he walked out of his apt. SURRENDERING & his hands were plainly visible. Yet, officer Ryan Lewton shot Campbell in the back with beanbag rounds despite ZERO physical resistance, right after which [ex]officer Ron Frashour used an AR-14 military assault rifle to gun him down in the back - directly following Lewtons' lead. A K-9 attack dog was sicced on Campbell as well. Basically, Aaron was hit with 3 different forms of deadly [or slightly less than deadly] force within a 5 second span. Even afterwhich, Campbell was left to bleed to death, his dead body was hand-cuffed, & paramedics were kept away for over 30 minutes.
Loughner, on the otherhand, was clearly psychotic when he murdered 6 people. Although, Loughner couldn't have been that crazy, since he carefully planned his attack out for months - so he knew good 'n damned well what he was doing. Yet, when Loughner was arrested, he wasn't subjected to ANY of the human rights abuses that Campbell suffered.
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Lougner never suffered the human rights abuses of listening to right wing radio, which you libs alledged was the cause of the shooting >. or do you forget??
Campell could have at any time laid face down and spread his arms as I am sure he was ordered to do many times >>>> maybe he just did not have the innate intelligence or ability to think ratiuonally that would have enabled him to do as at gun point >. the fault lies with his actions (mental illness or genetic predisposition) and not with the police.
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THIS IS SO MUCH LIBERAL PAP >>. " He was unarmed and mentally distraught"
the cops on the way to the scene were informed he was armed , he had had past viloent confrontations with the police, it has nothing to do with his race., as the Albinia racist ministry would have you to believe.
however scientific studies have shown that certain elements of society(you know who you are)who are lacking in a prefrontal corteX tend to be irrational and spontaneous, even violent, I recommend you libs deal with some of these people when they get out of control and learn what the police have to deal with >>> atleast watch COPS.!!! AND JESSE JACKSON IS TO BE JUDGED BY THE CONTENT OF HIS CHARACTER >. HE LIKE KING HAS A HISTORY OF SEXUAL INFEDILITY
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As a minister in the United Church of Christ, I've witnessed the Portland Police Bureau decline in recent years. The Bureau has become more defensive, the leadership more isolated, and the union a true obstacle to progress in a city ripped apart by a series of police shootings and scandals that, sadly, reflect on all police when we know the reality is that most officers are good and decent public servants.
That's why I told The Portland Mercury this week that I'm happy to support a series of legislative proposals put forward by state Rep. Lew Fredrick that would bring about systemic changes in the ways Oregonians interact with police and in the process build trust and bring real accountability.
Like many, I've also had some concerns about new Portland Chief Mike Reese. Despite those concerns, I'm hopeful that he'll be a successful police chief who can help us overcome the problems we face today in Portland. That's why I wrote Chief Reese in early January and asked if we could meet sometime in the near future for coffee to talk about how some of these issues can be resolved. I hope Chief Reese will accept my invitation as I want him to succeed in his work.
- Rev. Chuck Currie
http://www.chuckcurrie.com
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Why does the Oregonian newspaper read "Cop kills man" instead of "Cop protects citizens"? Police must make decisions to protect the public, which does not always include clear information, and clear information can not always be obtained. As an example, if you, as a parent, thought a ranting and raving distressed person was threatening your child, what reaction would you want? If someone is shot while running from the police, the first question from the public should be "Why would they run from police?" A police officers' job description is to protect and serve, the first of which is to protect.
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Innocent until proven guilty applies only to the people that commit the crimes. The policeman was exonerated by the grand jury and yet lost his job. Portland doesn't deserve a good police department as the police receive no community support. The press and the "Black "Community" are allied against law enforcement. Stories are universally slanted against the police. The "ministers" quoted use these incidents for political gain. Law abiding citizens are at risk while criminals become the oppressed. memo
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The first guest said that the Grand Jury "cleared" the shooter. But the DA can wait to make the presentation to the GJ until he has a friendly GJ sitting. And just like the old DA saying that "a good prosecutor can get an indictment on a ham sandich", I would think that a good DA can prevent an indictment on a ham sandwich/police officer.
I'd like to see a better and more thorough way of presenting evidence from "both" sides in an officer involved shooting because of the potential of a DA trying to protect his police officers.
A GJ only hears the evidence that the DA provides, not any evidence from the other side and I think that this type of situation is special enough to make special rules for a GJ presentation.
The GJ can subpoena more investigation from the police and DAs but they cannot ask for the other side.
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I always find it hard to listen to the Reverend Allen Bethel, who calls for treating people with respect...
