I live in the United States. There are a lot of things – desirable or otherwise – that we Americans have a reputation for on the world stage. Some of these things are perhaps projecting a bit by some other developed nations, but I do feel that the majority of black marks we possess are well earned. Our health care system has put countless people into bankruptcy, religion frequently trumps reason when it comes to lawmaking here, and we have such an intense obsession with guns that it could almost be considered a fetish. Now, I would love to get into the conversation of ethical gun ownership and where I feel political violence is a necessity, but that’s less the point. The reason is the United States is so known for its gun ownership, at least in part, is because we can’t seem to stop shooting each other. After we finish shooting each other, the tug of war over who should be blamed takes center stage, and that conversation seems to run the same course with every new tragedy.
Statistics seem to vary depending on how we define what a “mass shooting” is, but there has been an evident increase in incidence, regardless of how we choose our terms. To the world outside of our American bubble (and to many of those within it), the problem is gun culture. These outside observers, however, might not get to see the full conversation that occurs after every major mass shooting and the blame game that ensues. If we’re breaking this down to politics, the Democratic party certainly blames lax gun laws, and the Republican party says that gun laws don’t make a difference, and that these shooters are simply mentally ill and we need better mental health services.
Now, I work in mental health for a living. In my experience, the only time anybody ever seems interested in arguing for improved mental health care in this country is when some tragedy occurs. When it comes time to vote and live up to those ideas, folks inevitably forget how concerned they were about their fellow Americans’ mental health as the death tolls were being counted. Regardless of that, is it fair to blame these acts of violence on mental illness?
For obvious reasons, you’ll have no disagreement from me that mental health services need to be better funded and more in the spotlight of political policy. However, I can’t say that I think it’s fair to blame mass violence on a mental illness “epidemic”. After all, mental illness is not an issue that’s exclusive to the United States. Why is gun violence a more prevalent issue here than it is in say, Netherlands or France? Sorry to say, I’m not here to answer that question. Not today, at any rate. All I can do is assume anyway.
Certainly, mental health needs to be at the center of this conversation, but not in the way that the right wants to present it. What I view to be a far more significant revelation is how carelessly we throw those with mental illnesses under the bus. I think of one viral video I had seen, for instance… I don’t recall the source or what particular tragedy inspired it, but it was of a clearly distressed woman crying, insisting that she is not a violent person because she suffers from a mental illness. Why aren’t we talking more about that issue?
For all the liberal buzzwords and deplorable labels we have; racist, homophobic, transphobic, bigoted, anti-Semitic, etc – ableist seems to be one that doesn’t necessarily phase a lot of folks. Personally, I could argue that ableism is the single most widespread and socially “accepted” form of discrimination in the western world. This is even excluding the casual use of words like “crazy”, “insane”, psychotic”, and “retarded”. I respect that it’s easy for somebody to look at criticism of the use of those words and think, “Wow, what an overly sensitive SJW. Calm down, snowflake.” I can even admit that I throw around words like “crazy” and “insane” without second thought, most of the time – and certainly regretfully. It just doesn’t feel like that big of a deal.
It is a form of stigma on its own, obviously, but I have to admit too, it’s a minor form of prejudice when compared to the finger pointing that follows mass shootings in this country. It’s mild compared to the other systemic issues that people with mental illnesses face as well. In my own state, spending on mental health (which is its own department) is one of the most readily slashed items when the deficit becomes a hot topic. Interestingly, I see this to be far more consistent with Republican lawmakers and leaders – despite their insistence that these tragedies are a result of poor care for people with mental illnesses. They especially like to give these people – who they admit are being under served – the short end of the stick, financially.
Of course, the trend with any state government that is handed over to Republicans is immediate budget cuts across the board – and cutting taxes. Democratic leadership really doesn’t do much better in this department, anyway. The point is that people suffering from mental illnesses are struggling in this country. Despite rhetoric that acknowledges those concerns, very little is ever done. Instead, the topic seems to exist merely as a scapegoat for challenging debates that we don’t seem to want to have.
This isn’t something that only occurs with mass shootings either. Look at the history of LGBTQ rights in not just the United States, but globally. One of the favorite arguments of those opposing equal treatment is the claim that gay people and transgender people are simply mentally ill and need to be “fixed” in some way. Again, the validity of that claim is a conversation for another day (the claim is absolute bullshit, but again, not today dears). The point is that opponents of these groups – the same groups that insist we aren’t doing enough for mental health – seem to think that deeming gays and trans people as “delusional” is a valid basis to not give them fair rights. It’s as though it’s easier to be openly nasty to people for being mentally ill than for being part of the LGBTQ community. So much easier, in fact, that it can exist as a basis to be openly discriminatory.
We see this, similarly, in people that choose to stand opposed against affirmative action and equal rights for different races. IQ, a product of mental health research – and one with its own sketchy history – is frequently cited by “scientific racists” and those advocating for a white ethnostate. The idea is that since certain races test lower on IQ tests than others, those lower IQ races will merely damage society and set us all back. The idea is absolutely preposterous, and I think that most people see it for the nonsense that it is, but the point remains. They are “disabled” in some way or another, therefore it is okay to suggest inferiority or even outright purging of them from the “normals”.
You bet that I’ll be touching on the flaws with IQ testing, and how it’s been used to support discriminatory (especially horribly racist) acts throughout the past century, but again, a conversation for another day, dears.
To digress, it’s an interesting dynamic that we seem to have with the field of psychology/psychiatry. People want to de-legitamize it while also using aspects that serve their world views to their advantage. Just as they wish to use the people it most pertains to as scapegoats – all while they refuse to lend a helping hand.
What is the solution to all of this though? How do we mitigate the effects that this stigmatization has given us? I wish I could say I had a good answer to that. Write your representatives? Protest? I’m not really sure. We are in an uncomfortable conundrum, however, to be certain. Perhaps it just has to start with us being aware of those things that were cited as “minor”. Maybe we need to start by being aware of the vocabulary we use, and holding the people around us accountable. We’re in an era of grassroots politics, it seems, so maybe that is where we need to establish our foundation with this problem as well.
We can always begin with what we know: people with mental illnesses are not inherently dangerous. Having a mental illness does not imply a necessity to “fix” anything. It might be really cheesy to say, but we truly are all different in numerous ways. Most people are willing to admit to that very basic concept, so why don’t we start there? Rather than fearing differences that we don’t understand, and blaming those differences for tragedies and the collapse of society… how about we recognize and respect the common denominators that link us all? Appreciate that we’re in this thing as a single species, and that what makes us each different does not detract from what makes us the same.
Frankly, I think that our differences can contribute to the strength in our unity and progress, but… again, I guess that’s a conversation best left for another day.
agirlhasnoname. 