Labour’s health team wrote on Twitter that the front page “disgracefully reinforced” stigma, while Rethink Mental Illness wrote "Dear @TheSunNewspaper the number of homicides by ppl w/mental health problems has gone *down*. Front page is irresponsible & wrong."Yes, it's yet another ginned-up 'outrage' against the 'Sun' for allegedly playing fast and loose with the figures on people killed by mental patients, but in reality for being owned by Rupert Murdoch, a despised and hated enemy of the Left.
And there's some curious people leading that charge:
Alistair Campbell tweeted: “Constant media linkage of violence and mental illness leads to violence against the mentally ill rather than by them. #stigma #timetochange.”Yes, it's that Alistair Campbell...
In a statement to the Independent, Sue Baker, Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind and Paul Jenkins, Chief Executive of Rethink Mental Illness said…"We urge all media outlets to use extreme caution when reporting issues like this, and ask that they look at the guidelines produced by Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness.”If they are simply 'guidelines', it's up to the 'Sun' to decide if they want to follow them. They clearly don't. And you can scream all you like about it, but they are under no obligation to do so.
The link between mental illness and violence can only be broken when mentally ill people....or just people, frankly... stop committing violent acts then claiming in court that mental illness made them do it.
ReplyDeleteSame goes for alcohol and violence, drugs and violence, "poverty" and violence etc etc ad infinitum.
"Care in the community" is not care at all. Some people need the structure of institutional life to cope with their mental disease. Booting them onto the street, ignoring relatives in the interests of "patient confidentiality", failing to follow up, is cruelty, both to the ill individual and society. I write as the friend of a couple who were bludgeoned to death by their much loved, but paranoid schizophrenic son, despite their contacting his "team" that he was off meds and deteriorating.
ReplyDelete"Alistair Campbell tweeted: 'Constant media linkage of violence and mental illness leads to violence against the mentally ill rather than by them.'"
ReplyDeleteSo Campbell wasn't ill when he expressed his concerns about the mouthy Dr Kelly to JIC chief John Scarlett. He was just being evil.
Tatty, some mental illnesses result in a person being found "not guilty by reason of insanity." Some criminals use a supposed illness as an excuse, but that's because, in genuine cases, it is an excuse. Some people belong in a secure mental hospital and some in prison.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - You appear to be confusing "reason" with "excuse". That's ok lots of people do but in a court scenario it's inexcusable (pardon the pun). Differentiation should result in some being confined for their own safety as well as others.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder though how many would claim to be mentally ill - or encourage and allow their Defence to - if they knew it meant a fixed term of confinement in a secure mental health unit under a strict regime of medication and 24 hour supervision.
Colour me cynical but I'd predict a huge drop in such claims.
"...then claiming in court that mental illness made them do it."
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be the barrister's favourite excuse.
""Care in the community" is not care at all. Some people need the structure of institutional life to cope with their mental disease. "
As much for their own safety as that of others, as Tatty points out.
"He was just being evil."
Pure evil.
"Colour me cynical but I'd predict a huge drop in such claims."
Me too.