...while leading the Albina Ministerial Alliance, which donated thousands of dollars and preached hate in support of a state constitutional amendment that cut gay and lesbian families off from access to basic American civil rights (the result of passage of Measure 36).
I think it is important to remind people that Allen Bethel acted on his unsubstantiated prejudice against gay and lesbian Oregonians, and fought to disrespect his own Oregon neighbors, co-workers, family members and friends - because of whom they love.
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That is simply false. AMA is a coalition of churches - some pro-gay, some not. As a strong supporter for marriage equality in a denomination that supports marriage equality, I disagree with some AMA members on these important issues but believe facts are important and that your comment misrepresents the facts.
- Rev. Chuck Currie
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It is certainly NOT false.
Scroll down to the "Arguments in Favor" petition submitted by Allen Bethel in support of Measure 36, and notice all those equally bigoted Albina Ministerial Alliance pastors in attendance on the same page...
http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/nov22004/guide/meas/m36_fav.html
You might also wish to check out a more recent and relevant post on this topic from the Portland Mercury...
http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2010/05/21/when-things-get-awkward-for-dr-t-allen-bethel
Despite the obvious desire of many to sweep this kind of appalling and disrespectful behavior under the rug - the record is pretty clear.
* In 2004, Alan Bethel and his fellow pastors at Albina Ministerial Alliance churches donated plenty of parishioner dollars (just look up Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, as one example) and engaged in organized, concerted efforts to demonize and disrespect my family and many others as less worthy of civil rights protections than their own.
And the "reasons" for disrespecting and depriving his fellow Oregonians of basic civil protections offered by "Dr." Bethel (and his posse of Albina Ministerial charlatans) were driven by unsubstantiated, evidence-free, supernatural prejudice that a younger generation is (thank goodness) quickly disregarding...
However, a lot of us certainly remember what happened, and still happens, in these churches, and the name "Albina Ministerial Alliance" is pretty firmly, and accurately, linked with past efforts to reduce the legal worth and value of real, contributing families in our state.
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Every time the police stop someone or are called to a disturbance, as should have been made clear by the police shooting of the past week, police are in danger and do not know what they are going to encounter. The mentally ill or drunk are often the most unpredictable and most dangerous. Your guest seems to discount this and believe that there is never a justified police shooting--has there been a police shooting that they have not questioned? You guest is right police should wait to be shot at or attacked before using any force. You guests seem to think that any situation can be resolved peacefully, but that is simply not the case. To demonize the police officers and make them out to be monsters who don't care and are no better than criminals is unfair--especially when you don't put your life on the line but rather sit back and observe from the confort of you safe offices.
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Once more... As Think Out Loud has done repeatedly for several years.... The show is talking about mental health issues, without a representative from a group OF mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors. Oregon today has a state-wide coalition of about a dozen such groups, all run by present and former Oregon mental health clients. This is not to necessarily criticize the NAMI representative who is a guest. But NAMI is largely a parents' organization, and it was disclosed a majority of their funding was coming from the pharmaceutical industry. The disability movement has a saying, "Nothing About Us Without Us." Last year, Think Out Loud did an hour show about the mental health system, and I was invited on -- for about 10 minutes of that whole show. There's an inherent, ongoing, bias inside the structure of Think Out Loud, that is direct representation from marginalized, disempowered and poor people. Ironically enough, this is one of the main challenges with police training in Oregon: Without any support for the state-wide organizations of mental health consumers and psychiatric survivors, there are few resources to provide advice, input, training to police, etc. Oregon is one of the very few USA states with zero (0) support for the state-wide voice of mental health consumers/psychiatric survivors. Perhaps the way Think Out Loud APPEARS to be progressive, but leans toward more "middle class" representatives, and EXCLUDES marginalized people is a reflection on the State of Oregon?
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Around 1977 the civil rights movement and challenges to the then current laws decided that people could not be stuck in asylums against their will. Seriously demented people by the thousands hit the streets. That is still the crux of the problem. It is almost impossible to have someone committed unless the go voluntarily.
Most would elect to be in the streets if kicked out by famlies. Plus most asylums are closed and they will remain that way because the funds are no longer available to run them at today's exacting standards.
I also think there are more crazy people around today. Defective kids who would have more conveniently sickened and died off or have been killed by misadventure, before they reproduced are now protected and enabled by the state's many services to live long enough to reproduce or obtain a gun.
There are about a kazillian daily influences impacting vulnerable young people that turn simpletons and the mildly unbalanced into raging maniacs. Drugs, prescribed and otherwise, violent films and games and equally violent music all influence bahavior. While parents are so distracted by the tough business of making a living they pay no attention to their spawn.
