Access to mental health care.

[Contrarian]

Are we going to include the thousands of people who commit suicide, are murdered, or die by accident in this calculation?

 

Sure... as long as we include the thousands that "commit suicide, are murdered, or die by accident" off bridges, with knives, overdose on pills, or with cars/automobiles also.

 

Since your original premise seems to be that restricting/banning guns or certain types of guns will somehow mitigate folks commiting suicide, being murdered, or dieing by accident...

 

:heheh:

[Hemegroup]

Furthermore, regarding the actual title of the thread, I fear that this kid likely had plentiful access to mental health care as America currently defines it. He was the son of an executive and former stock broker and appeared to have a "charmed life" from a strictly materialistic standpoint. A psychiatrist is likely somewhere in the mix. It's not out yet and may never be known but I'd put money on his toxicology coming back positive for psychotropics of some stripe. Then, the old questions resume reagarding the "activating" effects of SSRI's/SNRI's/amphetamine derivatives/etc. that are commonly prescribed to adolescents/young adults

 

Yup, and that's one big system.

[CAdamsPAC]

First off... really no such thing as a "assault weapon"...

Why... because everything that happened could have occurred with 1-2 single action revolvers...

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Second.... "sensible Gun Laws" are also Silly as all hell...

People intent upon murdering other people aren't usually "Law" abiding...!!!!!

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

While I agree that mental health care should be much more accessible... the 'there are too many guns'... or 'guns are too accessible' is pure Nonsense...

 

This argument is typically hampered by inaccurate hyperbole and fear mongering.

 

Fact is.... here In WA state... NO ONE walks out "20 min later with a firearm and ammo" unless they ALREADY have a concealed weapons permit... which means that the National crime background check has already been done.

 

And... even with the CCW... they still have to "run the quick check for any flags" and fill out the paperwork... so "20 min later with a firearm and ammo" is still NOT likely.

 

I have a CCW and rare am I allowed to leave the store with a firearm the day I picked it out... and I have over 20 of them.

 

While I agree that firearm owners need to be much more responsible with them and try harder to keep them out of the hands of those with ill will...

 

I must say that on the 2 non-military, stateside occasions that I needed a firearm... if it had been LOCKED away.... I would not have been here posting today.

 

Thing is... making NEW/MORE laws that impede firearm ownership and/or possession ONLY obstructs law abiding citizens from protecting themselves from criminals. Because by definition... CRIMINALS will not abide by those laws.

 

A great example of this is Chicago and British Columbia. Both these places make private firearm ownership rare for the average law abiding citizen... and both these places have Law enforcement officers complaining about how many guns non- law abiding citizens (called CRIMINALS) have and how they are basically outgunned.

 

These are places where the criminals can randomly pick pretty much ANYONE they want and put a victim tag on them because they KNOW and are assured that pretty much anyone they pick will 99.9999% be unarmed and that "when seconds count... the police are but minutes away"...!!!!

 

The other silly part about this is that "guns are bad" until someone with a gun (often a cop) rescues a "gun-hater"... but the "hater" never stops to think that if THEY had the gun from the onset... they could have saved themselves.

 

With you 100% "C" from the state of the latest shooting by a mentally ill criminal, where it took me 4 months to obtain my CCW permit and at least 2 hours waiting after completing the required paperwork to leave with my newly purchased firearm(s). The shooter in this case was DENIED the purchase of a weapon 2 days prior to the event when he refused to comply with the required checks. Last week another mentally ill man in Connecticut ,was refused access to firearms during the purchase process and left town going out west to stab his father and his fathers girlfriend to death. These mass shooting are the result of the LAX to nonexistence of aggressive available mental health services. Here in CT 5 of the states mental health institutions have closed in the past 20 years. If a patient has GOOD insurance admission via the ED is a crap shoot!!!

[EMEDPA]

Again.... They abide by the minimum 3-7 day waiting period for MOST.

