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brooklynite

(93,873 posts)
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:35 PM Jan 2015

Utah parents, fearing apocalypse, fatally drugged children, themselves, police say

Source: CNN


Benjamin and Kristi Strack were found dead on their bed on September 27. On the floor near them in the locked master bedroom lay the bodies of three of their children, from 11 to 14 years old.

There were no signs of violence, but beside each body, there were cups with liquid inside.

On Tuesday, police in Springville revealed the conclusion of their investigation: The parents had committed suicide by taking toxic levels of drugs and had given fatal levels of drugs -- including the heroin substitute methadone -- to their younger two children.

...snip...

According to a statement released by J. Scott Finlayson, chief of police for Springville, the parents had bought into "a concern about a pending apocalypse."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/28/us/utah-family-deaths/index.html



I'M sure religion had nothing to do with it...
29 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Utah parents, fearing apocalypse, fatally drugged children, themselves, police say (Original Post) brooklynite Jan 2015 OP
And inside the house, it seemed an apocalypse had come with a vengeance . . . Journeyman Jan 2015 #1
More stigmatizing nonsense phil89 Jan 2015 #3
What? You think these people were not "mentally ill"? Elmer S. E. Dump Jan 2015 #6
Have to agree with Phil's post... Moostache Jan 2015 #14
I stand by my statement Elmer S. E. Dump Jan 2015 #23
Why can't it be both a religious problem christx30 Jan 2015 #27
You believe a mentally healthy person would kill their children and themselves over nonsense? Bandit Jan 2015 #26
"... and the tv was turned to Fox. Or a local religious channel ..." Myrina Jan 2015 #2
You can thank right wing radio and the Christian right all over our TV's and radios for a lot of geretogo Jan 2015 #4
Wow. Others knew they had suicidal ideas and did nothing. Bluenorthwest Jan 2015 #5
Wow. HappyMe Jan 2015 #15
They'll have to live with this development for the rest of their lives. closeupready Jan 2015 #17
religious heroin addicts Sunlei Jan 2015 #7
Cults, extremists, charlatans and zealots are parasites on religion, whatever your view of any religion. Fred Sanders Jan 2015 #8
This happened four months ago..... ForgoTheConsequence Jan 2015 #9
The deaths did...the police determination of cause was now brooklynite Jan 2015 #11
If the nuts want to kill themselves, go for it. But leave the children alone! Vinca Jan 2015 #10
At least they didn't take anyone else out with them. tridim Jan 2015 #12
Since I'm rereading Barabara Tuchman's 'Distant Mirror', this story sounds normal. byronius Jan 2015 #13
Whoa, there, byronius. staggerleem Jan 2015 #16
"So do all who live to see such times." -- Gandalf byronius Jan 2015 #18
Sure, can you make change for a Tesseract? Kelvin Mace Jan 2015 #19
Sorry, I've only got three polytopes on me. byronius Jan 2015 #25
Surely news media selling fear fear fear didn't influence them abelenkpe Jan 2015 #20
suicidal religious pacts are pretty common while Bluenorthwest Jan 2015 #22
Teh Stoooooopid is Blessed. nt valerief Jan 2015 #21
But will the purveyors of hate speech and apocalyptic nonsense take any responsibility? riqster Jan 2015 #24
I wonder if the heroin d_r Jan 2015 #28
--and blessed are the ignorant, for they shall not know the difference. Monty Python Hoppy Jan 2015 #29

Journeyman

(15,001 posts)
1. And inside the house, it seemed an apocalypse had come with a vengeance . . .
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:40 PM
Jan 2015

Sorry about the children.

We need to devote more money to helping the mentally ill.

 

phil89

(1,043 posts)
3. More stigmatizing nonsense
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:50 PM
Jan 2015

About mental illness causing these tragedies. There's no evidence supporting it so can we please stop with the lazy thinking and prejudice? We need to devote more funds to improving rational thought. Worrying about an apocalypse may not be a big concern to a critical thinking person.

 

Elmer S. E. Dump

(5,751 posts)
6. What? You think these people were not "mentally ill"?
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:57 PM
Jan 2015

I'd say killing your children and yourselves is not a well-adjusted response to almost anything.

My entire freeking family has some degree of "mental illness". The problem is when you don't admit to having anything wrong with your thought processing.

You can double up if you want. There is no more point in responding to you, so chirp away!

Moostache

(9,895 posts)
14. Have to agree with Phil's post...
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 02:47 PM
Jan 2015

The root cause of this, or the "teachable moment" if you will, is NOT mental illness. To characterize it as a case of mental health is a disservice to REAL clinical mental health issues. This is what happens when people insist on treating religions of all kinds with kid gloves and refusing to call them out for what they are - make-believe nonsense that is given too wide a berth and far too much legitimacy in society.

People talking about "we're living in the end times" and "reading the signs" and "talking in the spirit" should be mocked, not held up as virtuous or something to emulate. There is nothing redeeming at all about Evangelical X-tians...they are a cult and are treated with social acceptance and stature that they immediately use to vilify any and all "out groups". A pox on all their houses!!!

Organized religion is a control mechanism, nothing more and considerably less when you see this kind of annual tragedy get reported.