In many cases the parents seem to have as little sense as their nutty off-spring. After viewing that "shrine" Loughner (sp) set up in his parent's back yard, one has to wonder about their mental state. If my adult son was still sticking around the house at that age setting up voodoo shrines in the backyard I would have had him placed under psychiatric care.
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For an illustration of the deep problem that those of us diagnosed with a psychiatric disability face in our society, consider the comment to my post by someone identifying him or herself as "Gereng."
Witness the words used for us: " ... Demented... crazy.... defective... simpletons... nutty...."
If this were an OPB online discussion about race, and an individual used any of the common pejorative street epithets for any ethnic group, their comment would probably be removed as offensive speech.
My concern is not about 'politically correct' language; I have an essay on the web about mental health and words, that can be found by just googling the four words -- Stop Saying Mental Illness.
I ask people to witness the kind of speech directed our way, because it's an example of discrimination that is very deep in our society. We've all heard of sexism and racism, even ablism and agism. But how many people have heard of "sanism," which is discrimination based on perceived mental unwellness.
As someone who was in the environmental movement for years, what I'm learning in the mental health field is the universality of what is commonly called "madness" or "nuttiness." To be human is in fact to wrestle with extreme overwhelm. The best of science is now finding that humanity has little grip on reality, and such a grip may be impossible.
My point is, use of hate speech toward our folks on an online comment board is a teaching moment. Because my guess is this individual would describe him or herself as mentally "well," as "normal," as someone who does not qualify for a psychiatric diagnosis.
But really, could we ask if directing such ugly language against a very vulnerable marginalized population, is truly well? Isn't it an example of the kind of spiritual illness -- the moral illness -- that Martin Luther King drew our attention to?
If OPB could put representatives from our organizations on its many Think Out Loud shows about mental health, it would help humanize our population, and make such hate speech less likely.
Please -- we may all disagree, but let's seek civil dialogue, especially at this time in our nation's history. Even though I myself was diagnosed as "schizophrenic" and "bipolar," and "psychotic," Martin Luther King pointed out that it's the content of our character that really matters. In all humility, I hope if he compared my speech to the person who feels they are "well," he would repeat one of this most famous quotes, which he said many times... MLK said he was proud to be psychologically maladjusted because "The salvation of humanity lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
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"Defective kids who would have more conveniently sickened and died off or have been killed by misadventure, before they reproduced are now protected and enabled by the state's many services to live long enough to reproduce or obtain a gun."
This argument sounds ominously familiar - have we heard this somewhere before? That it would be better if certain "defective" humans were not alive?
Every human being is on the same spectrum of mental health and we move to different places along that spectrum due to many factors: environmental, spiritual, chemical, biological, enduring trauma. People move toward wellness, healing, and stability when they have hope, support, and care. Hatred, poverty, and stigmatization only create more illness and trauma.
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If it "sounds ominously familiar" you maye be thinking about the eugenic laws in effect in the US until rather recently. Anyway I was merely making a point, NOT public policy. The distinction should be clear.
In any case lighten up for god's sake. We are not determing the future course of the universe here. All this quivering, raw ganglia hanging out just waiting, HOPING to be stimulated into righteous indignation. Oh! I forgot Everyone now has an over riding right never to be upset by anyone else or anything read. Darn! I keep forgetting this. Mia culpa.
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Thank you Amy for your helpful and positive comment.
Now I see that the individual identifying as "Gereng" tells those of concerned about his incivility here to "lighten up" about calling our constituency "... Demented... crazy.... defective... simpletons... nutty...." in his recent post.
I love humor, but it seems to me really offensive speech is still offensive, whether serious or humorous.
Actually, I do find humor in witnessing this kind of thing from someone who apparently claims to be mentally well, normal, etc.
We have had a "Heal Normality" campaign for some time. Patch Adams clown troupe even taught us to do street theater "screenings" for normality using rubber chickens! They are hilarious, because we never find any normality.
The best fun is when someone claims they are normal. We make a big deal, saying finally, we have the first one. We rejoice. We do the rubber chicken and... turns out it's false alarm, person is NOT normal.
And by the ay, I studied Latin a little, and the correct phrase for apologizing is:
"Mea culpa."
At least the phrase was uttered, if facetiously.
Here's another Latin quote about 'normality,' this one from Julius Caesar:
"Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt."
That means:
People readily believe what they wish.
