Change the label

[grotto]

IThe term “mentally ill” should not be used for those who are “mentally EVIL”!
Immediately following an horrific event that involves the mass murder of innocents, the media begins to explore the wide arena of the mentally ill when the description of mentally evil channels the more accurate description of the actors. To be “ill” suggests that one should feel a kindliness toward that person. There is absolutely no way to feel goodness toward an act of evil. The Privacy Act that we have seems to have gotten carried away with itself in that a person can be operating in a manner that is strange and frightening but their identity remains hidden. This stonewall exists from the area of school children, patients taken by ambulance to an emergency room, to include prisoners in the county jail, etc. You name it - your identity can be stolen but no one will say who you are. If you act in a way that brings about concern, the governmental agencies that are there to address the matter will not take any action until the person has caused harm to himself or another. If a person is in your family, or friend, even a teenage child, has gone missing (and you are quite positive that they have been a victim of harm causing their disappearance) the police in most cases will respond with a 72 hour minimum absence before filing a report of a missing person. forums.catholic-questions.org/images/smilies/shrug.gif Anyone else wondering why something basically simple can get so complicated?

 

[jeannetherese]

IThe term “mentally ill” should not be used for those who are “mentally EVIL”!
Immediately following an horrific event that involves the mass murder of innocents, the media begins to explore the wide arena of the mentally ill when the description of mentally evil channels the more accurate description of the actors. To be “ill” suggests that one should feel a kindliness toward that person. There is absolutely no way to feel goodness toward an act of evil.

We might wish to be especially concerned about ensuring that we love the individual while abhorring the act. People who are ill need care. People who commit terrible acts need forgiveness (and perhaps the protection of being placed where they may not be able to commit such acts in the future). People harmed by such acts and their friends and families need our prayer. May Our Lord have mercy on us all and may our mercy towards others be pleasing to Him. Amen.

 

[grotto]

“Hate the sin - love the sinner”! You betcha but protect and be ever vigilant against evil. We can get around to casting out the demons after we have secured the container.

 

[edwest2]

What are we supposed to do?

There are those who are in jail who are recognized as being criminally insane. Unless someone can devise a foolproof identification or test an average person can use to identify such individuals before they harm others, we need to recognize that mental illness is a complex thing. Some drugs that work on some, do not work on others. There is still some debate as to what causes a person to reach a point where he or she decides to start hurting others.

I’m no professional, but people can become delusional or paranoid and believe they must do things “the voices” tell them to do. Or they believe someone is actually out to harm them though they have no proof this is true but they don’t tell anyone, and decide to act on their false/imagined belief. There are other examples but again, there is no detector. Sure, if you know the person, and he or she starts to stay up late at night or starts becoming more agitated, what do you tell the police? Even if he was a family member, you might call his psychiatrist if he has one, who might get some answers.

Peace,
Ed