If someone walks out with a gun that day... it means that he/she was likely pre-screened by having a concealed weapons permit (CCW)... which also means that he had ALREADY submitted fingerprints, and background check previous to his "Fred Myers" shopping spree.

 

It just doesn't happen sooner than that because of federal and state laws... and "Fred Myers" isn't going to jepordize their business to sell a gun quicker...

 

The "Gun Show" loopholes are a completely different story... but I've yet to see a tragedy like CT happen with guns obtained from that source.

he may already have a permit, don't know.

I will pm you the store location and you can call them if you like to find out the details of purchasing from them.

[303909]

Funny though--if you're up against a James Holmes or an Adam Lanza with the degree of ammunition and weaponry they had, will your CCW even help you at that point? That's the heart of the problem. 4,000 rounds of ammunition purchased legally online. How is that a good thing on any level? Folks have an apoplectic reaction to the word "control" anywhere near "gun"

[CAdamsPAC]

Clips, Magazines....Mags....we used the terms all interchangeably in the Navy. A gun was just a tool man. Nothing more. I remember there was a technical difference between the two that the gun nuts would talk about, but I don't remember what it was. I'm not an expert on guns....never have claimed to be. I have a Browning Hi-Power 9mm that I bought while in the Navy in a Cabela's biolock gun safe. I also have a .30-06 bolt action, and a .22 caliber rifle that were given to me by a relative. That's it.

 

I don't have a CCW and have never felt the need to have it, although I did toy around with the idea at one time.. I rarely shoot the rifles and have even thought about selling them. I don't hate guns, but I think we should have a lot fewer of them around....and I think that we should re-enact the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.

 

I own a WWII vintage "assault rifle" to use a popular term , a M-1 rifle it is more powerful and has greater range than the civilian clone M-4 yet where is the outrage over my weapon? I hear the cry over "semiautomatic" guns from the ill informed emotional rating seeking press as if revolvers and bolt action weapons are not dangerous in the wrong hands. Weapons/guns are tools that can be used and abused by those planning or intent on wrongdoing. There would be fewer car, plane, train crashes or deaths if there were fewer people in this world. There needs to be greater scrutiny and surveillance of the mentally ill along with increased access to long term inpatient facilities. True criminal could care less about gun laws, but the do fear an armed public. I once worked in a prison a convict told me that the best defense /deterrent was an empty holster on the floor of the house he had broken into!

[Contrarian]

Doesn't matter...

 

Usually I buy my ammunition in bulk lots of 1000 rounds at a time ...

Why...??? Because I shoot IPSC AND I try to shoot about 1000 rounds a month through my "carry weapon" for proficiency and its cheaper if I buy in bulk.

 

Also ... I try to put 1000 rounds through the AR-15, G17/G36 and a few hundred through the 12gauge and the 30-06 regular to maintain my "muscle memory."

 

If someone is intent upon murdering a couple dozen people... they can buy one bullet at a time...

[medic25]

Here in CT 5 of the states mental health institutions have closed in the past 20 years. If a patient has GOOD insurance admission via the ED is a crap shoot!!!

 

This is a huge part of the problem; even more so with children and adolescents. Inpatient facilities continue to close, and the mentally ill languish in hallways and on stretchers in our ED's. They aren't receiving the help they need, and this overflow creates huge problems for patient care overall. This was a major topic of discussion at a state EMS meeting I attended the day before Friday's events; I can only pray that this draws some attention to the problem, if not nationally then at least here in CT.

[Contrarian]

I own a WWII vintage "assault rifle" to use a popular term , a M-1 rifle it is more powerful and has greater range than the civilian clone M-4 yet where is the outrage over my weapon?

 

Yep...!!!

 

AND it has a "Clip"...:wink:

[physasst]

Yep...!!!

