What happened at Sandy Hook, in Newtown, Connecticut was, obviously, a tragedy. We now need to discuss things like gun control and better treatment of mental illness. One of my concerns, a concern shared by many, is the further stigmatization of mental illness. Below is a quote from a friend on Facebook, responding to another friend's post (he gave me his permission to post it here):
"What scares me is that mental health is not an isolated incident. People with mental health problems are driving cars, flying planes, etc. This is just as dangerous as a nut with a gun. I am just a big fan of individual rights. I think we should do more to get rid of the illegal guns first. However I am also a firm believer that we should have more responsibilities associated with the rights we do have..."
I read this and thought, what the fuck? So I messaged him and all but begged him to understand that mental health problems do not automatically lead to mass murders. I told him about how I'm bipolar but that I'm not about to take my gun and shoot up a room full of people. I read his post as saying "we have all kinds of mentally ill people doing dangerous things all the time and that scares me". I took it to mean that he thought mentally ill people were ticking time bombs.
I'm glad that I messaged him because he told me what he really meant and let me know that he did not believe that every person with a mental illness was a criminal or should be quarantined. In fact, he has a history of mental illness in his family. He explained that his fear was the untreated, those who are beyond help.
But what if he meant everything that he said in that post as a sweeping generalization? There are people who already think that those with mental health issues are "nut jobs" and dangerous. There are those who will now fear that any mental illness will lead to a tragedy on scale with what happened at Sandy Hook. I am uncomfortable telling people I work with that I'm bipolar because I don't want to be judged or discriminated against, as I once was. I only tell those that I'm close to. And I worry now that even those that I love will look at me differently because of what may play out in the media.
The young man who did this, the young man who took those lives, those of children and adults, may have been mentally ill. Maybe that is what led to his crime. But that does not mean that every person with a mental illness is at risk for doing the same. I've said this over and over again; the worst thing to happen to the mentally ill is the label "mental illness". It isn't some nebulous emotional problem. It is a sickness or a physical disorder just like diabetes or multiple sclerosis. It happens in the brain, not in an aura or some unknown entity. If I had brain cancer you wouldn't look at me like a weirdo. In fact, you know, MS is a central nervous system disorder, which includes the brain. Well, bipolar is all about the brain and its neurotransmitters. It isn't that I'm crazy and hysterical. Hysteria, for those who live in caves and don't know, means "wandering uterus" and was attributed to women who had problems back in the day. The stigma of being different, whether because of mental issues or physical issues, has been alive and well for centuries. This latest travesty may give fodder to those who look at us askance, who look at us with the fear of the ignorant.
I worry that I will have to go further into hiding due to my disorder because of it, because I don't want people to worry that I'll lose my shit and kill people. I get mad, I get frustrated, I get really upset. And I own a hand gun. But do you know what I do when I get really upset? I cry and I draw cartoons making fun of things. That is what I do. I don't take it out on people, not on the innocent or those who pissed me off. OK, well, maybe I treat the people who pissed me off with a bad attitude but that isn't like I stabbed them. I have zero interest in hurting people, not emotionally or physically.
Take my gun away, tell me I can't use it. That's fine. But don't take it away because I'm bipolar, take it because you don't want anyone, mentally ill or mentally well, to have one. Because yes, I am "mentally ill" but I am not a criminal. My heart breaks for those who lost their lives and I know this post is selfish with my fear for myself, but I don't want this tragedy to extend any further than it already has.
"What scares me is that mental health is not an isolated incident. People with mental health problems are driving cars, flying planes, etc. This is just as dangerous as a nut with a gun. I am just a big fan of individual rights. I think we should do more to get rid of the illegal guns first. However I am also a firm believer that we should have more responsibilities associated with the rights we do have..."
I read this and thought, what the fuck? So I messaged him and all but begged him to understand that mental health problems do not automatically lead to mass murders. I told him about how I'm bipolar but that I'm not about to take my gun and shoot up a room full of people. I read his post as saying "we have all kinds of mentally ill people doing dangerous things all the time and that scares me". I took it to mean that he thought mentally ill people were ticking time bombs.
I'm glad that I messaged him because he told me what he really meant and let me know that he did not believe that every person with a mental illness was a criminal or should be quarantined. In fact, he has a history of mental illness in his family. He explained that his fear was the untreated, those who are beyond help.
But what if he meant everything that he said in that post as a sweeping generalization? There are people who already think that those with mental health issues are "nut jobs" and dangerous. There are those who will now fear that any mental illness will lead to a tragedy on scale with what happened at Sandy Hook. I am uncomfortable telling people I work with that I'm bipolar because I don't want to be judged or discriminated against, as I once was. I only tell those that I'm close to. And I worry now that even those that I love will look at me differently because of what may play out in the media.
The young man who did this, the young man who took those lives, those of children and adults, may have been mentally ill. Maybe that is what led to his crime. But that does not mean that every person with a mental illness is at risk for doing the same. I've said this over and over again; the worst thing to happen to the mentally ill is the label "mental illness". It isn't some nebulous emotional problem. It is a sickness or a physical disorder just like diabetes or multiple sclerosis. It happens in the brain, not in an aura or some unknown entity. If I had brain cancer you wouldn't look at me like a weirdo. In fact, you know, MS is a central nervous system disorder, which includes the brain. Well, bipolar is all about the brain and its neurotransmitters. It isn't that I'm crazy and hysterical. Hysteria, for those who live in caves and don't know, means "wandering uterus" and was attributed to women who had problems back in the day. The stigma of being different, whether because of mental issues or physical issues, has been alive and well for centuries. This latest travesty may give fodder to those who look at us askance, who look at us with the fear of the ignorant.
I worry that I will have to go further into hiding due to my disorder because of it, because I don't want people to worry that I'll lose my shit and kill people. I get mad, I get frustrated, I get really upset. And I own a hand gun. But do you know what I do when I get really upset? I cry and I draw cartoons making fun of things. That is what I do. I don't take it out on people, not on the innocent or those who pissed me off. OK, well, maybe I treat the people who pissed me off with a bad attitude but that isn't like I stabbed them. I have zero interest in hurting people, not emotionally or physically.
Take my gun away, tell me I can't use it. That's fine. But don't take it away because I'm bipolar, take it because you don't want anyone, mentally ill or mentally well, to have one. Because yes, I am "mentally ill" but I am not a criminal. My heart breaks for those who lost their lives and I know this post is selfish with my fear for myself, but I don't want this tragedy to extend any further than it already has.
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