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"Every time the police stop someone or are called to a disturbance, as should have been made clear by the police shooting of the past week, police are in danger and do not know what they are going to encounter. The mentally ill or drunk are often the most unpredictable and most dangerous. "
This assumption is not borne out by studies, absent substance abuse - which is a predictor of violence-... even those 'mentally labeled' who are recently released from state hospital commitment are slightly -less dangerous- than the general population and are more likely to be victims rather than victimize others.
http://www.macarthur.virginia.edu/violence.html
This is a product of malappropriated cultural fears disconnected from facts by the perception of the mentally labeled as irrational or unpredictable. This sort of toxic negative perception too often drives public, media, and mental health system activities and is discriminatory without much public outcry. NAMI is suspect precisely because of its active support for these sorts of stereotypes. This public vilification actually makes the lives and prospects of those who may otherwise recover much much worse.
There are a number of ways to protect the safety of someone who is suffering through an overwhelming time and is unable to effectively communicate their reality to a cop on the beat. Looking for an answer without talking to someone who has 'been there' apparently is not solving the problem, and as public fear escalates, so do the number of avoidable tragedies. It is time to include the voices of those who can provide a personalized insight into the risks.
The reason this is not done is sad. The discrimination against those who are needlessly shot or injured is so great that there is often no public will or interest in finding a more human alternative, or even to include the voices of those experienced in the dialogue. It makes a person wonder that, maybe it really is not the police that are ultimately responsible for the aggregate of these unfortunate deaths.
It is worth noting too that there are -never- any indictments or findings, true even in the flagrant example of James Chasse, nothing was done until a massive protest by activists over the obvious abuse. This would not happen unless there was a general tolerance of violence and forced against the labeled.
Those that experience things differently are often a natural result of our environment as well as a large number of complex contributing factors. Death should not be the price of 'being different' or being the kind of person police can de-escalate rather than shoot. Drake Ewbank
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Hey Dave, I thought there was an 'e' missing in that phrase, but too lazy to check my latin vocab book. Sorry if my manner of expression is offending anyone. I get bored with all the carefully crafted politically correct language. The only group I know who still thinks ethnic jokes are funny are the Irish. God forbid anyone tell one today.
Everyone posting here is so dreadfully serious and humorless about it all.
I am a 'he' though. A 77 yr old 'he' with two marriages and five children, 7 grandkids and one great grand child. I am rational (most of the time) sober all the time, reasonably well educated. Indeed my travel and adventures recounted occasionally are all true even if some sound rather improbable. Yes, and I am terribly opinioned and do my best NOT to be politically correct which practice I believe is an intellectual straight jacket and usually dishonest in the bargain.
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One of the problems with some of the Oregon police departments including Portland is that they have gone their own way despite the highly successful Memphis Model of Crisis Intervention Team training. This program is a national recognized model that train certain officers, usually volunteers who show an aptitude for responding to such situations, much like a swat team that is formed with officers with certain skills. Portland has decided to train all officers and I understand new officers get it as part of the initial trainings which dilutes the information even futher. Unfortunately the mental health system has a poor record of getting people healed, many stay in the system for life with periods of stability and subsequent decompensations which leaves far too many vulnerable to harm on the streets. Yes, use the best possible training for Police Departments, but more so stop the indiscriminate labeling and medicating that leads to lifelong disability of so many.
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First I need to share on how sad I am that in 2011 we are still fighting over how illnesses should be managed. I somehow remember back in biology that the brain was the main functioning part of our body, yet for some reason it has been divided up in sections on how we should receive care and what titles we have given to describe our physical malfunctions.
I must ask everyone to think about the last time they had a meltdown at work when either a boss or fellow employee created a hostile environment. I even remember working decades in a customer service position when customers screamed at me because they were unhappy about their product or service. I do not know of any job where someone hasn't be traumatized by bad behaviors that have gone unspoken. Most working americans today suffer from high levels of strees, depression and major anxiety disorders they are to afraid to have dealt with. Most managers in charge today might not even pass a drug test. Is it fair to focus on only one aspect of the entire human beings worth?
When is trauma ever going to be seen for what it is. When are other human beings going to stop bullying those who have conditions they have no control over?
What do you call a rape victim when they now suffer from mental health issues? Do you still wish to call them demented, or delusional?
We as a human race must RISE above these LABELS that do not define who we are or what we are capable of doing. I was so hoping as a kid that by this time we would be flying around in cars to get to our apartments like the Jetsons did on TV. Instead we are even more inidated with Hate, Biases, Fear and the need to be King of the Hill.
I was verbally threatened by my boss and was unable to do much about it because I was not in charge. I am calling forth on this submission those folks who have been traumatized by work envirnments or those who are currently being traumatized by their jobs. Lets see truth for what it really is, We are truly all responsible for our brothers and sisters and one day maybe we can work closer together to bridge the information gap that exists today in hopes of helping one another get well instead of getting worse. Heck the inmates I work with treat me much better sometimes then my fellow workers did when I was in the retail environment.