 

AND it has a "Clip"...:wink:

 

 

Man, I have no idea what the difference is...it was explained to me once about 20 years ago in the Navy....haven't cared to think about it since.....and I'm too gorked(half asleep) on Oxycodone right now to care to look it up.....Yep, I get to have surgery in the am for a Weber B ankle fx......+/- syndesmotic repair....not sure based on the films.....

[CAdamsPAC]

Funny though--if you're up against a James Holmes or an Adam Lanza with the degree of ammunition and weaponry they had, will your CCW even help you at that point? That's the heart of the problem. 4,000 rounds of ammunition purchased legally online. How is that a good thing on any level? Folks have an apoplectic reaction to the word "control" anywhere near "gun"

 

Buying in bulk save money! Those of us who engage in shooting sports use a lot of costly ammunition. The more you shoot the better you are at it and the more money you spend on expensive ammo. An experienced trained shooter realizes only one well placed shot could have stopped the mayhem , but schools are places law abiding citizen are prohibited from carrying their weapons. Practice makes perfect. Prevention was the best course for this disturbed young man, whose own mother feared his accelerating psychosis.

[CAdamsPAC]

Man, I have no idea what the difference is...it was explained to me once about 20 years ago in the Navy....haven't cared to think about it since.....and I'm too gorked(half asleep) on Oxycodone right now to care to look it up.....Yep, I get to have surgery in the am for a Weber B ankle fx......+/- syndesmotic repair....not sure based on the films.....

 

I feel your pain my rotator cuff is 4 weeks out from repair and the Percs are stashed away!Get better soon so we can't be accussed of abusing a injured man! ;-)

[rev ronin]

Funny though--if you're up against a James Holmes or an Adam Lanza with the degree of ammunition and weaponry they had, will your CCW even help you at that point?

 

Name one shooter who's stood up to armed resistance. The Tacoma Mall shooter shot down a guy who drew down on him... but that ended the mayhem as he moved into a store and took hostages at that point. Also turns out this month's Clackamas Town Center shooter may have been dissuaded by an armed citizen, but the account of that event seems pretty preliminary at this point.

 

But none of these mentally disturbed shooters ever had any training with tactics outside of first person video games, as far as I can tell. At the very least, the anecdotal evidence is that concealed handgun carriers, even when using poor tactics themselves, can voluntarily draw fire and distract the criminal shooter from the unarmed people he had intended to kill in the first place.

[Contrarian]

We tried to have THIS GUY detained for longer than 72hrs, but the budget and politics got in the way.

We wrote affidavits while we had him in our custody. The court let him go against our explicit reccomendations.

Then they tried to make his actions our fault...

[CAdamsPAC]

We tried to have THIS GUY detained for longer than 72hrs, but the budget and politics got in the way.

We wrote affidavits while we had him in our custody. The court let him go against our explicit reccomendations.

Then they tried to make his actions our fault...

 

I think this article is quite telling about the lack of commitment to protecting the public and treating the mentally ill. Where are those who defeated this bill? Probably out bad mouthing the NRA and responsible gun owners and those who they disagee with.

 

 

Recently Defeated Connecticut Mental Health Bill May Have Stopped Friday's Shooter

A troubling revelation has broken regarding a mental health bill recently defeated in Connecticut during this calendar year. Had it passed, that bill could have possibly taken Adam Lanza off the streets so he would not have been free to commit his heinous act on December 14.

 

In February 2012, Connecticut Senate Bill 452 (SB452) was put forward to remedy the fact that Connecticut was one of less than ten states in the U.S. to lack an "assisted outpatient treatment" (AOT) law.

 

But the bill was passed to Connecticut's Joint Committee on Judiciary in March, where it quietly faded away because of opposition by those who viewed it as "egregious" and "outrageously discriminatory."

 

Had this law passed, it may have forced Adam Lanza to be treated for his alleged mental illness instead of allowing him to roam free, and ultimately to kill 26 persons and himself in a vindictive rage on Friday.

