You're pretty hefty on the links here so it will probably take me a while to go through them all [probably tomorrow]. There again, I see your blogroll deserves further investigation too.
Best wishes

Nice round up of reading, with good diversity, thanks.I've got a subscription for Reason via one of my college kids. I recommend that magazine.

In fact, the May 2007 issue of Reason has a full page quote that I think applies to this blog:

"I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell." --Harry Truman

Also, on Slate.com you can see Cho's involuntary commitment papers.

a comment from the Hit and Run blog:
.."They are all over America's cities living in total filth and misery. Go look at the homeless population in any major city and you will find loads of serverly mentally ill people, who would be better off committed."

I wonder what Apesma's Lament thinks about a statement like that.

Thanks for the links to read here, I'm gonna have to stop reading for the day. Some of this shit is so unbelievable.

From the TAC blog--which has caused me to stop reading it. Good one Fuller Torrey. Where did you get the stats "half of all" shootings are committed by mentally ill shooters? Why doesn't TAC allow comments? Does any one else feel outraged by what this leading "expert" has in the name of power to force medication on innocent people? He has a very wide paint brush everyone.

"USPRA: “it is incredibly rare for someone with a mental illness to commit gross acts of violence, especially on such a scale as the Virginia Tech shootings”
Fact: Yes, the scale of the scale of the Va Tech shooting is rare because sadly, this was a record. But, half of all “rampage shootings” such as the one in Blacksburg are committed by mentally ill shooters.

USPRA should be ashamed!" [United States Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association]

A classic case of shooting the messenger.

I saw the video of Cho talking.He made very little sense. If he had been brought to the ER room for a psych exam. he would not have passed it. He would have been defacto jailed. The system works, no one used it.

While I appreciate the sentiments of including someone who's experienced mental illness on the panel investigating VA Tech, I do see a problem, since, at this point, in our society the mentally ill definitely fall into two quite polarized camps. There's the NAMI crowd consisting of those who believe treatment has saved their lives and there's the "psychiatric survivor" crowd who believe that current diagnostic and treatment paradigms have destroyed their lives or at least harmed them greatly. Kay Jamison is definitely in the former crowd. David Oaks might be a good choice from the second group. I guess the first group is probably bigger than the second (unfortunately from my point of view) and I wouldn't be too happy having them make a lot of contributions to this investigation since I think their treatment has messed up their judgment and they are being manipulated into thinking they're well when they really aren't. But hey I'm realistic enough to realize this might be rather an extreme view. I'm prompted to think this way because something along these lines happened at the FDA advisory committee hearing about kids and suicidality on antidepressants. The patient rep they chose to be on the committee was heavily medicated for depression herself and she'd written a book about her son's suicide attempt without even grasping the significance of the fact that he was on megadoses of three different psych drugs and was a skinny little kid and this might have had something to do with the attempt. She really was completely clueless and as far as I'm concerned one of the worst people on the committee, even worse than the drug company hacks, who at least made no pretense about being sympathetic to the victims testifying from the public.

I can't stand it. I have to say Franklin Graham has completely lost it. BUT--as a daughter of retired Professor of Religion, and Pastor--my own mother warned me about what church would accept my daughter and what one wouldn't. Meaning Baptist vs. Presbyterian, etc. Though it may not appear as so in my writings, I have a very religious background, and seriously, this is what some denominations believe: in the devil, and demons being the reason for mental illness.
One of my kids was building with Habitat for Humanity after Hurricane Katrina. She met a woman who had a schizophrenic daughter--and the woman was over the top with belief that her daughter[same age as mine]was demon possessed.
This woman got my phone number [somehow]and has besieged me with phone calls where she reads the bible to me; and sings hyper-religious songs--I mean it is bizarre.
Franklin Graham has basically demoted people with mental illness to being filled with demons.
This man leads the National Prayer breakfast in DC. I wonder what Roslyn Carter thinks of his opinion.
I'm sorry for posting too much here today folks. But I've got a real sick kid and she deserves a life as much as all of us, and she's not gonna get one in a society that is shaping up with views such as these.
-Stephany

P.S. This is one incredibly impressive group of links you've got here -- how do you find all those?! I just took the time to read a number of them and it's fascinating. When's the PayPal coming? You deserve some payback for this work.

IM NOT SURE HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WHAT I DO KNOW IS MENTAL ILLNESS IS VERY HARD TO TREAT IVE BEEN GONE TO MENTAL HEALTH FOR 6 YRS NOW THEY STILL HAVENT REALLY HELPED ME NOT THAT THEY DONT TRY BUT CHO I FEEL HAD A MENTAL ILLNESS THAT HE IGNORED SO DID THE VIRGINIA TECH AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOL HE WENT TO NO IM NOT POINTING MY FINGER AT ANY SCHOOL I FEEL THAT CHO NEEDED HELP BUT HE FELT HE DIDNT NEED HELP I BELIEVE HE WAS A THE BREAKING POINT HE COULD NOT HANDLE LIFE ANY MORE PEOPLE MAY THINK YOU CANT GET THAT BAD YOUR AN EVIL PERSON NO CHO WAS NOT EVIL HE WAS ALONE HURT FELT UNLOVED HE FELT IF HE COULD NOT GET HELP WHEN HE CRIED OUT FOR HELP OR HE WAS NOT A NORMAL KID LIKE THE REST WELL HE WOULD MAKE HIMM SELF KNOWN YEA MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE VICTIMS FAMILY BUT MY HEART MAINLY GOES OUT TO CHOS FAMILY THEY LOST A SON THEY HAVE UNANSWERED QUIESTIONS I KNOW IN A WAY THEY BLAME THEM SELFS THEN ON TOP OF ALL THAT THEY ARE HURTING FOR THE VICTIMS FAMILIES WE CAN ALL ASK WHY WE WILL NEVER REALLY KNOW100 WHY WE HAVE TO PUT ALL ARE FEARS WHYS HURTS IN GODS HANDS ONLY WILL YOU FIND PIECE WITHIN WHEN YOU GO TO THE LORD IN PRAY THERE IS NO PROBLEM TO BIG OR TO SMALL HE CANT HANDLE WHEN YOU THINK YOUR WALKING ALONE ARE LORD IS CARRING YOU OUR PRAYS ARE WITH YOU ALL

5

I just stumbled accross your website. It seems rather sane and openminded at the same time. Many blogs seem to be the ramblings of people with strong opinions and little insight. Keep up the good work. Thanx for the links.
I have schizoaffective disorder and have read constantly about it and other psychotic spectrum disorders for years. I recently read a blog by some crazy "former journalist" who thinks that anyone who has ever received a diagnosis of schizophrenia should be banned from attending public universities. There are a lot of people out there who are far more "crazy" than we consumers of mental illness.