Monday, January 24, 2011

Shootings In Tucson

All the mass shootings we've had in the last decade, elementary and college students, teachers, postal workers, police, even nuns ... everyday people. But now that it's one of theirs, the rich and powerful don't feel so secure anymore and they don't like it. Congress is changing its rhetoric. Time magazine dedicates an entire issue. And where does the blame fall? Mental illness. Hey, no sane person would shoot one of us!
In an A/P piece, Jacques Billeaud wrote, "Investigators have said Loughner was mentally disturbed and acting increasingly erratic in the weeks leading up to the shooting. If he pleads not guilty by reason of insanity and is successful, he could avoid the death penalty and be sent to a mental health facility instead of prison."
This will set the reform of attitudes toward mental health back a generation if not a lifetime.
Want confirmation of the us-and-them attitude? See how much coverage a Detroit Police Shooting got.