Obama finally doing something right.

[Mr Khan]

thranx said:

Mr Khan said:

thranx said:
would be better if he actually addressed the real issue, mental health. All of these acts of violence we have seen still would of occurred even if guns were outlawed and not available. They would simply use some other method to cause mayhem, weather it be bombs, using vehicles as weapons, setting fires, etc. If you want these acts of violence to stop we need to find a way to deal with the mentally handicapped/psychotics. Our jails are too crowded and our police are too busy jailing and prosecuting drug crimes and criminals that they do not have the space/funding/time to adequately deal with the mentally unstable.

We're generally pretty good about mental health, actually. The problem is how to effectively create a filter for the early warning signs (which are often telegraphed well in advance) without starting to demonize everyone who doesn't quite fit in (which would be both unfair and counter-productive, as it would just cause such people to feel ostracized and make them more likely to go bad)

Have any articles to back that up? I have never seen the us at the forefront of mental health. What i usually read says most people with mental health problems end up on the street, and a select few go on shooting rampages. And if i am not mistaken Adam Lanza went on his hooting rampage due to his fear of being put in a mental hospital. My brother worked at Patent State Hospital (mental hospital in southern CA) and would tell me of some of the stuff that went on there, crazy stuff of course. (he is a dieticion not a Doctor). So irregardless of if he had access to weapons, if he was fearful of being institutionalized he probably would found a different violent outlet than guns.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601651.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57559635/mental-health-care-in-u.s-questioned-amid-another-tragedy/

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/MentalHealthSurveillance/

The sticking point to our mental health policy is that we cannot commit people unwillingly who are not a danger to themselves or others. The mentally ill who make up the large proportion of the chronically homeless fall under that heading.

Once you're in the system, however, it's very hospitable.

In Lanza's case, again, early warning would have helped better. Even if he was motivated by fear of being committed, more care given to him in school or whatever would've been good.