Time to wake up. The mentally ill are NOT responsible for society's woes.
Lately there seems to be this misconception, in the media, among the general populace, pretty much everywhere... that people with mental illness are somehow the culprits, somehow to blame for all of the most brutal crimes in our society. I'm here in an attempt to dissuade some of that ignorance, egotism and - yes - bigotry. I certainly do have a dog in this fight - and so should we all.
First, a brief introduction. I am David (no, not really a gnome - I just liked the name) and I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder sixteen years ago - at the age of fourteen. Since that time I have come into contact with just about every "mental illness" we know of - in the form of (for the most part) genuinely good people who frequently struggle with illnesses and hardships that are poorly understood, often poorly diagnosed, and very rarely accurately or efficiently treated. It has been my honor, my pleasure and my privilege to have known these wonderful, compassionate, and unbelievably strong and brave individuals. Our society does them all a great dishonor, gives them all a great insult for which we had all ought to hang our heads in shame.
Imagine you have a heart condition that starts in your teens. This heart condition is unbelievably powerful, it makes you unable to do many things which are associated with normality, or a normal life. For instance, even the lightest exercise might exhaust you and threaten your life. Now let us imagine that this condition is not fatal in the typical sense of the word, but that it makes you unable to do certain things. Perhaps, under stress, your heart beats wildly and out of control, perhaps you cannot handle crowds for this reason, perhaps you are unable to work in any typical profession because of this disease - not due to a character flaw, stupidity, laziness, weakness, or a lack of morality... simply due to a biological, physical condition.
Now imagine the loneliness this might inspire, the struggle with feelings of self worth, the sad realization that you will never be like other people, that you will never be able to do the things they do. Perhaps you dream wistfully that you might attend the prom, but can't, because of this condition. For the same reason, perhaps the conventional avenues of education are unavailable to you, such as high school or a university education.
Let us now imagine that there are daily reports in the media of how strange you are for your solitude. People attribute all sorts of things to you - that you are dangerous, a socio path, a murderer waiting to happen. That you are intellectually damaged, that your illness is the result of some severe character flaws. Society judges you without any true knowledge of guilty or innocent, but simply the assumption that because you are so different, you must therefor be dangerous. Like a wild animal that must be treated with a strong measure of caution, even fear - and quite often, outright contempt.
Doctors prescribe medications which make this condition more bearable but cannot by any means hope to cure it - for they simply do not understand it well enough. Even the Doctors who treat you look at you askance, afraid that, perhaps, by mere closeness to you, they may contract the same disease. Or perhaps that you are a danger to them, simply by being.
What do you imagine such a life might entail? How do you imagine you might feel in these circumstances? Here's a suggestion for a radical experiment with empathy: put yourselves in their shoes. You have done nothing wrong, harmed none, and in fact have a great deal of courage and compassion for humanity, but all the same, humanity judges you as being "other", almost as if you were a vampire, monster, or alien species.
Does anyone expect that this might indeed take a toll on one's overall sanity? Perhaps one's state of mind? Might it not inspire anger over time, perhaps even hatred... and eventually, retribution? Consider these things. Consider them well.
For I have found in my own experience, and with my own illness, that we live in just such a society - that the picture I have painted here is painfully accurate and indicates that we are indeed foolish beyond all belief. Is a man with diabetes, or a woman with breast cancer... a threat to society? Do they, perhaps, sit around plotting all sorts of terrible things to do to people by virtue of their illness? What mind might even suggest such a thing? What foolishness might contemplate that an illness makes one somehow a bad or dangerous person?
It is this very ignorance - this very bigotry and foolishness - that often is responsible for the causation of hate crimes and cruelty in our society. As someone who is himself mentally ill, I have run out of patience with it and lost all tolerance for it. I may be one of the very few who understands that this is done in ignorance and not out of deliberate malice - but I must say all the same that I have experienced great suffering as a result of society's twisted views.
If you would judge me, if you would judge one who is "other" merely by their illness... because of their illness... is that fair? Is it just? Is it even rational? I say that it is not - and I welcome any challenge to my position.
Blame us if you like, but understand that you are making the very same mistake that cruel and terrible forces in this world once made. The eugenics movement, the Nazi regime, the Romans when they persecuted the Druids. History has millions of examples of this very thing - and it is without question, stupid, cruel... and a terrible, terrible waste.
I am not your enemy. I am not a danger to you. I am a man with an illness. Often it causes me pain and suffering. Would you add to it?
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Cruel, evil, ignorant, terrible, greedy. There are so many ways in which such people might be defined that do not even touch upon mental illness. While I tend to reject "evil" because it is often used with some kind of supernatural or paranormal implications... I think the others will do just fine those who are so cruel, narcissistic and anti-social. We could also use more naughty language and just call them assholes. 