 

Although there is some variation, the way these laws work in other states is simple: AOT laws preempt older statutes that only allow the mentally ill to be forcibly institutionalized for treatment if they've done harm to themselves or others. This is possible because AOT laws allow a state to institutionalize a mentally ill person for treatment if the state has reason to suspect such institutionalization will prevent the individual from doing harm to self or others.

 

Why didn't the legislation pass? Because the ACLU and other "civil liberties" groups and individuals cried foul. The ACLU in particular said 452 would "infringe on patients' privacy rights by expanding [the circle of] who can medicate individuals without their consent." They also said it infringed on patient rights by reducing the number of doctors' opinions necessary to commit someone to institutionalization.

 

To be clear, no one can know that the passage of SB452 would have stopped Lanza for sure, as there's no guarantee a doctor or mental specialist would have seen the warning signs in time to institutionalize him for treatment.

 

However, it is worth noting that proponents of SB452 had the prevention of situations like Friday's shooting in mind when they tried to provide Connecticut residents with another layer of protection from the mentally ill (and criminal).

[Contrarian]

Man, I have no idea what the difference is...

 

Ok... so since you "have no idea"... why are you asking for anything to be "banned"....????

 

Get well soon...!!!

[Contrarian]

Your experience, if true, is anomalous.

 

Actually occurs much more offten than typical "Sheeple" want to believe or admit.

 

Defensive Use of a Gun In America 1

 

Defensive Use of a Gun 2

 

Defensive Gun Use Reddit

 

But hey.... if you're cool waiting minutes for the police, when seconds count... have at it.

Just don't disarm me to include me in your vicimization fantasy statistic.

 

 

 

CONCEALED CARRY & GUNS SAVES LIVES

JACKSON, Wis., June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Guns save lives, and are necessary for protection. That's according to research from David Burnett and Clayton Cramer , who track incidents of defensive gun use at TheArmedCitizen.com.

 

The stories include senior citizens fighting off robbers, and women defending themselves against rapists or attackers, proving armed citizens prevent violent crimes everywhere from restaurants and grocery stores to banks, coffee houses and pizza parlors.

 

"We've documented 2,160 stories of self-defense with guns since May 2007 – the same time frame the VPC used," said Burnett. "When it comes to concealed carry permits, we have 153 documented cases across 26 states with at least 550 lives saved."

 

The Violence Policy Center (VPC) recently claimed concealed weapons licensees are killers, offering stories as proof. Burnett says the VPC is distorting the truth.

 

"If these victims had been disarmed, they wouldn't be able to fight back…they'd be dead," said Burnett. "Since no place is immune from crime, we must allow people to be armed for their own protection. Nobody wants to kill someone, but nobody wants to die either."

 

Burnett also notes that in 14 percent of documented cases, no shots were fired. "You don't always have to shoot to stop a criminal. Sometimes the threat is enough."

 

According to Clayton Cramer , the numbers are tricky to measure. "If nobody dies, how do you count the lives saved? You can't predict the future, but most of these criminals have histories of violent crime. If they hadn't been stopped, there's no way of telling how many would have been hurt later on."

 

Both authors say the facts prove concealed carry's net effect is positive. "States that allow concealed carry see reduced crime, if only because knowing a victim might be armed makes a criminal think twice," says Cramer. "That unknown protects even unarmed citizens."

 

Like the VPC, The Armed Citizen uses news reports to track defensive shootings, leading the authors to believe the real numbers are much higher.

 

"You have to look at the whole picture," Burnett concluded. "Weigh the good with the bad. A gun in the hands of a responsible citizen can and often does save a life. If the Violence Policy Center wants to compare numbers, concealed carry wins."

 

PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1bKsY)

 

 

[Justeco]

It occurs far less than most gun nuts and survivalists want to admit. Nevertheless, your worship of guns and gun culture allows for the easy proliferation of violence that you are fearful of. It makes not one lick of sense to support unfettered access.

[Contrarian]

Again...

