What Do We Do About Tyler?

[Controlled Opposition]

I paid for college by working in a state psychiatric hospital. I've seen it all, including a person who murdered 3 generations of women, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, he was a nice guy. I remember another guy who murdered his brother. He did a long stretch in prison and came out looking like a ghost.

On the other hand, I knew a kid who spent two years bouncing between youth jails before he got to us. His crime was a failed attempt to shoplift a bottle of Pepsi.

The mentally ill are no more dangerous than society as a whole. When you get a bunch of them in the same place, you want to keep your back to the wall.

End of anecdote.

[Irish Exit]

And that's the problem with ppl with mental illness. Sometimes their symptoms can be controlled with medication, but the nature of the illness predisposes them to not take the meds because they don't like the side effects. Who would pay for this kid's meds anyways? Even if he goes on SS disability, you have to wait two years to qualify for Medicare benefits. I think you're right -- either he will re-offend or someone will attack him. He is a danger to himself and to others too.

I posted in another thread within the last few days that I am a minority in being a progressive who readily acknowledges not everyone can be saved. This kid is one of them. We can lock him away in some fashion or another to protect him and society, or we can let nature take its course.

[ThatOwlWoman]

I posted in another thread within the last few days that I am a minority in being a progressive who readily acknowledges not everyone can be saved. This kid is one of them. We can lock him away in some fashion or another to protect him and society, or we can let nature take its course.

You are right; we can't save everyone. And as a society we've kind of chosen not to save ourselves at times too. Letting guys like this go free is just asking for a tragedy to occur. There are so few residential mental institutions now; so many Tylers out there.

[ThatOwlWoman]

I paid for college by working in a state psychiatric hospital. I've seen it all, including a person who murdered 3 generations of women, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, he was a nice guy. I remember another guy who murdered his brother. He did a long stretch in prison and came out looking like a ghost.

On the other hand, I knew a kid who spent two years bouncing between youth jails before he got to us. His crime was a failed attempt to shoplift a bottle of Pepsi.

The mentally ill are no more dangerous than society as a whole. When you get a bunch of them in the same place, you want to keep your back to the wall.

End of anecdote.

It depends on what type of mental illness, of course. The kid in this article certainly has shown that he is violent and dangerous. What happens if he's in a park one day and hears children laughing, and thinks they're mocking him? What happens if he approaches a woman and is rejected?

That must have been quite an experience, working there. Were you ever attacked?

[Irish Exit]

You are right; we can't save everyone. And as a society we've kind of chosen not to save ourselves at times too. Letting guys like this go free is just asking for a tragedy to occur. There are so few residential mental institutions now; so many Tylers out there.

People who don't take their meds properly are not going to be content being institutionalized for the most part so it begs the question to what degree should we be able to institutionalize people before they have done something wrong. I personally think the meds themselves are a slippery slope. I see that with the half sister of one of my nieces. They diagnosed her with something and then gave her meds. After that something else came up, so they diagnosed her with something additional and gave her more meds, rinse a repeat so this 9 year old has been diagnosed with something like 6 or 7 different mental illnesses, takes cupfuls of meds, and still now is having these random hysterical episodes. She went from starting off with ADD and not having these seizure like fits to now having these seizure like fits over the course of maybe 4 years.