 

Elmer S. E. Dump

(5,751 posts)
23. I stand by my statement
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 04:43 PM
Jan 2015

Religion if bought hook line and sinker MAKES people mentally ill! The only difference between these people and those with "REAL clinical mental health issues" is that they were identified and are receiving help. Unfortunately, the xtians weren't so lucky.

christx30

(6,241 posts)
27. Why can't it be both a religious problem
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 05:18 PM
Jan 2015

and a mental illness thing at the same time? Religion can being feelings of peace and love and whatever people need. But it can incite violence in people, and certain people can be lead down some dark paths in their religion is their minds are not healthy. A person suffering from delusions could think "God" wants them to kill their family to save them from the apocalypse. There doesn't need to be a stigma. It's probably just the facts on the ground. Those people need to be helped before they hurt anyone. They don't need to be insulted. That would only exacerbate their delusions. "Everyone is laughing at me. That proves God is right."

Bandit

(21,475 posts)
26. You believe a mentally healthy person would kill their children and themselves over nonsense?
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 05:15 PM
Jan 2015

This is the epitome of mental illness.

Myrina

(12,296 posts)
2. "... and the tv was turned to Fox. Or a local religious channel ..."
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:47 PM
Jan 2015

(wouldn't be surprised to see that in an article somewhere.)


SMDH. Poor kids.

geretogo

(1,281 posts)
4. You can thank right wing radio and the Christian right all over our TV's and radios for a lot of
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:54 PM
Jan 2015

this insanity . They prey on weak minds .

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
5. Wow. Others knew they had suicidal ideas and did nothing.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 01:56 PM
Jan 2015

From the link:
From interviews with friends and relatives of the Strack family, the statement said, "it became fairly apparent that the topic of 'leaving' this world was a fairly common theme."

It added, "While some friends thought that suicide may have been, or could have been included in their plans, others believed they were going to move somewhere and live off the grid."

Wow.

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)
15. Wow.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 02:48 PM
Jan 2015

Those people are just as responsible for this as the parents are. Why the hell would you stand by and say nothing if you knew this.

 

closeupready

(29,503 posts)
17. They'll have to live with this development for the rest of their lives.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 03:12 PM
Jan 2015

I know I would find that very hard to do.

Vinca

(50,170 posts)
10. If the nuts want to kill themselves, go for it. But leave the children alone!
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 02:05 PM
Jan 2015

How can people this delusional?

tridim

(45,358 posts)
12. At least they didn't take anyone else out with them.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 02:30 PM
Jan 2015

Except the kids of course, who they murdered. "No signs of violence", my ass, killing someone poison is violence.

Mental illness in religion is obviously a huge problem.

byronius

(7,369 posts)
13. Since I'm rereading Barabara Tuchman's 'Distant Mirror', this story sounds normal.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 02:30 PM
Jan 2015

Her history of the fourteenth century is brilliant, but incredibly dark. Apocalyptic visions were everywhere amidst the disorder. 'Flagellants', groups of hundreds of men, women and children wandering from village to village with spikes rending their flesh, immediately going to the Jewish neighborhoods and throwing them into raging bonfires. After all, a Jew had confessed under torture that Jews were systematically poisoning wells across Europe (even where there were absolutely no Jews) and attacking Christianity by this nefarious method.

Fear, hatred, blood, murder, rape, torture -- for a 'benevolent' God. In God's Name. For the cause of the Pure and the Good. Sound familiar?

We're animals with slightly more complex brains, which lend us the power to be far more destructive. And certain ideas are like viruses that cause blue screens of death -- ideas like the Prosperity Gospel, or that illness arises from sin, or that women brought catastrophe upon the human race.

Or ideas like the world is going to end tomorrow.

And need I say this out loud -- the forces of Reason and Science, as fragile and sometimes mistaken as they may be, are all that stand between us and our end. The mind without these forces as the primary focus is a dark and dangerous thing. We are still fighting this battle everyday, and the humans posting on this website, for all our flaws, are the critical guardians of the future of the human race.

 

staggerleem

(469 posts)
16. Whoa, there, byronius.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 03:08 PM
Jan 2015

That's a pretty heavy responsibility you're laying on all of us DU'ers. I, for one, am not at all certain I'm qualified to be a "critical guardian of the future of the human race." I have enough trouble just getting my lazy ass to work every morning.

byronius

(7,369 posts)
18. "So do all who live to see such times." -- Gandalf
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 03:12 PM
Jan 2015

Here, here, take this ring, willya? 'S gettin' heavy.

byronius

(7,369 posts)
25. Sorry, I've only got three polytopes on me.
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 05:07 PM
Jan 2015

Maybe ol' Ludwig Schläfli has some hanging around.

Chortle. Never trust the Swiss.

abelenkpe

(9,933 posts)
20. Surely news media selling fear fear fear didn't influence them
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 04:03 PM
Jan 2015

Religion? Yeah, maybe that too. Either way these parents were very gullible and needed help. Feel very sad for the children. Wish someone had reached out and tried to help that family.

 

Bluenorthwest

(45,319 posts)
22. suicidal religious pacts are pretty common while
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 04:30 PM
Jan 2015

you just don't hear about people who watched the news and then killed their kids. You do hear about Jonestown, a place with no television and no outside media at all where 913 people died. Heaven's Gate, 39 dead. Solar Temple, 74 deaths. Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in Uganda had 778 dead, but they are unsure if they were murdered or if it was suicide or both...

riqster

(13,986 posts)
24. But will the purveyors of hate speech and apocalyptic nonsense take any responsibility?
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 04:49 PM
Jan 2015

No. Of course not.

d_r

(6,907 posts)
28. I wonder if the heroin
Wed Jan 28, 2015, 05:21 PM
Jan 2015

addictions had anything to do with it. I've heard the idea that addicts trying to recover are more susceptible to suggestion because they are trying to replace the addiction with something else.

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