Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Crazy Town

See THIS is an example of what is wrong with out mental health system.

This guy was filled with religious fervor and acting erractic.  He had busted into the Capitol before to make prophetic pronouncements.  He was 'Known to Authorities'.

Yet Authorities were powerless to get him the help he needed.  It end with him returning, walking straight throus the restraining order prohibitting him from doing so, then causing trouble, then pulling a weapon.   Getting shot for it.

He didn't belong in prison.  He belonged in a mental institution getting treatment. 

Being crazy didn't stop him from getting a weapon, notice.  Wonder what the weapon was?  A knife?  A gun?  And even more deadly glass beer bottle full of gasolice and a lighter? 

6 comments:

Comrade Misfit said...

IIRC, St. Ronnie started the movement to close mental institutions. The idea supposedly was to replace state hospitals with smaller community-based treatment centers.

Except that they only did the first part to save money. The second part both costs money and residents go into full-on NIMBY mode when someone wants to put a house-full of crazies on their block. (Go figure.)

Then Medicaid rules were changed so those needing such help couldn't go to state facilities, because private sector. Those state facilities closed (or were converted into black holes for those convicted of sex crimes who did their time).

So now those who need mental help tend to end up on the streets. Until they do something that attracts the attention of the po-po and then end up in jail.

As what happened here.

Sigman said...

According to news reports, it was a pellet pistol. Mainstreaming of mental patients started in the 60s under LBJ but really gained steam in the late 70s under Carter. Today, in Tennessee at least, there are very few long term psychiatric beds. Most mentally ill patients at house for 3 days and released to outpatient care, which is a hit and miss proposition.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

The closing of mental institutions started with JFK/LBJ, Misfit. Ronald Maximus gets credit because of homeless advocates like Mitch Snyder.

Old 1811 said...

I remember the seeing the deinstitutionalization movement start to get big in 1974. The professed idea was that most mentally ill people would be able to function in society if they just took their meds. (Of course, if they forgot to take their meds one time, they'd never take them again. But what matters isn't results, it's good intentions.)
The real reason, of course, is that institutionalization costs money that the politicians would rather use for other things, like giving free shit to their parasite constituents. People in mental institutions don't vote. I noticed that after all that money was saved, nobody's taxes went down.

Sigman said...

You're right 1811, it gave them more money to give free stuff away with, and they raised taxes too!

ProudHillbilly said...

My social work daughter also puts the beginning of closure of mental institutions with JFK. And I can tell you from volunteering that no amount of low income housing or minimum wage hikes is going to get the homeless off our streets because too many of them are mentally ill.