As a teenager, one of my idols was a famous Chicago writer by the name of Mike Royko. He was a political and culture writer, offering his viewpoint on Chicago and national politics. At that time, Chicago's mayor was Richard J. Daley....the political "Boss" who maintained a hammer-hold on Chicago politics between 1955 and 1976. Mayor Daley is considered one of the last big city bosses. He controlled Chicago like it was his personal kingdom. And Mike Royko talked back. His columns calling out Richard J. Daley for his abuses were the reason my Dad and I fought for the first section of the paper the minute it arrived. I couldn't wait to read Mike Royko's column. I saw Mike Royko as a hero. He was a truth-teller. He stood up and told us the way it truly was. And then he told us how it should be. With a great sense of humor. For a child waiting for the miracle to deliver her from the pain of her Mom's mental illness, his bravery seemed like the ultimate to me. And others apparently agreed with me because Mike Royko won a Pulitzer in 1972.
In high school, I was part of a 'club' that invited speakers to my high school to speak. And of course, I invited Mike Royko. I spoke to him personally on the phone after making considerable effort to track down his contact information. I remember the tone of the conversation clearly. He was not pleasant. And he turned me down rudely. I don't remember what he said. I was a little disappointed, but I was still thrilled I had heard the voice of my idol. I guess I forgave him because I expected him to be a curmudgeon. And I had already experienced considerable nastiness....from Maxine. My experience with Maxine made nastiness normal. The interesting part for me is that I found out that Mike Royko was an alcoholic. Complete with a drunk driving incident and court supervision. Which verified for me that mental illnesses are an equal opportunity scourge. And as I worked at alcohol and drug treatment centers as an adult, I was reminded frequently about that conversation. More than a few angry people walked through the doors of the treatment center I worked at. I'm pretty sure that Mike Royko was an active alcoholic at the time I spoke to him. He might have even been drinking during our conversation. What is my point? There are many in our society who deal with mental illness in one form or the other.
I'm relatively certain that pilots are not an exception to that rule. And while I wouldn't want to fly with a pilot who was an active alcoholic, I am pretty sure that some of them have even struggled with other mental illnesses....like depression. And maybe even suicidal ideation. I think that given the number of times I have flown, I have been on a plane with a depressed pilot. And so have you in all probability. So, here is what I'm getting to: I don't think that depression is necessarily enough of a trigger to cause someone to crash a plane and kill people. Mass murder is not an inevitable result of depression. And immediately deciding that depression should ground pilots isn't reasonable. Something in addition to depression was clearly going on for this man. And instead of punishment, treatment should be the first approach when someone is struggling. NAMI estimates that 1 in 5 deal with a mental illness in any given year. Until we stop reacting to mental illness in the sensational and stigmatizing way we do, we won't come up with a reasonable and humane way to deal with it. As mental illness doesn't mean one thing for all people, we need to come up with a way to objectively evaluate what's needed. Maybe the clues that this pilot was a danger weren't clear, but what if they were and they were ignored? What's the answer? I don't know. But I know one thing...stigma is going to keep us stuck. What do you think? Let's talk!
In high school, I was part of a 'club' that invited speakers to my high school to speak. And of course, I invited Mike Royko. I spoke to him personally on the phone after making considerable effort to track down his contact information. I remember the tone of the conversation clearly. He was not pleasant. And he turned me down rudely. I don't remember what he said. I was a little disappointed, but I was still thrilled I had heard the voice of my idol. I guess I forgave him because I expected him to be a curmudgeon. And I had already experienced considerable nastiness....from Maxine. My experience with Maxine made nastiness normal. The interesting part for me is that I found out that Mike Royko was an alcoholic. Complete with a drunk driving incident and court supervision. Which verified for me that mental illnesses are an equal opportunity scourge. And as I worked at alcohol and drug treatment centers as an adult, I was reminded frequently about that conversation. More than a few angry people walked through the doors of the treatment center I worked at. I'm pretty sure that Mike Royko was an active alcoholic at the time I spoke to him. He might have even been drinking during our conversation. What is my point? There are many in our society who deal with mental illness in one form or the other.
I'm relatively certain that pilots are not an exception to that rule. And while I wouldn't want to fly with a pilot who was an active alcoholic, I am pretty sure that some of them have even struggled with other mental illnesses....like depression. And maybe even suicidal ideation. I think that given the number of times I have flown, I have been on a plane with a depressed pilot. And so have you in all probability. So, here is what I'm getting to: I don't think that depression is necessarily enough of a trigger to cause someone to crash a plane and kill people. Mass murder is not an inevitable result of depression. And immediately deciding that depression should ground pilots isn't reasonable. Something in addition to depression was clearly going on for this man. And instead of punishment, treatment should be the first approach when someone is struggling. NAMI estimates that 1 in 5 deal with a mental illness in any given year. Until we stop reacting to mental illness in the sensational and stigmatizing way we do, we won't come up with a reasonable and humane way to deal with it. As mental illness doesn't mean one thing for all people, we need to come up with a way to objectively evaluate what's needed. Maybe the clues that this pilot was a danger weren't clear, but what if they were and they were ignored? What's the answer? I don't know. But I know one thing...stigma is going to keep us stuck. What do you think? Let's talk!
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