Comments | lissafay: Mental illness wounds tens of thousands of families

lissafay

Mental illness wounds tens of thousands of families

Mar 05, 2009 15:05

I love this article. Gordon Sinclair says a lot of what I have been thinking about this case.

Winnipeg Free Press

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EDIT: Clearly, the Free Press's ShareThis app isn't working properly. Here is the actual link to the article: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/mental_illness_wounds_tens_of_thousands_of_families-40769397.html

( Text copied under the cut )

vince li, wfp, tim mclean

Comments 5

righteousbean March 5 2009, 15:22:07 UTC

yes.

fireglade March 5 2009, 18:00:12 UTC

i can't believe someone wrote this in a newspaper.
i feel like i literally can't believe it.
it is so incredible to see another person
with this perspective on this issue,
IN A PUBLIC, PRINTED NEWSPAPER ARTICLE!

i could cry...
it's so validating after seeing so much demonization of mental illness...

and yet i still feel i have to say
that i am so sorry for the family of the man who was killed,
because i truly am, what a horrible devastating experience...
i almost feel like i have to apologize for this act,
as if i somehow caused it...
isn't that crazy?

laughs weakly...

lissafay March 5 2009, 21:09:46 UTC

It nearly made me cry to read that article -- AND the comments he was getting from readers, which were all positive when I checked earlier. It gives me hope for humanity that there are people that still have compassion and don't always react out of anger and a desire for vengeance. It is horrible what happened to that young man, but the man that took the actions that caused his death was not acting "voluntarily", as some would like to believe. The outcome today (he's been judged not criminally responsible and sent to the Selkirk psych hospital) is exactly what should have happened, and I'm so relieved that the court did not cave in to the vengeful pressure.

Do you think your feelings of responsibility come just from sharing a vaguely related diagnosis -- just like you say "stupid white people" and feel that you have to apologize for our advantages in society?

fireglade March 6 2009, 20:09:41 UTC

when i say ( ... )

fireglade March 6 2009, 20:25:04 UTC

umm...
i didn't answer your question really, did i?
oops.
i got all rant-y...
sorry...
i guess i feel like,
"hey i'm mentally ill, but i won't kill you, i promise!
cross my heart, hope i die, i'm just self-destructive...
and you know, that puts me in the majority...
only a very, very small percentage of mentally ill people are
outwardly violent, but it's always *big news* if it does happen...
there are way more violent acts committed by people
who drink to excess, fight and/or attack and fatally injure someone...
and there is very little reporting on people who are ill,
and doing well...it's just not newsworthy, is it?"