I am responding to a news story a little late. Here is the link: http://nyti.ms/18yH8fj. Here is a summary: This woman drove her car into a White House barrier. She had a baby in her car. She was apparently mentally ill. And since this happened on the heels of Navy Yard, she was shot and killed. I'm not sure whether the shooting was justified or not. What I am going to comment on is the fact that this woman was mentally ill. It has been said that she was convinced that the President was stalking her. She was delusional. So, I guess that you could say that her mental illness was severe.
What do I have to say about this? I guess I have a lot of questions. Had she been treated? I know that she lost her job. Did she have insurance? Did the community-at-large see evidence of her illness? Was anybody keeping an eye on the baby? Or was she alone in this? I really do believe that the community has a vested interest in addressing mental health issues. Very important questions, don't you think? Mental illness is something that can be treated. Instead of losing her mother in a horrific situation in which she was in danger...maybe this child could have grown up with the woman who gave birth to her. Now, she will be growing up with the horrible reality of how her mother died. I think that is tragic. Who among us doesn't recognize that this child will grow up traumatized by this situation?
What does this all mean in a larger context? Well, I see a pattern here. We wait for the mentally ill to act out. And although the incidences of violence in terms of the total number of actual mentally ill individuals is small, the impact of these incidences is large. Who doesn't see that too many people have died? And what do we do? We continue to argue about access to healthcare. We argue about common sense gun control. We continue to stigmatize the mentally ill and ignore the need for treatment. Meanwhile, people continue to die. As someone who recognizes that even the mentally ill are human, I wonder about why that is the case.
What would happen if we were to look for options for providing healthcare as a united people? How many problems could we solve? What if it were possible to put aside partisan differences and honestly look at disparities within the system and look for solutions? Would it have prevented the death of this young mother? I don't know. But I would like to find out. It is long past time. Our first choice shouldn't be to shoot...
What do I have to say about this? I guess I have a lot of questions. Had she been treated? I know that she lost her job. Did she have insurance? Did the community-at-large see evidence of her illness? Was anybody keeping an eye on the baby? Or was she alone in this? I really do believe that the community has a vested interest in addressing mental health issues. Very important questions, don't you think? Mental illness is something that can be treated. Instead of losing her mother in a horrific situation in which she was in danger...maybe this child could have grown up with the woman who gave birth to her. Now, she will be growing up with the horrible reality of how her mother died. I think that is tragic. Who among us doesn't recognize that this child will grow up traumatized by this situation?
What does this all mean in a larger context? Well, I see a pattern here. We wait for the mentally ill to act out. And although the incidences of violence in terms of the total number of actual mentally ill individuals is small, the impact of these incidences is large. Who doesn't see that too many people have died? And what do we do? We continue to argue about access to healthcare. We argue about common sense gun control. We continue to stigmatize the mentally ill and ignore the need for treatment. Meanwhile, people continue to die. As someone who recognizes that even the mentally ill are human, I wonder about why that is the case.
What would happen if we were to look for options for providing healthcare as a united people? How many problems could we solve? What if it were possible to put aside partisan differences and honestly look at disparities within the system and look for solutions? Would it have prevented the death of this young mother? I don't know. But I would like to find out. It is long past time. Our first choice shouldn't be to shoot...
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