YOU’RE MENTALLY ILL!
Thank you for your professional opinion… I mean diagnosis. Now I can start fires, say anything I want, run over baby ducks at the park, run naked through the YMCA, and engage in any kind of abhorrent antisocial behavior. And now that I’m “mentally ill” I can expect all of the protection and empathy that society offers the infirm. (Because I’m craaaaaaaazzzy. Wink wink.)
In light of recent domestic and international mayhem, we’ve been too quick on the draw with armchair psychology and “mentally ill” diagnoses. And honestly, I’m tired of the likes of Megyn Kelly providing their post-mayhem diagnosis before a suspect has been identified or questioned by police. Some people are just nasty, not insane, just bullies and thugs seeking their fifteen minutes of fame on a wave of violence and grief. But the media, gun lobby, and partisan politicians have been very quick with the “looney” label to defend their agendas or to attack that of the opposition.
“He was clearly insane. No one would do that.”
Untrue. The world has always had its share of thugs and bullies that storm through life with chips on their shoulders, programmed to believe that they have been wronged. And I am offended by and will never accept the New Age “child” excuse. “He’s just a 19 year old kid. He didn’t know any better. His brain isn’t fully developed.”
WHAT?
Take a walk through Arlington National Cemetery and see if you’re able to choke down the lump in your throat when you see the names and ages of the 18 and 19 year old men whose memory and honor is insulted by being labeled “children” by the excuse makers that have created this scourge.
What’s the difference? Timing and accountability.
Certainly there are individuals that creep through life, deserving of the mental illness moniker. Someone who dons a ninja outfit and goes out evenings of the full moon collecting human eyeballs to make a necklace, believing it will give them the power to see into another dimension, that’s BATSHIT CRAZY! (Sorry for the visual. Bekki does haunted house theater makeup.) Jeffrey Dahmer storing severed heads and a sand pail of penises in his refrigerator… certifiably insane. But a punk bully with a history of being a punk and a bully, sneaking into a soft target and acting out his gaming-provoked blood-lust? That’s not insanity. While the act is clearly heinous and outside the lines of what’s considered traditional normalcy, it’s simply cowardice and premeditated asshole behavior.
With changing times, I believe we need to rethink our approach to criminal’s rights. Upon capture (and prior to representation) individuals accused of heinous acts should be psychologically examined, not after their attorney-lead miranda primer that has historically turned offenders mute. Sure, criminals have rights and`enjoy the protections afforded all citizens of the United States but innocent law-abiding victims, following the rules of society, should have the expectation – if not a greater right – to protection. And if a suspect truly suffers from mental illness wouldn’t they and society be better served by an immediate (albeit late) evaluation by a competent professional? At least then we could rationalize the unconscionable or determine if they’re just a thug. The mental health and legal justice systems could then unravel the rats nest that got them from there to here.
Can’t ya just hear the attorneys for these punks? “OK, we’re in court in 15 minutes…. You’re the most talked about person in the country and everyone’s calling you crazy. Just stand expressionless in court. Try not to blink. Come on… work with me a little here… Mess up your hair! And if the judge talks to you just start slowly licking your fingers. That’s a good one. I have them all do that.”
There were a lot of mistakes made in the most recent mass shooting in America. Missed markers. Multiple ignored see-something-say-something reports made to authorities. An open admission by the perpetrator that he was going to do something violent. Broward County’s politically driven blind-eye policy for juvenile misfits that would have red-flagged an attempted firearms purchase.
But let’s wait for the professionals to crack the tough nut of psychological diagnosis. I’m tired of punks, bullies, and thugs (note I didn’t use the words “mentally ill”) getting a pass from the legal justice system – and society – because of a reflexive need to make sense of acts of terror. Doing so negates justice and almost certainly prevents the use of an injectable cocktail intended to freeze the heart of the unsalvageable.