Mental Illness does not equate Evil!!

I was surprised to see that nobody else was bothered by Sarah Palin’s use of the word “evil” to describe a mentally ill individual in her recent video. Although, I am not surprised… that would not have caused such an up roar among the media, journalists, blog-sphere and people as the phrase “blood libel”.

Of course they [the entities listed above] ran with the “blood libel” reference… okay my instincts say to give her critics that, but I just don’t know enough about Jewish history to judge that one way or another. And I won’t pretend to talk about something I know nothing about.

However, as an individual who has spent most of her professional career and adult life counseling mentally ill adults and children … I found the description of this mentally ill person offensive.

Evil is the intention of causing harm or destruction, specifically from the perception of deliberately violating some moral code. ~ Wikipedia

If we use this definition than we are to assume that the individual didn’t suffer from mental illness… but I argue that a sane person would not ‘deliberately’ open fire on a Congresswoman and others gathered in a public assembly. It is the casual use of the word evil associated with mental illness that makes families and individuals ashamed of having mental illness among their own: The Denial of Mental Health Issues Rages through Main Street, America.

Just before the Tucson tragedy, I asked a Facebook Group to send ‘prayers’ and ‘healing’ to an individual who committed an unthinkable crime against a young girl and her family near my home. The group of healers were outraged that I would request them to send healing to this perpetrator.

I reminded them that this perpetrator, like the gunman in Tucson, is someone’s [mentally ill] son, grandchild, brother, and friend. Jesus walked among the sinners and offered them healing… who are we to judge who needs prayers and who doesn’t? Just because I offer prayers for someone doesn’t mean I support their actions. It means I recognize that they need our prayers and the recognition of their mental condition so that they too can receive the help they inherently deserve.

But of course if we view them as an “evil” persona… this exempts our responsibility to help them. Responsibility? Yes, I believe it is part of our moral conduct to help individuals who have mental illness.

Somewhere on Main Street America a mentally ill person is committing an unthinkable crime; it could be someone we personally know… now is the time to take the responsibility to offer outreach to that person and their family. And maybe, just maybe, if the masses see us do that… then other families will get the help they need before the unthinkable happens.

Mental Illness does not equate Evil!!

As for Sarah Palin, I think she is a pitiful pawn in a Big Boys’ Club. But her political tactics of cross-hairs on a map did not cause this person to go shoot US Rep Gabrielle Giffords and other innocent bystanders…. mental illness did.

However, we cannot prove that it didn’t energetically influence the violence that day or somewhere else on a backstreet in America.

I do not let my children watch violent tv shows or cartoons for the same reason. Bottom line… Violent images promote violence. Again, as a collective global community we need to take responsibility. But then again, our nation is good at the blame game and not taking responsibility.