A Comment on Virginia Tech

It's been impossible to not follow the story of the shooter at Virginia Tech. As more details have emerged, it's a familiar picture. I want to comment on the mental health aspect of the tragedy.

Back in the day, say mid-1960's, if someone was mentally deranged they were given government sponsored treatment in a state run hospital, indefinately if needed. Today, if someone is detained by the police as troubled, the police largely don't know what to do with them. Inpatient mental health care is virtually non-existant in the U.S. anymore, particularly for those who suffer from psychotic disorders.

From what I've read it sounds like this fella certainly qualified as psychotic. Schzophrenia typically shows up in late teens/young adulthood. The propensity for violence of schzophrenics is low ... lower than the general population ... but it does happen. The story of this perps treatment is legion. He was properly detained at one time, taken to a hospital, held for 24 hrs. then released, typical treatment these days. Schzophrenia is not caused by environment or situation, it's an organic brain disorder that is inherited in a small portion of the population. But again, despite the clear indications that this fella was troubled, there were no serious options for his treatment.

Most of these folks ultimately end up as member of our homeless population. But some flip. And when they do, there's no understanding the motiviation for them acting the way they do. It would be like asking a schozophrenic why they see spiders on the wall (when there are no spiders). They would give you an answer that would be logical to them, and be meaningless to you and me.

So as a society we choose to not address the treatment and care of those who have severe psychotic disorders. Instead we choose to pay the price in the way the students have at Virginia Tech (and in many many other "hidden" ways). It's the old "pay me now or pay me later" mentality with U.S. citizens often choosing to pay in ways they don't actually choose, but rather in ways that just "happen". Welcome to the Republican dream!

Finally a comment on all the ignorant media nonsense about anti-depressant medications. Of course he, and many many other shooters, are on anti-depressants. That is meaningless. Most of the shooters also brushed their teeth within a day or two, but that doesn't mean that tooth paste causes violence. Anyone who is acting depressed or bizarre is likely to be on medication for treatment. That does not mean the medication "causes" the behavior. It's like the nonsense about suicides. Of course more people who commit suicide are on anti-depressants, they're depressed! It's common protocol that the most dangerous time for a depressed patient is after beginning treatment. Prior to treatment, patients lack the energy for violence. Their energy returns first giving them the ummmph to take action before actually feeling better, a time when they can kill. And this is assuming they've followed the treatment protocol.

This has been a tragic situation, but not as uncommon as you might think. The particular form of violence he choose was rare, but many tragic situations occur all the time because of our blindness to the needs to the severely mentally ill. It just happens that this time, no one could ignore the tragedy because this ill person chose to act out his psychosis all over the campus, and all over anyone who got in the way.