 

No one here suggested "unfettered access"...

No one here "worships guns"...

I'VE personally used guns to defend my life and the lives of others.

 

The Harvard Study has been mentioned in about. 3 links above your post.

 

Seems that what YOU don't get here is that there are a equal number of "studies " about the issue that have diametrically opposed results /outcomes... so hanging our hats on either one of them is more about bias than reality.

 

So it then comes down to personal experience and anecdotal evidence.

 

My personal experience convinces me that I'd rather have one and not need one, than need one and not have one.

 

Sadly... when I pull mine out... it will be because YOU or someone like you is cowering in a corner somewhere with your soft parts exposed, babbling incoherently, prepared to be slaughtered.

 

Not me...

I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

 

Because "when SECONDS count... help is but MINUTES away"...

 

I tried to keep a armed Law Enforcement officer with me at all times in case of trouble... but he was tooo heavy too nosey and ate a lot. I traded him in for a Glock.

[Hemegroup]

Again...

 

No one here suggested "unfettered access"...

No one here "worships guns"...

I'VE personally used guns to defend my life and the lives of others.

 

The Harvard Study has been mentioned in about. 3 links above your post.

 

Seems that what YOU don't get here is that there are a equal number of "studies " about the issue that have diametrically opposed results /outcomes... so hanging our hats on either one of them is more about bias than reality.

 

So it then comes down to personal experience and anecdotal evidence.

 

My personal experience convinces me that I'd rather have one and not need one, than need one and not have one.

Sadly... when I pull mine out... it will be because YOU or someone like you is cowering in a corner somewhere with your soft parts exposed, babbling incoherently, prepared to be slaughtered.

 

Not me...

I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

 

I'd rather work on your shift ; ) Honestly tho, it's not your having them that I'm caring about, it's the investigation into you getting them in the first place. You would pass, I'm sure, and shouldn't every one else have to as well? Further, can there be some type of mandatory investigation before people are allowed access, including information on psych issues of relatives or some way to better filter those who might have or try and get access? Isn't there anything that can be done on that count? I'm sure that assault weapons will be taken off the ready-market here soon, what with the rash we've witnessed in the last few years, but I'm hoping that a better screening constitution be put in place overall. Hunting is one thing (as is defense), hunting humans is another.

[Hemegroup]

I think this article is quite telling about the lack of commitment to protecting the public and treating the mentally ill. Where are those who defeated this bill? Probably out bad mouthing the NRA and responsible gun owners and those who they disagee with.

 

 

Recently Defeated Connecticut Mental Health Bill May Have Stopped Friday's Shooter

A troubling revelation has broken regarding a mental health bill recently defeated in Connecticut during this calendar year. Had it passed, that bill could have possibly taken Adam Lanza off the streets so he would not have been free to commit his heinous act on December 14.

 

In February 2012, Connecticut Senate Bill 452 (SB452) was put forward to remedy the fact that Connecticut was one of less than ten states in the U.S. to lack an "assisted outpatient treatment" (AOT) law.

 

But the bill was passed to Connecticut's Joint Committee on Judiciary in March, where it quietly faded away because of opposition by those who viewed it as "egregious" and "outrageously discriminatory."

 

Had this law passed, it may have forced Adam Lanza to be treated for his alleged mental illness instead of allowing him to roam free, and ultimately to kill 26 persons and himself in a vindictive rage on Friday.

 

Although there is some variation, the way these laws work in other states is simple: AOT laws preempt older statutes that only allow the mentally ill to be forcibly institutionalized for treatment if they've done harm to themselves or others. This is possible because AOT laws allow a state to institutionalize a mentally ill person for treatment if the state has reason to suspect such institutionalization will prevent the individual from doing harm to self or others.

 

Why didn't the legislation pass? Because the ACLU and other "civil liberties" groups and individuals cried foul. The ACLU in particular said 452 would "infringe on patients' privacy rights by expanding [the circle of] who can medicate individuals without their consent." They also said it infringed on patient rights by reducing the number of doctors' opinions necessary to commit someone to institutionalization.

