Mental Illness Failures helped in Giffords shooting

[SargeUNN]

I live in Arizona and so yesterday's tragic event certainly strikes hard. I read and listened to the news of day's event and as more was brought to light about the shooter, I started to realize that no matter the motivation and influence on this young man, the fact that mental health issues are still woefully left lacking. Remember Reagan and his closing mental hospitals and clinics which left many ill people out on the streets? Too much has been ignored and some of the old stereotypes that had started to be realized as wrong instead started to regain a position of correctness. I thought of the works of Dorthea Dix from the 19th century and what a struggle she had but how she got progress in her day. It is sad that many in our prison system are mentally ill and that illness ignored, that some are used to do the horrors of groups because the actions are too hideous for them to do themselves so they use the mentally ill to get it done. Dorthea Dix saw the mistreatment of severely mentally ill in her day and she worked to stop it, but Reagan brought us closer to the things Dix worked so hard against.

Yesterday, was the results of many failings of our nation and society in several areas, but this young man was very disturbed mentally and seems many realized it, but instead of treatment and attention, he was shunned and ignored. Today 6 are dead, others in hospitals in serious condition, the young man in jail, and yet the mental illness is being used to explain his actions by many, and instead of taking it as a call to action to continue the work Dorthea Dix started, we simply refuse to credit Reagan for his taking us backwards on the issue and we open our society up to even more abuse and mistreatment of these people.