Ignorance is in the eye of the beholder

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/07/2012 (4920 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Gordon Sinclair Jr. column on the public’s attitude toward Vince Li titled ‘Seeking a cure for the clinically ignorant’ raised an issue our readers couldn’t ignore.

I think characterizing people who responded as “clinically ignorant” is unfair and ignorant in itself.

I did not participate in the poll, but I suspect that most of the people who responded in that poll would not have had the same answers for just anyone suffering from mental illness. This was a very special circumstance dealing with a person whose delusions were violent and who actually acted on them to murder a man. That was the issue people were asked to respond to. Of course they would not have the same feelings towards someone who is bipolar, depressed, anxious, or a non-violent schizophrenic.

— RK

People are outraged because of the crime. It has very little to do with being scared of mental illness. It has to do with the nature of the crime (I don’t even want to type what he did) being so heinous that the majority of people do not believe that ANYONE should be out of jail for committing such atrocious acts. I’ll challenge this to you Mr. Sinclair: What if forensic psychiatrists determined that Hitler was profoundly mentally ill? Would that mean that all should be forgiven?

— grababrain

It is clear that people with mental illness suffer socially if others are aware of their condition. Why do we wonder why people resist diagnosis and treatment? We all know people who have mental illnesses, just like we all know people with addictions and people with medical problems.

I wonder if the underlying problem is rampant narcissism. People are less likely to value others who they perceive as less likely to be able to meet THEIR needs. Perhaps developing empathy and compassion rather than education/knowledge are the keys to improving this situation.

— kachina

I’m all for criminals with mental health issues getting help they need — in jail (through their sentence) and continued help afterwards.

Assault is assault, robbery is still robbery, and murder is still murder regardless of what mindset they were in. In no way should it lessen the sentence given. They should be helped and become aware enough to accept what they did and accept the fact that they deserve whatever jail term they have been given by the courts.

— al_pha

I agree that there are many misconceptions regarding mental illness and we as a society need to adjust our attitudes. However, Vicent Li is not the poster child for this campaign to strike down ignorance. Mr. Li’s actions are so extreme it is impossible to conceive that anyone could return from the dark place he went to. Mr. Li is beyond the pale of what society can accept as safe to co-exist with. We would all be better off to focus on changing negative attitudes toward all mentally ill rather then take up a defense one extreme case that, quite frankly, if he went into remission could endanger lives.

— Patrick Caron

Lets be honest, many of our worst criminals suffered from some sort of mental disorder. It doesn’t mean they are not criminals, nor make them safe to be in public. Do you think the uniabomber or Timothy McVeigh were mentally healthy?

— Mad Monty

Thank you for this column, Mr. Sinclair, it’s much needed. It’s really depressing to read all of the ignorant comments on any issue relating to mental illness, especially Vince Li. I think the ignorant are pretty peed off being told the truth. I just hope better education over mental-health issues will be more widely available and that understanding will grow.

— TMR77

OK, tough subject matter, but there’s a big difference from a person who thinks needles are coming thru the floor to one who will decapitate another when off of meds. I find the title of the article ignorant in and of itself. The whole matter has to do with risk — what are the consequences of this person when they choose to go off their meds? Killing others would be an indicator to keep them locked up, regardless of their personality when sane.

— JeyRome