Welcome To The Asylum

Despite the promise of a conversation about mental health, misinformation and ignorance became the norm in the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy.

I swear the next person says the words “schizophrenic,” “sociopath,” or - oh god - “autistic” in place of the name of the Newtown shooter I will fucking explode.  Don’t assume you know this asshole’s diagnosis. (And certainly his Aspergers had NOTHING to do with his actions!)

As a rich white boy in a nice area, he had access to mental health care the likes of which most people will never get and yet no one else -even the most mentally ill- have never hurt children like this.

Look, I know it is comforting to put people and situations into boxes. Categorizing and dehumanizing monsters makes them something separate from ourselves. It makes us feel safe and gives us something to look out for. An “other” to keep locked up far away from us. We feel like we can understand and prevent this by simply labeling everyone as either “safe” or “unsafe.” But, like it or not, that is not how life works. This was committed by a human being that no one knew would ever do something like this. No matter how smart you think you are, you probably would’ve missed it too.

Please, don’t drag entire groups of people - who have done nothing wrong, who are already ostracized and stigmatized, who are at a greater risk than most for being preyed on by evil people, and who need your understanding - under the bus just so you feel a bit better.

Yes, this man was an absolute monster but not because he had a mental illness or autism. Not because he was rich or white. Not because he had access to guns. Not because his parents divorced. Not because whatever excuse you want to add.

He just was.

The mentally ill are not monsters but there are monsters out there that we all have to figure out how to deal with.