 

To be clear, no one can know that the passage of SB452 would have stopped Lanza for sure, as there's no guarantee a doctor or mental specialist would have seen the warning signs in time to institutionalize him for treatment.

 

However, it is worth noting that proponents of SB452 had the prevention of situations like Friday's shooting in mind when they tried to provide Connecticut residents with another layer of protection from the mentally ill (and criminal).

 

Thank you, this is exactly what I was looking for.

[CAdamsPAC]

It occurs far less than most gun nuts and survivalists want to admit. Nevertheless, your worship of guns and gun culture allows for the easy proliferation of violence that you are fearful of. It makes not one lick of sense to support unfettered access.

 

Please cite any reference stating that "unfettered access" to guns is the goal of any organization or poster to this thread? My home state defeated a bill that would have reinforced some of the strictest gun laws in the country due to the ACLU's opposition to it's intrusiveness by requiring the mentally ill to be tracted. Please read my previous post.

 

BTW There IS an "Assault Weapon" ban here in CT which has a very strict gun control law. The Bushmaster IS NOT classified as an "assault weapon"by the State of and was legally purchased in the state.

[Contrarian]

A Classic "MUST-READ"...

 

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman

 

By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing."

 

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself.

 

The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997

 

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

 

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

 

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

 

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

 

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

 

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

 

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

 

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

 

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

 

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

 

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warrior hood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

 

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

 

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

 

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

 

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.

 

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

 

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

 

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

 

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

 

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train.

 

Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

 

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

 

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...

"Baa."

 

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between.

 

Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.

 

[CAdamsPAC]

'I Am Adam Lanza's Mother': A Mom's Perspective On The Mental Illness Conversation In America

 

 

Written by Liza Long, republished from The Blue Review

 

Friday’s horrific national tragedy -- the murder of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut -- has ignited a new discussion on violence in America. In kitchens and coffee shops across the country, we tearfully debate the many faces of violence in America: gun culture, media violence, lack of mental health services, overt and covert wars abroad, religion, politics and the way we raise our children. Liza Long, a writer based in Boise, says it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

 

While every family's story of mental illness is different, and we may never know the whole of the Lanzas' story, tales like this one need to be heard -- and families who live them deserve our help.

 

 

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

 

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

 

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

 

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid *****. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

 

“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid *****. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”

 

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

 

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan -- they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

 

That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.

 

We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.

 

At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.

 

Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.

 

The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”

 

“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”

 

His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”

 

That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.

“Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”

 

“You know where we are going,” I replied.

 

“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”

 

I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”

 

Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork -- “Were there any difficulties with… at what age did your child… were there any problems with.. has your child ever experienced.. does your child have…”

 

At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

 

For days, my son insisted that I was lying -- that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

 

By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.

 

On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”

 

And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.

 

I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am James Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

 

According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do.

 

When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”

 

I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise -- in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population.

 

With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill -- Rikers Island, the LA County Jail and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011.

 

No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

 

I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.

 

God help me. God help Michael. God help us all.

 

(Originally published at The Anarchist Soccer Mom.)

 

 

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A Classic "MUST-READ"...

This is among the worst oversimplified encouragements of vigilantism I've ever come across. By using the metaphor of sheep in denial, it creates a negative connotation of weakness that would inspire most men reading it to say "oh no, that's not me--I'm definitely a sheep dog and I'm ready to be a wolf if I have to!!!" *squeezes off rounds in the air*. I imagine this will upset you because it's the origins of your signature but it's baffling to me that the one PA who is actually in psychiatry has been the last one to comment on the OP's intention and the title of the thread. At the same time, perhaps it's not so baffling because using these words as a manifesto creates a range restriction of behavior if one can only be 1 of 3 things and it's no secret which one you've chosen.