Quote Originally Posted by slapout9 View Post
anonomatic, that was very well said IMO.
Thanks, this is a hard topic for me to write about. It's one colored by a lot of very ugly experiences in more than one state. There is a difference between how we wish things would be with respect to our political ideas, and the reality of how things are for us as a species.

People spouting off politically does have consequences, and it doesn't matter who is doing it, or what their motivation is, abstracted from any political framework the use of violent language has very predictable results. It is not at all responsible behavior on the part of any leader, and people are both right to question it's use, and to condemn it as well.

Politics is however is a separate issue than what we choose to do to deal with the problem of mental illness, and violent mental illness. If we ignore these problems, people die.

I think this incident shows what happens with an inadequate public safety net, and the inadequate public education that goes with it. The `debate' that detractors want to engage in over this subject is rooted in a pattern of shame based societal ignorance that says it's ok to treat the mentally ill as societal refuse, & blame their actions on fictional moral failings of their own choice. Never mind any science that tells them otherwise when the ignorant conventional wisdom they've been relying on fails yet again...