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Prozac in the water supply? You have GOT to be kidding!!!
I encourage you to read Robert Whitaker's recent book release, Anatomy of an Epidemic. He shares a volume of hard scientific research that suggest that, far from eliminating disability, our label-and-drug approach to mental illness is making MORE chronically ill people out of many who might have recovered in the pre-drug era. Over 60% of people hospitalized for schizophrenia used to recover to the point of employment, going to school, having families or otherwise being productive citizens. The figure with our new "technology" in place? More like 5%. Similar results are observed for serious depression and other mental health problems. And he provides a valid scientific explanation for why it's happening that way.
That's not to mention the incredible range of side effects, including suicidal and homicidal behavior, that occur when some people take these drugs. And remember, nursing mothers and little toddlers will be imbibing these wonder drugs into their developing brains as well!
Mental illness, whatever that may be, is a very complicated affair, involving both who we are and what we experience in the world. There are a lot of things in this world that can be distressing or depressing, including severe or chronic exposure to trauma at home, at school, or in the workplace. How many kids who were being bullied by peers or had a cruel and unfair teacher have been diagnosed as suffering from a mental illness? How many victims of domestic violence are "treated" for their depression or anxiety without anyone even bothering to find out about their lives?
As to the comment about people stopping their drugs because they feel better and deny their "illness," the research and my experience contradicts this. Most people appear to quit because either a) the drugs aren't working for them, or b) they have intolerable side effects. The other less obvious reason is that making someone's symptoms go away does not help them manage their lives differently. All of us need goals and activities to feel productive and useful. And we need protection and safety to function effectively. Failing to help people meet these needs, can we really say we have helped at all?
Let's not oversimplify, folks. Instead of labeling and blaming people for their reactions, why not spend some time getting to know them and finding out why these "symptoms" are happening? You will discover that every depressed person, every anxious person, every hyperactive child, every moody teen, has their reasons and their motivations and their stories about how they got there and where they are trying to go. To try and "treat" mental illness without this context is a losing battle, as Robert Whitaker's book so clearly demonstrates.
We can do a lot better that Prozac in the water supply!---- Steve
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uea, This program is a national recognized model that train certain officers, usually volunteers who show an aptitude for responding to such situations, much like a swat team that is formed with officers with certain skills, thanks
massagistas | ar condicionado
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"Defective kids who would have more conveniently sickened and died off or have been killed by misadventure, before they reproduced are now protected and enabled by the state's many services to live long enough to reproduce or obtain a gun." crazy argument
NL Classifieds
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Comments are now closed.
The most expensive and inefficient way to deal with mental illness is our present system. If you are mentally unstable you end up either homeless in a shelter, in prison, or dead. Today there is no mental asylum option.
Know that mental illness is extremely common. 40% of Americans will have a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime: Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Autism, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Paranoid Schizophenia, Dementia, etc.
And over half of these cases remain UNDIAGNOSED in the population. It is worse than the epidemic of Diabetes. Yes you can't buy a gun if you are insane. But if your schizophrenia has never been diagnosed, are you still eligible? In Arizona, the answer is yes.
Know that there is EFFECTIVE MENTAL ILLNESS DRUGS and treatment programs. Very few need chronic institutionalization today unlike 40 years ago in days of Cuckoo's Nest.
Either you or your significant other will have or have suffered a debilitating psychic episode such as major depression. It used to be called a 'nervous breakdown' or in the Middle Ages 'Melancholia.'
Aaron Campbell and Jared Loughner both suffered what appeared to a be acute psychotic ephisode. One ended up dead, the other in prison.
At least in prison, one can get medication and allow remission. But many mentally ill in the community, take their medication, feel better, deny their illness, stop taking their medication and chronically relapse into ephisodes. If guns or bombs are involved, it can escalate to SWAT teams.
Police officers are not trained mental workers, but they encounter the problems of mental illness daily. But mental illness is so common that ordinary laypersons also deal with mental illness with our selves, our spouses, our children, the homeless guy on the street, the disruptive worker or student, the schizophrenic assassin, the drug pimp and dealer, the NW bomber, the corner religious preacher, the porno addict, the burglar.
It seemed all of Lougher's fellow students and teachers KNEW he was crazy if not insane. Everyone just withdrew their relations and responsiblities.
IN TRUTH WE ALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH MENTAL ILLNESS IN OUR SELVES AND THE ONES WE LOVE. We all have to be educated in mental illness. Many of the most chronic problems of society like homelessness, domestic abuse, high divorces, homicides-- have at root, mental illness. We all may need to be on a 'nerve' pill.