And it will, and yes I agree This in my opinion is the real elephant in the room and I have no earthly idea how to solve it. The problem is we have grown far too sensitive in this country and we like to lop off our noses to spite our face and I'm not sure any solution will be any better. If you start targeting the Cra-Cra crowd the parents, the (insert bleeding heart org) will just lose their shit. The fact remains that every one of these horrible crimes were committed by some looney fuck and the parents are more often that not clueless. This is bullshit and I think there should be some level of responsibility on the parent. If I have a crazy ass dog and it goes off and bites someone you can bet your ass I will be in court. Why in the hell should it be any different if I have batshit offspring that does a whole lot worse. Problem is America isn't ready for that. We aren't capable of having that conversation and have grown far too accustomed to placing the blame on someone or something else. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feellings but damnit this shit isn't going to end until start facing the real issues.
This is a good point. Any time people start talking about "doing more about mental illness," what do they mean, exactly?
There is really nothing that can be done unless they come up with a cure one day. You can't just lock them all up because most people who act a little nutty are harmless
This is true, but how, then, can we truly do anything to stop an absolute maniac from doing the unthinkable?
Much is what Shane is talking about. Taking responsibility. Many of these nut jobs were known to their family, friends, and schoolmates as having serious issues. This guy in South Carolina was an adult, but the teenager lunatics . . . we have to hold their parents responsible for reporting erratic behavior and getting kids into treatment. They have to be vigilant about allowing them access to weapons. Schoolteachers like you should have a recourse and responsibility to report suspected emotional and mental health issues to those who can properly evaluate them. And those people flagged in databases as mentally unstable and potentially dangerous cannot be allowed to buy or possess deadly weapons. And Shane is right for once . . . parents will be delusional and fight to defend their children and perhaps cannot be faulted for such hardwired behavior, but they have to assume some responsibilities when problems are identified. I'm not sure what we do about lone-wolf adults who go off the deep end and no one suspects. But I think most nut cases display themselves to somebody early and more serious efforts to identify them, get them treatment, and deny them the means to do violence as best we can seems essential to me.
Not guilty by reason of insanity is his defense? He made a clear and conscious choice. A voice in his head did not tell him to do it. Years of compounding negative thoughts reinforced his will to commit this act. Maybe I don't see mental illness as you are explaining it. Like you said, there are many racists and hate group leaders that don't kill. Why would someone cross that line? I don't know. Are all killers mentally ill? Is the rage that builds inside someone's head to the point of killing an illness?
As a teacher, we are definitely supposed to report kids to our counselors and administration when we witness something untoward from them. As an English teacher, I'm on the front lines for this sort of thing because when the kids are comfortable enough, they will divulge all kinds of things through their writing. This past year alone, I had three kids write about past sexual abuse, which the counselors confirmed was true, and two kids came out as gay. A few years ago, I had a 7th grade girl write poetry about killing herself. After she was reported, her parents did take her to a treatment center and we didn't see her again. She transferred schools after that. There are reports that both of the Columbine shooters had written about their plans to kill in English class, and their teachers wrote comments like, "Whoa, disturbing," or "creative imagination." Hmmm... Whenever we're writing something that can be personal in nature (in 8th grade, there is a whole unit called Powerful Young Voices, and they kids get absolutely raw with what they will share), I let them know that they can write what they want, but if they write something disturbing, I will have to let the front office know. Sometimes, it's a cry for help. An Asian girl in my daughter's 8th grade honors English class stood up and performed a monologue about being beaten by her parents whenever she makes a B. It bothered my daughter so much that we had to talk for a long time about it. I told my daughter it was likely a cry for help, as it did have to be reported (and CPS would have to be called.)
I get what you're saying but people who are willing to give their life while/after hurting people will always find a way.
