For
nearly 2 decades or longer, this country has had a plague of mass
shootings. Many, if not all of the shooters, have had serious mental
health issues. Often times, it is discovered that some of the
perpetrators were known, or made known to law enforcement, well
before they carried out their heinous acts of violence.
People
then become outraged, and more often than not, point the finger of
blame at local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, for not
stopping the atrocities before they occurred. Yet these agencies
don't have the power to do anything until or if some perpetrator
makes an attempt to carry out their dark acts.
What
is the reason for this? In many cases, law enforcement agencies have
been hamstrung by an out of touch justice system, and well
intentioned, but myopic "victim's advocacy" groups.
Advocates
for the mentally ill, too often have successfully painted all mental
health agencies with the broad brush of the insane asylums of the
19th and early 20th centuries. They successfully portrayed them as
wretched places of despair and hopelessness as often depicted in some
old horror movie.
They
effectively championed the picture of all mental health agencies as
being like those insane asylums from long ago, and demanded the
release of hundreds, if not thousands of mentally ill patients. The
courts agreed, and large numbers of the mentally ill were released
onto a society that frankly, did not want them, nor was prepared to
provide them with the care they need.
We
have seen some of them appear among the large numbers of the
homeless. Mentally ill homeless people, whose numbers began to grow
rapidly in the cities and towns that were, and still are unprepared
for them. Numbers that grew rapidly after court decisions ordering
their release, with little or no consideration as to how they would
continue to receive the treatment they need, or the physical care
that all human beings have a right to.
In
essence, another stigma was added to these already stigmatized people
for being mentally ill, and to those facilities that cared for them.
This has resulted in a justice system that was and still is, all too
reluctant to give orders for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of
those people whose behavior, threats, and actions, have warranted it.
Until
there is a demand from the public at large for reforms, the numbers
of these heinous, evil atrocities will only occur again and again.
The time for us all to demand action is now.
We must all remember as well, that the time for us to pray is now, and always. Especially pray for all the victims, the first responders, and the young shooter Nikolas Cruz as well.
