Furious Seasons: Comment on Pete Earley Now Has A Problem

Comments: Pete Earley Now Has A Problem

Beautifully written.

Posted by Stephany at May 16, 2006 07:40 AM

Here is an article we all probably heard about, and it has TAC stats in it, from Dec 2005. Looks like you have someone who needs a phone call at TAC.

http://www.airportbusiness.com/article/article.jsp?id=4620&siteSection=5

Questions Raised: Are Air Marshals Prepared to Handle Mentally Ill Passengers?

Here are some outrageous comments that clearly shows Mental Health is not understood by the average citizen.I have a few points to make:

......."Some faulted Alpizar's wife for not calming him down. They said she should have made sure he took his medication before going into a tense situation like an airplane trip."
> I have been in similar situations, asked by school personnel if my daughter took her meds, as well as being told by police in my neighborhood that is was my job to 'keep her inside'.

"If a person's outbursts can't be controlled, that person should avoid mass transit, said Marilyn Rohr, 57, of Bangor, Maine. Rohr said delays caused by the Miami shooting were partly responsible for her spending two days in limbo while traveling between Boston and Ontario."
> Now we are supposed to avoid mass transit, in case we have a breakdown and cause others delays...

"Another air passenger, Tim Whitacre, said air marshals couldn't be expected to know Alpizar was in the midst of a psychiatric crisis.
"It's not like he had `I'm bipolar and didn't take my medication' tattooed on his forehead," said Whitacre, 25, of Frankford, Mo."..........

> Simple statements from the 'general' public after a man was gunned down. Now what if his wife yelled, wait! he has diabetes, and is looking for his insulin in his backpack? the wife tried to protect him with her words, no one listened, and then to be blamed for him not being prepared to fly...unbelievable. Seriously damned if you do and damned if you dont. The public had plenty to say about the man's death, and the air marshals justified their actions, but someone died, someone who was loved, and he died in front of his wife. Wonder how she feels today, living with that blame and knowing she tried to prevent his death and couldnt.

"About 2 percent of the population has a severe mental illness, but about 40 percent of those people are not getting treated, said Mary Zdanowicz, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center in Virginia."Many states do not allow mentally ill people to be hospitalized involuntarily unless they risk harming themselves or others, she said.

"By law, you're letting people get on planes with severe mental illness," she said." (TAC)

>THAT is over the top. Give Mary a call and ask her if she really said that. Does she really believe the Law is allowing people with mental illness to fly? and do you suppose this could be the next ante raised beyond forcing of medication? will psychiatric patients now have to be screened before they fly? will we all be asked if we have taken our meds before boarding?

There's a recent stat from TAC.

Posted by Stephany at May 16, 2006 09:50 AM

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7162%28198011%29452%3C63%3AKTPMAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P&size=LARGE

Abstract

This article analyzes the situational motives of assailants who kill New York City police in the line of duty. Contrary to popular opinion, police are not often killed during domestic disturbances nor are they the seemingly senseless victims of madmen or lunatics. Rather, New York police are more likely to be killed by rational robbers fleeing the scene of a crime, who routinely use potentially lethal weapons as "tools of the trade."

Posted by Stephany at May 16, 2006 09:57 AM

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-7162%28198011%29452%3C63%3AKTPMAM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P&size=LARGE

Abstract

I don't know which I would rather be called: a madman, lunatic, or rational robber. Robbers are rational? which then leads us back to how the madmen and lunatics are not rational, so we better be glad the police were killed by some one rational. This is like a twisted joke, that somehow is defending those with mental illness, yet barely.

Posted by Stephany at May 16, 2006 10:15 AM

By now, easily more than a million people have read what Earley wrote. In his op-ed, he confirmed many peoples' built-in assumptions about the mentally-ill: we are fucked-up and only forced compliance with medication will get the kind of results society expects. What's more, we are now demonized as cop killers.

I wonder, would E. Fuller Torrey get away with stating that because some men are rapists, all men should receive treatment? Or because some mothers beat their children, all mothers are potential child abusers? Or, heaven forbid, because some psychiatrists have committed crimes that all psychiatrists should be considered criminals... for their own good, and the good of the general public, of course.

I don't think those kind of statements would be as easily embraced. Torrey's actions are highly irresponsible, at best.

Posted by spiritual_recovery at May 16, 2006 10:40 AM

I find it extremely suspicious that Detective Armel just happens to be the one who helped the former Post reporter's son through the system. Opportunistic is what comes to mind.

I'm also tired of hearing family members fighting for forced treatment. One size doesn't fit all. Yes, the mental health system is flawed, but many patients who wish to enter hospitals voluntarily are often turned down, unless they mention that they are suicidal or homicidal. That's also a big factor in crime committed by the mentally ill. Not everyone has family members around to support them and avoid a crisis. And yes, many of them would prefer to turn the patient into a zombie to prevent possible misadventures in the future.

Read carefully the op-ed piece. "Mike" had been hospitalized twice before. So how come he even got sick to the point of being delusional under the care of his parents? And when a doctor says he's not sick enough, why was he not taken to another doctor? How did he enter a treatment program voluntarily when he was still delusional?

I have no doubt that a lot of mentally ill patients land in the criminal justice system first. But not everyone who is mentally ill is violent. The article indirectly implies that.

There is actually a statistic that mentally ill patients are far more likely to be a threat to themselves than be a threat to others.

What troubles me about arguing Pete Earley's article is that it gives him more publicity. "All publicity is good publicity".

Posted by Sam at May 16, 2006 11:22 AM

http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-66.htm
Kendra's Law
In case some readers don't know how the forced medication issue got some fuel to that fire.

Posted by Stephany at May 16, 2006 12:42 PM